Influence of age-hardening treatment on anti-wear performance of WC/Cu-Ni-Mn hardfacing coatings

The microstructure, interface and anti-wear performance of WC/Cu-Ni-Mn hardfacing coatings with and without age-hardening were compared and analyzed. The influence of the aging treatment on the anti-wear performance and wear mechanisms of WC/Cu-Ni-Mn coatings were investigated. The results showed that relative wear-resistances of WC/Cu-Ni-Mn hardfacing coatings with and without age-hardening treatment were 170.72 and 210.77 times as much as the aged Cu-Ni-Mn matrix, which increased by 23.5%. After aging, the NiMn phase precipitated in the Cu-Ni-Mn alloy and its hardness increased by 2.3 times. As for the Cu-Ni-Mn metal matrix without the age-hardening, the elements of Ni and Mn dissolved in copper and then formed the α-Cu solid solutions. The main wear mechanisms of coating with and without age-hardening were adhesion and abrasion.