Laser transformation hardening of tempered 4340 steel

Abstract

A CO2 laser with a fixed laser power of 1.8 KW was employed to harden the surface of some AISI 4340 steel specimens, with a scan rate from 5 to 10 mm/s. The influence of scan rates and tempering treatments of the alloy on the hardness profile and microstructure of the laserhardened zone was analyzed. Microstructures in the hardened zone consisted of mainly lath and twinned martensites. However, depending on the scan rate, autotempered martensite has also been found. In the transition zone of laser-treated specimens, partially dissolved carbides with austenite envelopes and/or austenite islands in a matrix of martensite were observed. The time required for complete carbide dissolution into austenite during laser treatment depended on the tempering conditions. A lower tempering temperature of the alloy produced a deeper hardened zone and a narrower transition zone in the hardness profile. A simple mathematical estimation of the hardness profile, based on the carbon diffusion distance in austenite, was performed. The calculated results are in reasonably good agreement with the measured hardness profiles and the microstructural observations in the laser transformation hardening process.