Evaluating the Effect of the Number of Welding Passes on Microstructure, Hardness and Residual Stress of Ti-Al-Si Composite Coatings

The purpose of the present work is to investigate the influence of the number of weld-passes on microstructure, hardness and residual stresses of composite coatings composed of Ti-Al-Si intermetallic compounds. In this regard, surface coating of pure Ti was carried out using one and two passes of tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding with an Al filler alloy (grade 4043). Phase and structural evaluations of the coatings were investigated by X-ray diffraction, optical and scanning electron microscopies. microhardness and residual stress values of the coatings were measured using ASTM E384-HV device and the Sin2ψ method, respectively. The results showed that as the number of welding passes increased or the dilution ratio decreased, the volume fraction of Ti5Si3-Al3Ti intermetallic phases within the fusion zone increased and the volume fraction of martensite phase in the heat affected zone decreased. As a result, the average hardness value of the coating increased to be about 130 % compared to that of the pure Ti substrate. The tensile residual stresses at the center line of fusion zone were 165 ± 30 and 210 ± 35 MPa for the coatings prepared in one and two welding passes, respectively.