Influence of nano CeO₂ particles and surface roughness on wear behavior and heat maps of WC composite coating

The present article investigates the influence of different composition of nano CeO₂ particles from 5.0 wt% to 20.0 wt% in the WC wear-resistant coating to enhance the sliding wear life on Al6082 T6 substrate. The influence of surface roughness of the coating on the specific wear rate and heat distribution on the worn surface was studied using novel Arduino thermal sensor-based system. The synergistic mechanism by which WC and secondary nano-CeO₂ particles enhance surface-functionalization of the coating were systematically explored. Microstructural characterization, specific sliding wear evaluation, and coefficient of friction of WC-nano CeO₂ particle coatings were conducted. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy was used to study surface morphology and elemental composition analysis. The results validates that the presence of secondary phase nano CeO₂ particles in the WC matrix significantly improves the coatings grain structure resulting in enhanced specific wear rate. However, the optimal performance is achieved at a CeO₂ composition of 15.0 wt% compared to rest of the coating compositions. The novel approach of using Arduino uno board integrated with AGM8833 IR camera is used to analyse the wear track by heat maps. This method of determining heat maps provides a new window to analyse the wear nature and corresponding debris formation.