Effect of flux addition on the microstructure and hardness of TiC-reinforced ferrous surface composite layers fabricated by high-energy electron beam irradiation

Surface composites reinforced with TiC particulates were fabricated by high-energy electron-beam irradiation. In order to investigate the effects of flux addition on the TiC dispersion in surface composite layers, four kinds of powder mixtures were made by mixing TiC with 5, 10, 20, and 40 wt pet of the flux components (MgO-CaO). To fabricate TiC-reinforced surface composites, the TiC-flux mixtures were deposited evenly on a plain carbon steel substrate, which was subjected to electron-beam irradiation. Microstructural analysis was conducted using X-ray diffraction and Mossbauer spectroscopy as well as optical and scanning electron microscopy. The microstructure of the surface composites was composed of a melted region, an interfacial region, a coarse-grained heat-affected zone (HAZ), a fine-grained HAZ, and an unaltered original substrate region. TiC agglomerates and residual pores were found in the melted region of materials processed without flux, but the number of agglomerates and pores was significantly decreased in materials processed with a considerable amount of flux. As a result of irradiation, TiC particles were homogeneously distributed throughout the melted region of 2.5 mm in thickness, whose hardness was greatly increased. The optimum flux amount, which resulted in surface composites containing homogeneously dispersed TiC particles, was found to be in the range of 10 to 20 pet to obtain excellent surface composites.