Al(0.25)CoCrFeNiV High Entropy Alloy Coating Deposited by Laser Cladding on Stainless Steel

This paper studies the microstructure, composition and properties of a Al(0.25)CoCrFeNiV high entropy alloy coating (HEAC) deposited by laser cladding on austenitic-grade stainless steel. Laser cladding was carried out in an argon atmosphere on a FL-Clad-R-4 laser metal deposition complex with the following parameters: the laser power was 1400 W, the spot diameter was 3 mm, the track displacement was 1.2 mm, and the scanning speed was set to 10 mm/s. A change in the microstructure of the coating after laser cladding was revealed in comparison with as-cast high entropy alloy (HEA) Al(0.25)CoCrFeNiV. A significant decrease was found in the size of vanadium precipitates, from 20–40 µm in the as-cast state to 1–3 µm after laser cladding. A change in microhardness over the thickness of the coating from 370 HV(0.3) at the outer surface to 270 HV(0.3) at the boundary with the substrate was established, which may be due to the diffusion of Fe from the stainless steel into the coating material during laser cladding. Despite these features, the resulting coating adheres tightly to the substrate, and has no cracks or other defects, which indicates the possibility of using laser cladding to create coatings from high entropy alloys.