Microstructure and wear behavior of AlCrTiNbMo high-entropy alloy coating prepared by electron beam cladding on Ti600 substrate

High-entropy alloys have been widely studied as a new and excellent material in the field of surface protection. To improve the low surface hardness and wear resistance of Ti600 alloy, AlCrTiNbMo high-entropy alloy (HEA) coating was prepared by electron beam cladding. The phase structure and microstructure showed the presence of two BCC solid solution phases A2 and B2 within HEA coating. Laves phase Ti₃Al and intermetallic compound Mo₃Al₈ were also present in the coating. The results of hardness and wear resistance tests showed that the microhardness of coating is 813.5 HV_0.2，while substrate is 370.7 HV_0.2. The mass loss of coating is only 1.02 mg after wear test, while the mass loss of Ti600 is 38.81 mg. There are cracks and delaminations on the worn surface of Ti600, and wear mechanism is a mixture of micro-ploughing and micro-cutting. The worn surface of HEA coating contains only shear surface traces, and the wear mechanism is micro-cutting. The width and depth of grooves on the worn surface of HEA coating are nearly 10 times that of Ti600 substrate. AlCrTiNbMo HEA coating can be used as an excellent wear-resistant coating with wide application prospect.