Cladding of stellite composite on carbon steel by gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW)

This paper deals with the investigation of the microstructure and hardness of steel samples cladded with satellite 6-WC composites by using gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process. For this purpose, steel samples were coated with unreinforced and reinforced stellite (by 20, 30 and 40 wt.% WC). The cladded samples were evaluated by metallographic studies, microhardness measurement and X-ray diffraction analysis. In order to reduce dilution and to increase the hardness, samples were coated by two layers of similar chemical composition. The results indicated that in samples cladded by reinforced stellite, with an increase in tungsten carbide content, the amount of hypoeutectic phase (γ + (γ + WC)) increased. This is accompanied by an increase in hardness.