Impact of C-Content on Hardness of Induction Cladded TiC Coatings

The TiC coatings were synthesized by high frequency induction cladding of a mixture of Ti and graphite powders on red-copper substrate,an advanced material of vacuum circuit breaker.The influence of the C-content on the phase-structures and micro-hardness was investigated with X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy and conventional mechanical probes.The preliminary results show that the C-content had a major impact.To be specific,as the C-content increased,the micro-hardness,of the fairly compact,flat and uniform cladded coatings on the red-copper substrate,significantly increased,not only because the volume fraction of the short fiber-like clusters decreased to zero,but also because the volume fraction of the equi-axed TiC-grains increased.The metallurgical bonding accounted for the strong interfacial adhesion.