In this paper

stainless steel coatings with different NbC contents were prepared on the surface of EA1T axle steel using laser cladding technology. The phase structure and microstructure evolution of the composite coatings were analysed using X-ray diffractometry (XRD)

scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS)

and the hardness and tribological properties of the coatings were determined. The results show that the addition of NbC plays a role in grain refinement

while Fe (Nb

C) type hard phases are precipitated between the grains. However

the addition of NbC resulted in the disruption of the directionality of the dendrites in the coating

but the coating properties were enhanced and increased with the addition of NbC. In particular

when the mass fraction of NbC is 20%

all of the added NbC melts and then precipitates islands of hard phase between the grains. The hardness and wear resistance of the coating is significantly improved by the fine grain strengthening and diffusion strengthening caused by the NbC addition. The addition of 20% NbC increased the hardness by 15% compared to the uncoated NbC

reaching a maximum hardness of 60HRC; The wear coefficient was significantly reduced to 0.75

with the best reinforcement effect. The wear surface plough furrows of the composite coating with 20% NbC were shallow

and the wear mechanism was abrasive wear.