Abstract WC-Co cutting tools are widely used by the metalworking industry. In order to improve the properties of these tools, research on the application of wear-resistant coatings, such as polycrystalline diamond, are of great importance to several applications. It is known that the occurrence of high-stress levels between the coating and the substrate can lead to adhesion failures. One strategy to minimize these failures is applying an intermediate layer of SiC. In this work, the deposition of a SiC layer was carried out by a novel two-step laser cladding approach. Instead of cladding directly the pre-synthesized SiC on the substrates, a 200 µm silicon powder layer was pre-deposited on the WC-Co substrates and then irradiated with a 30 W CO2 laser. To improve metallurgical bonding between the tungsten and the Si layer, all substrates were chemically attacked. This attack allows cobalt removal from the surface and increases surface roughness, improving the laser cladding process. After the SiC laser cladding, samples were coated with a 200 µm graphite powder layer and irradiated again by a CO2 laser. The samples were characterized by SEM, EDS, and XRD analysis. The results showed that in the first step, an irradiation energy of about 0.27 J was enough to fuse the silicon powder to the substrate and in the second step, 0.13 J was enough to promote the reaction between silicon, carbon and the WC substrate, resulting in the in-situ synthesis of SiC. Finally, a new method was proposed for the deposition of SiC on WC-Co based substrates and the observed results allowed the proposal of an empirical equation to describe the chemical reactions of the process.

RESUMO Considerando a importância do desenvolvimento de novos materiais ao longo dos últimos anos; os pesquisadores vêm estudando soluções eficazes através do uso de revestimentos de alta dureza para aplicação em ferramentas de corte e matrizes de conformação. Revestimentos de carboneto de tungstênio (WC) são um dos mais utilizados em sistemas de geração de: energia, aeroespacial, automotivo e indústrias de transporte devido às suas propriedades, as quais, combinam alta dureza e resistência ao desgaste. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo verificar a melhoria das propriedades mecânicas do aço 4340 através da deposição de revestimento de WC pulverizado por pistola pneumática e posterior irradiação com laser de CO2. Os corpos de prova foram caracterizados por microscópio eletrônico de varredura, microscópio óptico e teste de microindentação (microdureza e medidas do módulo de elasticidade). Os resultados mostram que é possível obter revestimentos com alta dureza, sem poros e ligados metalurgicamente ao substrato.

ABSTRACT Coatings are used to promote the thermal protection of metal alloys. In the aeronautical industry, the coatings used to protect the turbine blades are called Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBC). The use of NiCrAlY is an alternative as a bonding layer in coatings for turbine blades and it is possible to increase its useful life. This work aims to study the metallurgical bond between the 316-stainless steel substrate and the NiCrAlY coating which was sprayed through the High-Velocity Oxygen-Fuel (HVOF) and after irradiated by a CO2 laser beam with power of 125 W and speed of 50 mm/s. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the semi-quantitative analysis energy dispersive spectroscopic (EDX) showed that the chemical composition of the coating and the substrate have maintained its original stoichiometry. The line scan analysis is a technique of the EDX to analyze the diffusion between the main chemical elements of 316 steel and NiCrAlY and X-ray diffraction by identifying the alumina AL2O3 phases on the sample surface and the results showed the metallurgical bond between substrate and coating.

The objective of this work is the Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition (HFCVD) of diamond films on stainless steel substrates using a new technique for intermediate barrier forming, made by laser cladding process. In this technique, a powder layer is irradiated by a laser beam to melt the powder layer and the substrate surface layer to create the interlayer. The control of the laser beam parameters allows creating homogeneous coating layers, in rather large area in few seconds. In this work, the silicon carbide powder (SiC) was used to create an intermediate layer. Before the diamond growth, the samples were subjected to the seeding process with diamond powder. The diamond deposition was performed using Hot-Filament CVD reactor and the characterizations were Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman Scattering Spectroscopy and Scratch Test.

Laser cladding of vanadium carbide powder developed an interlayer on AISI D6 steel as a diffusional barrier and to relief thermal residual stress. Laser cladding experiments varied resolution (DPI) and scanning speed (mm/s). CVD diamond deposition on this interface went on by HFCVD technique. The coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM-FEG) and Raman spectroscopy. Ordered state V8C7 phase prevailed in the interlayer. The thickness of heat-affected zone (HAZ) and Laser Cladding Vanadium Coating (LCVC) were 37 µm and 5 µm, respectively, in the best layer produced. The diamond film showed good quality and morphology. The Raman peak at 1342,13 cm-1 shows the residual stresses level undertaken at the film-substrate interface and the corresponding adhesion, demonstrating the suitability of the VC laser cladding process to CVD diamond films deposition.

The thermal decomposition of silicon carbide (SiC), with the subsequent formation of graphene, can be achieved by heating treatment. Several heating processes have been applied for this purpose by using SiC, either in form of powder particles or monocrystalline substrate. In this work, instead of using an expensive commercially available SiC wafer, a polycrystalline SiC substrate was obtained, based on powder metallurgy process, in order to explore the synthesis of graphene layers on its surface by using a CO2 laser beam as heating source. Different levels of energy density (fluence) were applied and Raman spectroscopy analyses demonstrated that graphene layers were formed on the polycrystalline SiC surface. The ratio of the integrated intensity of the D and G bands, and the crystallite size were calculated. The FWHM of the 2D band peaks are in excellent agreement with the range of values found in the literature. The samples irradiated with energy density of 138.4 J/cm2 presented lower concentration of defects and higher crystallite size, while the lowest FWHM was obtained for energy density of 188 J/cm2. The process occurred at room conditions and no gas flow was used. The results reveal a simple and cost-effective alternative for synthesis of graphene-based structures on SiC.