Effect of post-heat treatment on microstructure and tribological performance of AISI 410L coatings processed by laser-directed energy deposition (L-DED)

The present work aimed to assess the effect of post-heat treatment on microstructure and tribological performance of AISI 410 clads processed by laser-directed energy deposition (L-DED) to simulate the repair of ball valve plugs used in the oil and gas industry. The coatings were deposited by L-DED process on AISI 410 substrates using an AISI 410L gas-atomized metallic powder. Coatings in the as-built and heat-treated conditions were characterized in terms of microstructure, hardness, and microabrasive wear performance. For comparison purposes, a ball valve plug of AISI 410 was also characterized. For the L-DED processing conditions used, defect-free AISI 410L coatings were obtained. The post-heat treatment had a significant effect on the microstructure and hardness of the coatings. Despite this, the coatings performance was statistically equal to the ball valve. Therefore, from the point of view of the wear performance, the results indicate that a ball valve of AISI 410 can be satisfactorily repaired by L-DED process without post-heat treatments.