Phase selection during laser surface melting of martensitic stainless tool steels

Abstract

Laser surface melting (LSM) of tool steels allows for the complete dissolution of large brittle carbides, leading to homogeneous and extremely fine microstructures. Due to its characteristics, LSM allows improvement of the performance of tool steels by increasing their resistance to erosive and abrasive wear. Nevertheless, when DIN X42Cr13 and DIN X100Cr18 martensitic stainless steels are submitted to LSM, considerable amounts of austenite and {delta}-ferrite formed during the first stage of solidification can be retained in metastable condition at room temperature by mechanisms which are not yet fully understood. The purpose of the present work is to establish the influence of solidification conditions on the primary solidification mode of these two martensitic stainless tool steels, aimed to optimize the LSM operating conditions. Accordingly, samples of DIN X40Cr13 and DIN X100Cr18 were submitted to LSM with a wide range of solidification speeds. The microstructures were analyzed in order to identify the primary solidification mode. The experimental results were compared with theoretical predictions, based on comparison of the dendrite tip temperatures of austenite and {delta}-ferrite as function of the solidification speed.