Influence of Laser Beam Power on Microstructure and Microhardness of Fe/ZrC Coatings Produced on Steel Using Laser Processing-Preliminary Study on the Single Laser Tracks.

Dariusz Bartkowski

doi:10.3390/ma15030758

Abstract

This paper presents preliminary tests of the parameter analysis of the Fe/ZrC coatings production process and the obtained properties. The effects of laser beam power on the obtained microstructure, chemical composition and microhardness were investigated. The tests consisted of the production of composite coatings by laser processing of initial coatings made in the form of a paste on a steel substrate. During the tests, a diode laser with a rated power of 3 kW was used. The laser processing process was carried out using a constant scanning speed laser beam of 3 m/min and four different powers of the laser beam: 500 W, 700 W, 900 W, 1100 W. It was found that it is possible to create composite coatings on a steel surface, where the matrix is made of iron-based alloy and the reinforcing phase is ZrC carbide. It was also found that reinforcing phase content decreased as laser beam power increased. A similar relationship was found for microhardness. As laser beam power increases, the microhardness of the iron-based matrix decreases, finally reaching a value lower than the heat-affected zone. It was found that the amount of hard carbide phases in the iron-based matrix affects the total hardness of the coatings. Presented study concern Fe/ZrC coatings that have not previously been produced on steel by laser processing of precoating, which may be a new contribution in the field of metal surface engineering.

Highlights

Academic Editor: Andrea Di SchinoOver the last dozen or so years, manufacturing techniques that use a laser beam as a source of energy have developed significantly [1,2,3,4,5]
EDSproduced method itself the analyzed in such a way the sum that of were on divides pure iron, but on elements steel containing otherthat elements were their share amounts to this study proved that it is possible to produce analyzed, and the EDS method itself divides the analyzed elements in such a way tha composite coatings where an iron alloy is a matrix for a zirconium carbide phase
This study proved that it is possib produce composite coatings where an iron alloy is a matrix for a zirconium carbide ph a linear EDS analysis for Fe/ZrC coatings was performed

Summary

Introduction

Academic Editor: Andrea Di SchinoOver the last dozen or so years, manufacturing techniques that use a laser beam as a source of energy have developed significantly [1,2,3,4,5]. The use of the laser beam for the production of coatings on ferrous (steel, cast iron) [6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14] and non-ferrous alloys (mainly nickel and cobalt alloys) [15,16,17,18] is interesting. Manufacturers of mining or agricultural tools produce their products in a new, improved form, increasing the durability of tool leading edge with coatings containing hard carbides, usually tungsten carbides. This area is dealt with by research teams that check the durability of such tools in laboratory and operating conditions [19,20,21]. The most frequently used reinforcing phases include tungsten carbide WC and W2 C [7,8,10,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30], silicon carbide SiC [31,32], boron carbide B4 C [2,33,34]

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Conclusion