Effect of WC Content on Wear and Corrosion Performance of Laser Cladding AlCoCrFeNi2.1 Eutectic High-entropy Alloy Coating

doi:10.11902/1005.4537.2025.218

Journal of Chinese Society for Corrosion and protection

2026, Vol. 46

Issue (1): 126-136 DOI: 10.11902/1005.4537.2025.218

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Effect of WC Content on Wear and Corrosion Performance of Laser Cladding AlCoCrFeNi_2.1 Eutectic High-entropy Alloy Coating

DING Hao¹, DU Lingxiao¹, SHU Qin², CAO Fuyang³, XIE Yun¹(

), PENG Xiao¹

^1.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang 330063, China
^2.Liyang Aero Power Co., Ltd., Aero Engine Corporation of China, Guiyang 550014, China
^3.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

Cite this article:

DING Hao, DU Lingxiao, SHU Qin, CAO Fuyang, XIE Yun, PENG Xiao. Effect of WC Content on Wear and Corrosion Performance of Laser Cladding AlCoCrFeNi_2.1 Eutectic High-entropy Alloy Coating. Journal of Chinese Society for Corrosion and protection, 2026, 46(1): 126-136.

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Abstract

To investigate the effect of WC contents on the wear and corrosion performance of laser claddings of high-entropy eutectic alloy AlCoCrFeNi_2.1, i.e. AlCoCrFeNi_2.1-WC _x with WC contents of 0%, 10%, 30%, and 50% respectively were fabricated on the surface of 45# steel by laser cladding technologywith a dual powder feeding system. The influence of WC content on the microstructure, microhardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance of the coatings was systematically studied. The results show that the addition of WC promoted the formation of metal carbides such as WC, W₂C and η phases in the coatings, in addition to the original existed FCC and BCC phases. With the increasing WC content, the volume fractions of hard carbide phases increased, leading to a significant enhancement in microhardness of the composite coatings. The AlCoCrFeNi_2.1-WC₅₀ coating exhibited the highest microhardness of 775.8 HV_0.2, approximately 3.8 times that of 45# steel matrix. Moreover, the wear resistance was markedly enhanced with the increasingWC content, and correspondingly the wear rate decreased from 1.3 × 10^-3 mm³·N^-1·m^-1 for the WC-free AlCoCrFeNi_2.1 coating to 8.6 × 10^-6 mm³·N^-1·m^-1 for the AlCoCrFeNi_2.1-WC₅₀ coating. However, a higher WC content led to increase the emerging of galvanic corrosion between different phases in the coating, thereby deteriorating the corrosion resistance. Comprehansively considering the microhardness, wear resistance and corrosion resistance, the AlCoCrFeNi_2.1-WC₃₀ coating exhibited the best comprehensive properties, featured with a good combination of wear resistance and corrosion resistance, and can be viewed as a promising material for engineering application.

Key words: high-entropy alloy coatings laser cladding WC particle wear resistance corrosion resistance

Received: 09 July 2025 32134.14.1005.4537.2025.218

ZTFLH:

TG174

Fund: Jiangxi Provincial Key Research and Development Program(20232BBE50007);Jiangxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation(20224BAB214018)

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	DING Hao
	DU Lingxiao
	SHU Qin
	CAO Fuyang
	XIE Yun
	PENG Xiao

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https://www.jcscp.org/EN/10.11902/1005.4537.2025.218 OR https://www.jcscp.org/EN/Y2026/V46/I1/126

Fig.1 SEM morphologies (a, b) and particle size distribution (c, d) of AlCoCrFeNi_2.1 (a, c) and WC powders (b, d)

Fig.2 Schematic diagram of synchronous powder feeding experiment

Table 1 Feeding rates of WC and HEA powders for preparing AlCoCrFeNi_2.1-WC _x coatings

Fig.3 XRD patterns of AlCoCrFeNi_2.1-WC _x composite coatings (a) and corresponding details (b)

Fig.4 Cross-sectional SEM morphologies of HEA (a), WC₁₀ (b), WC₃₀ (c) and WC₅₀ (d) coatings

Table 2 Distribution of elements in BCC phase, FCC phase, η phase and transition layer

Fig.5 Cross-sectional microhardness distribution of AlCoCrFeNi_2.1-WC _x composite coatings

Fig.6 Friction and wear properties of 45# steel and AlCoCrFeNi_2.1-WC _x composite coatings: (a) friction coefficient curves, (b) average friction coefficient, (c) wear scar profile curves, (d) wear rates

Fig.7 SEM morphologies of wear scar of AlCoCrFeNi₂.₁-WCₓ composite coatings: (a) HEA coatings, (b) WC₁₀, (c) WC₃₀, WC₅₀ (d) coatings

Table 3 EDS results of the marked regions in Fig.7

Table 4 Electrochemical corrosion parameters of 45# steel and AlCoCrFeNi_2.1-WC _x composite coatings in 3.5%NaCl solution

Fig.8 Potentiodynamic polarization curves of 45# steel and AlCoCrFeNi_2.1-WC _x composite coatings in 3.5%NaCl solution at room temperature

Fig.9 Surface morphologies of AlCoCrFeNi_2.1-WC _x composite coatings after potentiodynamic polarization test in 3.5%NaCl solution: (a) HEA coatings; (b) WC₁₀; (c) WC₃₀ and (d) WC₅₀ coatings

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