In Situ Fabrication of FexNiyCrzCoaTibMoc High-Entropy Alloy Coating by Rotating Arc Cladding

This study utilized a twisted wire rotating arc cladding method to in situ fabricate a Fe-containing multi-principal element alloy (HPEA) coating derived from NiCrCoTiMo stranded wire on 45 steel (equivalent to AISI 1045 steel). The macroscopic morphology, microstructure, mechanical properties, and electrochemical corrosion behavior of the prepared coatings were examined. The coating exhibited no visible cracks or pores and displayed a dual-phase face-centered cubic (FCC) + body-centered cubic (BCC) structure, with an average grain size of 78 μm for the FCC phase and 1 μm for the BCC phase. The microhardness of the coating is approximately 381.3 HV0.1. Compared to 45 steel, the coating’s coefficient of friction (COF) decreased from 0.6265 to 0.5125, representing an 18.2% reduction. The calculated wear rate of the coating was 1.47 × 10−5 mm3/N·m, approximately six times lower than that of 45 steel (8.93 × 10−5 mm3/N·m). Electrochemical testing revealed that the coating’s open-circuit potential (OCP) was −0.405 V vs. the saturated calomel electrode (SCE), with a corrosion potential (Ecorr) of −0.556 V vs. SCE and a corrosion current density (Icorr) of 4.458 × 10−6 A/cm2. In comparison, 45 steel exhibited an OCP of −0.582 V vs. SCE, with corrosion parameters of Ecorr = −0.840 V vs. SCE and Icorr = 1.302 × 10−5 A/cm2. These results demonstrate the superior corrosion resistance and wear performance of the coating, underscoring its potential for applications in challenging environments that demand enhanced material durability.