Abstract:Cu/W composite coatings with different tungsten (W) contents were prepared on pure copper (Cu) substrate using cold spraying technology. The influence of W content on the deposition characteristics and mechanical properties of the coatings was systematically studied. The microstructure, phase composition, microhardness, and friction and wear properties of the coating were characterized and analyzed using field emission electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), microhardness tester, and wear testing machine. The results showed that there was no oxidation and phase transition phenomenon in the cold sprayed composite coatings. The porosity of the coating with 10wt.%W content reached a minimum of 2.42%, and gradually increased with the increase of W content. The microhardness increases with the increase of W content, reaching a maximum value of 62.9HV0.2 in the composite coating with 30wt.%W content. Compared with pure Cu coatings, Cu/W composite coatings with 20wt.%W content showed an excellent friction coefficient and wear rate. This is attribute to that the addition of hard W particles has the role of compaction and second phase strengthening, which reduces the porosity of the coating and increases the microhardness. However, when the content of W particles increased, the soft phase Cu cannot effectively wrap the excess W particles, resulting in the spalling of W particles during the wear process, which induced the increase of friction coefficient and wear rate.