Abstract:In order to improve the strength and wear resistance of the copper, ZrB2-SiC/Cu composite coating was prepared on the surface of a copper substrate by laser cladding with the raw materials of Zr, Si, Ni-B4C, Cu composite powders. The surface morphology, microstructure, phase composition and interface combination of the composite coating were analyzed by OM, XRD, SEM and TEM, And the hardness and wear resistance of coatings with different reinforcement phase content were tested. The results showed that the micron-sized needle-like ZrB2 and nano-sized granular SiC were successfully synthesized in the copper matrix by the designed in-situ synthesis reaction. A clean and impurity-free interface formed between the reinforcements and the copper matrix. Mechanical properties of the composite coating were improved by two reinforcements with different dimensions and sizes through a variety of strengthening mechanisms. The size of the reinforcement could be controlled by adjusting the laser process parameters, with the content of the reinforcements increased, the average hardness and wear resistance of the composite coating gradually increased. The average hardness of the composite coating with the reinforcing phase content of 30 wt% was 309 HV0.2, which was about 5.6 times that of pure copper. The current-carrying wear rate of the 30 wt% composite coating was about 80% lower than that of the 10 wt% coating. The higher content of the composite coating showed excellent current-carrying wear resistance.