Effect of Titanium Alloying on the Performance of HSLA Steel Cladding on Low‐Carbon Steel via Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing
Kumar Kanishka, Bappa Acherjee
Abstract
Abstract This study investigates the surface cladding of AISI 1020 low‐carbon steel using the powder‐fused GMAW (gas metal arc welding)–WAAM (wire arc additive manufacturing) process. During cladding, Ti powder is overlaid on the substrate and melted together with AM 70 high‐strength low‐alloy (HSLA) steel wire, forming a composite clad layer. The clad morphology, phase composition, microhardness distribution, and electrochemical corrosion properties of the Ti + AM 70 clad are examined and compared to untreated AISI 1020 and AM 70‐only clads. The results show that both Ti + AM 70 and AM 70 clads achieve successful deposition with defect‐free interfaces. While Ti + AM 70 exhibits the highest microhardness, both clads show significantly higher microhardness than the AISI 1020 substrate, enhancing their suitability for wear‐resistant applications. Electrochemical testing, including Tafel analysis, reveals that the Ti + AM 70 clad provides superior corrosion resistance, with higher corrosion potential and lower corrosion current density than AM 70 and AISI 1020. Bode and Nyquist plots further confirm the enhanced corrosion resistance of both clads over the AISI 1020 substrate. These findings highlight the potential of Ti + AM 70 cladding to significantly improve the mechanical and corrosion performance of AISI 1020 for industrial applications.