Abstract
Ductile iron has unique mechanical property and has been widely used in many industrial applications, e.g., engine cylinder covers, crank axles, and machine tool beds and cams. The welding performance of ductile iron is normally influenced by graphite particles in the surface of ductile iron, which needs to be removed before welding. In this article, laser cleaning technique was developed to remove graphite particles implanted in the surface of ductile iron. Laser cleaning parameters and the damage threshold value of the substrate were investigated by using a pulsed Nd: YAG laser. The optimized laser cleaning parameters were obtained to achieve high-quality cleaning effect and avoid the formation of the oxide layer. Surface morphologies and elemental compositions of specimens before and after laser cleaning were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Results indicated that graphite particles implanted in the surface of ductile iron were removed completely and efficiently by using the pulsed laser without the protection of inert gas atmosphere, and surface oxidation was not observed during the laser cleaning process.
Highlights
Ductile cast iron is used extensively in different industrial fields for the manufacturing of engine cylinder covers, crank axles, machine tool beds and cams, and so on
Different from the contaminants adhered to the surface of substrate, for ductile iron, graphite particles are embedded in the ferrite matrix, and it is technically more difficult to be removed. e cleaning process and laser parameters are different from those for cleaning of the dusts, rubber particles, and paints from the substrate
A novel and environmental friendly method is developed to remove graphite particles embedded in the surface of ductile iron to improve its welding performance
Summary
Ductile cast iron is used extensively in different industrial fields for the manufacturing of engine cylinder covers, crank axles, machine tool beds and cams, and so on. Sand blasting [6] is an efficient and effective technique for the cleaning of the large surface area. It is time and energy consuming for the cleaning of small workparts of ductile iron. Inspired by the effectiveness of the laser cleaning technique for the removal of surface contaminants, in this work, the infrared high-repetition nanosecond pulsed laser was employed to remove graphite particles implanted in the surface of ductile iron. Results indicated that laser cleaning is an effective and environmentally friendly technique for the removal of graphite particles, which will not lead to degradation of essential performance of the ferrite matrix
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