EFFECT OF PULSE FREQUENCY ON MICROSTRUCTURE AND TRIBOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF TiC NANOCOMPOSITE COATINGS ON ASTM A240 STAINLESS STEEL VIA TIG TORCH MELTING

Alin Qistina Shamsuri; Lailatul Harina Paijan; Mohd Hadzley Abu Bakar; Mohd Fauzi Mamat; Aslam Hadi Hamzah; Shahira Liza Kamis

Alin Qistina Shamsuri Fakulti Teknologi dan Kejuruteraan Industri dan Pembuatan, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia.
Lailatul Harina Paijan Fakulti Teknologi dan Kejuruteraan Industri dan Pembuatan, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia.
Mohd Hadzley Abu Bakar Fakulti Teknologi dan Kejuruteraan Industri dan Pembuatan, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia.
Mohd Fauzi Mamat Fakulti Teknologi dan Kejuruteraan Industri dan Pembuatan, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia.
Aslam Hadi Hamzah ORS Technologies Sdn Bhd, Unit 2-5 MH Avenue, 2, Jalan Bunga Kantan, Taman P Ramlee,53000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Shahira Liza Kamis Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, 54100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Malaysia.

Keywords: Pulse frequency, nanocomposite coating, intermetallic compound, TIG, surface modification

Abstract

ASTM A240 duplex stainless steels offer improved mechanical properties and better corrosion performance, making them widely used in industries such as oil and gas, chemical processing, marine, and structural applications. Despite its high strength and corrosion resistance, the industrial application of the substrate is limited by low surface hardness and wear resistance. To overcome these issues, TiC nanoparticles were melted using TIG torch method at a constant current of 140 A and three different pulse frequencies (15, 20, and 25 PPS) to produce TiC nanocomposite coatings. Therefore, this study investigates the influence of pulse frequency on the surface reinforcement of ASTM A240 grade S31803 using TiC nanoparticles deposition via the Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) torch method. The microstructural features, coating thickness, and phase structure were investigated via digital microscope, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, while the mechanical properties were determined using Micro-Vickers hardness and linear reciprocating wear testing techniques. As observed, an increase in pulse frequency considerably improves microstructures and tribological properties. Among all the samples, a pulse frequency of 25 PPS showed superior behaviour with a coating thickness of 1.78 mm and maximum microhardness of 415.96 HV due to formation of CrTi and CrC intermetallic phases. Additionally, lowest coefficient of friction (CoF) of 0.08 was attained with minimal surface ploughing for TiC nanocomposite coating.