In this study, a continuous coating with a thickness of 20 μm and intimate bonding to the substrate was in situ fabricated on the TZM alloy (Mo-0.6Ti-0.08Zr-0.04C) via high-temperature gas-phase carburization at 1200 °C combined with water quenching, using CO as the carbon transport carrier. The coating possesses a fine equiaxed grain structure with an average grain size of 1.48 μm, and its microhardness reaches 1479 ± 42 HV. This modification process does not sacrifice the inherent strength and ductility of the TZM alloy matrix, while it does reduce the wear volume of the alloy by 78.8% in comparison with the uncoated rolled TZM alloy.
Li et al. (2026) studied this question.