Abstract:
TC4 titanium alloy oil drill pipes often encounter the interactive effects of seawater corrosion and mechanical wear in marine environments, significantly shortening their service life. To address this issue, this study employed laser cladding technology to fabricate a graphite/TiCrNiCuNb high-entropy alloy (HEA) composite coating on the surface of TC4 titanium alloy. Systematic characterizations of the coating were conducted in terms of microstructure, microhardness, electrochemical corrosion, and tribocorrosion performance. The results reveal that graphite addition facilitates the formation of carbides and intermetallic compounds. Compared with TC4 alloy, the maximum microhardness of the coating is increased by 143.77%. In a simulated seawater environment, the C2 coating containing 15% graphite exhibited excellent corrosion resistance, with an corrosion current density (
Icorr) as low as 0.93×10
−7 A/cm
2 and an solution resistance (
Rs) of 1.95×10
6 Ω·cm
2. During corrosion-wear coupling tests, the self-healing passive film formed on the coating surface effectively enhanced its corrosion-wear resistance. The wear rate of the C2 coating was reduced by three orders of magnitude compared to the substrate. This study combines the lubricating properties of graphite, the passivation effect of HEA, and the carbide reinforcement phase in the coating, enabling the coating to simultaneously resist mechanical wear and chemical corrosion. It provides new insights for the application of TC4 titanium alloy in harsh environments such as marine equipment and chemical reactors, and offers theoretical guidance for the composition design and structural optimization of wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant functional coatings.