Abstract
Titanium and its alloys are used extensively in the aerospace industry because of their excellent physical properties. However, the disadvantage of these alloys is their low particle erosion resistance, which can be overcome by using erosion resistant TiN. In the present work, Ti–6Al–4V was nitrided using the laser gas alloying process to melt the top surface in a nitrogen rich atmosphere. By changing the power and travel speed of the laser the coating properties were optimised. These coatings were tested in a particle erosion tester with varying impact angles, which revealed that ductile coatings perform better at large impact angles and brittle coatings are better at low impact angles. The differences observed in the coating behaviour can enable coatings graded in the horizontal direction to be produced. The varying properties are necessary, for example, in a compressor blade were the impact angles of the particles are different for different areas owing to the shape of the blade.
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