Surface Substructure and Properties of ZrB2p/6061Al Composite Treated by Laser Surface Melting under Extreme Cooling Conditions

Abstract

Abstract Particulate reinforcement composite ZrB2p/6061Al was fabricated from Al-K2ZrF6-KBF4 by a direct melt reaction. Laser surface melting was used to improve the surface strength of the in situ ZrB2p/6061Al composite, which includes a series of laser-melted composites with different laser power and cooling conditions processed by a 2-kW yttrium aluminum garnet laser generator. The surface substructure of these laser-treated specimens was investigated by light optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy. The penetration depth of the molten pool increases with increases in power density, and decreases with increases in the degree of undercooling. The Vickers hardness of the laser-melted composites reached 60–75.2 HV in liquid nitrogen and 56–64.0 HV in air, and increased by 50.4 % and 28 %. Grain refinement with decreased cellular spacing is important in strength performance. Because of a thermocapillary flow vortex and α-Al phase precipitation, nano-ZrB2 particles were distributed along the cellular dendrite boundary as observed by scanning electron microscopy. This was considered to be a key factor responsible for the improved mechanical composite properties. When cooling under liquid nitrogen, the thermal mismatch stress between particles and the matrix generates a high dislocation density. The dislocation grows along the interface between the matrix and particles and provides the laser-melted composites with additional strength.