TiB2-based coatings have been intensively developed due to their physical and mechanical properties, including excellent thermal stability and high hardness with good abrasion and corrosion resistance, which appear to be the most beneficial in industrial application. Previous investigations have shown that doping TiB2 with W, Ni and C can significantly reduce residual stresses and improve adhesion, making these coatings ideal on tools to machining aluminum alloys. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of an Cr interlayer on the durability (adhesion) of the fabricated Ti1−xCrxB2 (x = 0; 0.03; 0.06; 0.10) films and determine the influence of Cr on their microstructure and mechanical properties. The structural characterization of Ti1−xCrxB2 coatings was carried out using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. To investigate the mechanical properties, nano-scratch and-hardness tests (NST, NHT) were performed, and fracture toughness of the substrate layer systems was determined. The use of an adhesive layer of pure Cr increased the adhesion of the coatings to the substrate. It is shown that the changes in Cr content not only affect the microstructure, mainly by decreasing the crystallite size (column width), but also the texture (preferred film orientation) and phase composition. The addition of chromium also has an effect on the mechanical properties of TiB2 films by reducing their hardness and Young’s modulus and increasing their fracture toughness (KIC).
The aim of this work was to characterize the changes in microstructure and chemical composition of the austenitic overlays on a pressure vessel steel that occur in the vicinity of the interface between the overlay and the base material. The investigations were carried out on a 16Mo3 boiler pipes weld overlaid by 309 and 310 steels. The microstructural examinations were performed on longitudinal cross-sectioned samples. The qualitative and quantitative chemical composition analyses on metallographic samples were determined on Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) by means of Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS). The article analyzes the influence of the solidification sequence in both types of steel on final microstructure.