Study of Microstructure and Wear Behavior of in-situ Al/Al3Ti Composite Coating on Commercial Pure Al Produced by Aluminum Cored Wires

In this study, GTAW process and cored wires were used to coat Al/Al3Ti wear resistant composite on a commercial pure Al substrate. Wire drawing process was utilized to produce the cored wires from aluminum strips and a mixture of titanium and aluminum powders. The microstructures and the present phases were investigated by metallographic, SEM equipped with EDS and XRD analysis. Moreover, the hardness and wear resistance of the samples were evaluated. A maximum microhardness value of about 300HV was measured which is 13 times higher than the hardness of the substrate material. The results showed that the coating was composed of Al, Ti as well as Al3Ti. The presence of Al3Ti led to increase in the wear resistance of the coating.