Effect of Bionic Units Fabricated by WC-NiCrBSiFe Laser Cladding on High-Temperature Erosion Wear Resistance of 304 Stainless Steel

To improve the high-temperature erosion wear resistance of 304 stainless steel, this study designed and fabricated bionic samples based on the erosion wear resistance characteristics of the desert scorpion body surface. Uniformly distributed ridged bionic units were fabricated on the surface of 304 stainless steel by laser cladding 25% WC-NiCrBSiFe. The experiments were conducted using self-designed high-temperature erosion wear equipment to compare the erosion rates of bionic and untreated samples from room temperature to 1000ºC. The results showed that the erosion rate of the bionic samples was significantly lower than that of the untreated sample at different temperatures. The erosion rate of bionic units slowly increased from room temperature to 1000ºC, showed a decreasing trend at 400–600ºC, and reached a maximum value at 1000ºC, which is 50% of the untreated sample. The bionic unit’s wear mechanism mainly includes chiseling, plowing, and removal of the oxide film, as well as hard phases. Subsequently, the mechanisms of the unit on high temperature erosion wear resistance improvement were suggested: (i) the unique microscopic structure of bionic units with alternating distribution of soft and hard phases can weaken the impact of solid particles, the hard phase resists the plastic deformation and the soft phase absorbs impact energy and hinders crack propagation;(ii) the uniformly distributed ridged units can generate air cushion and shielding effects during high temperature erosion, which can weaken the chiseling and plowing effects of solid particles on the surface of bionic samples.