Investigation of Cu/ TiB2 composite coating prepared by laser cladding on H13 die steel

In this study, the Cu/TiB2 composite coating was successfully prepared by laser cladding on H13 hot work die steel. The experimental results show that the microstructure of the coating is relatively homogeneous distributed and the TiB2 hard particles are dispersed in the copper Cu coating. The coating thickness of approximately 500‒600 μm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that there is a metallurgical bond between the coating and the substrate, which ensure a strong binding ability. The maximum microhardness of the coating is up to 700 HV0.2, which is significantly greater than the hardness of substrate (about 220 HV0.2). However, the hardness distribution is not uniform, and show a slow decreasing trend to the depth of (500‒600) μm off the surface, then, quickly reduce to the matrix hardness