Microstructure and Soil Wear Resistance of D517 Coating Deposited by Electric Spark Deposition

The abrasion failure is the key factor for prolonging the service life and energy saving of furrow openers. The hardness enhancement was reported to be an effective strategy to increase the wear resistance against the soil abrasion. D517 coatings were deposited on Q235 steel by electric spark to improve the wear-resistant property with an affordable cost for farmers. The wear behavior of the coatings was characterized in a pin on disk friction equipment and a homemade soil abrasion simulation system. The soil adhesion, which is highly related to energy consumption, was also evaluated. Results showed that D517 coatings revealed dendrite structure with some randomly distributed carbides. The electric current exerted a great influence on the microstructure, hardness, friction coefficient, and soil wear rate. The wear rate of samples deposited with 80 A and 90 A reduced to 79% and 84%, respectively, as compared with the normalized heat-treated 65 Mn steel after 6 h in soil. This work provides a promising solution to increase the wear resistance of furrow openers. It needs to be noted that the coating would increase the soil adhesion of the opener, which needs to be further explored to decrease the energy consumption.