Geometrical Microstructure Research Articles

Experimental and numerical characterization of E-glass/epoxy plain woven fabric composites containing void defects

The presence of voids in woven fabric composite (WFC) significantly affects the mechanical and thermomechanical properties. Void defects are introduced during the resin infiltration process due to various controlling parameters involved in the curing process, i.e., pressure, temperature, resin flow etc. In this study, the mechanical constants of 2D woven fabric composite were experimentally determined. A finite element (FE) based representative volume element (RVE) model has been validated against these experimental results. A multiscale-based FE model has been developed, and periodic boundary conditions are applied to the RVE model to evaluate the homogenized thermomechanical properties of WFC containing void defects. Present numerical model incorporates the geometrical microstructures of the post-cured woven composite and void contents obtained from X-ray microtomography. The influence of void defect and resin infiltration have been incorporated to evaluate the thermomechanical properties of plain WFC. A parametric study has been carried out with respect to the variation of void defects on thermoelastic properties of E-glass/epoxy plain WFC. The variation of void defects has been considered in micro and mesoscale models. Monte Carlo simulations further quantified the effects of void content on the thermomechanical constants of WFC. The presence of voids has been observed to have significant influences on the thermomechanical constants of yarn and woven fabric composites.

Recent Progress on 3D Printing of Lightweight Metal Thin-Walled Structures.

Metal thin-walled structures are ubiquitous in various industrial applications and fabricating them through additive manufacturing (AM) enables intricate thin-wall geometries with no assembly required. However, additively manufactured metal thin walls suffer from increased heat accumulation and reduced structural stability, making it difficult to print geometrically accurate thin walls with minimal distortion and defects. Thin-walled structures also experience different thermal histories and solidification conditions compared to bulk structures, leading to drastic differences in the microstructure and mechanical properties. In this review article, the AM processing of metal thin-walled structures will be introduced. An in-depth discussion on the design strategies of additively manufactured metal thin walls will be presented regarding the restrictions imposed by the AM technology, the integration of thin walls in lightweight structures, and novel design ideation through topology optimization. The effects that the thin wall design has on the geometrical accuracy, microstructure, and mechanical properties will then be elucidated. The utilization of AM for fabricating metal thin walls across various industries will also be summarized. Finally, this review article will close on some perspectives and future work on the AM of metal thin-walled structures.

Amorphous/crystalline Ni-Fe based electrodes with rich oxygen vacancies enable highly active oxygen evolution in seawater electrolysis

To realize large-scale production of hydrogen through seawater electrolysis, it is highly crucial to engineer high-activity and robustly stable catalytic materials for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Here, a facile etching growth strategy based on Ni foam (NF) is employed to fabricate an amorphous/crystalline Ni-Fe based electrode with rich oxygen vacancies as a promising OER electrocatalyst (a/c-NiFeOxHy@NF). Of note, the introduction of Fe induces the generation of plentiful Ni(Fe)OOH species, which can contribute to the remarkable OER behavior. Profiting from the favorable geometric microstructure of ultrathin nanosheets coupled with 3D open-pore architecture and regulated electronic state by increased oxygen vacancies and abundant crystalline-amorphous boundaries, the resulting a/c-NiFeOxHy@NF displays prominent electrocatalytic OER activity in pure alkaline solution and seawater, achieving impressive overpotentials of only 219 and 233 mV to reach 100 mA cm−2, respectively. More significantly, the electrode can keep stable operation without obvious attenuation for over 1200 h at 100 mA cm−2, demonstrating its exceptional corrosion resistance. Such robustness of this electrode surpasses those of almost all reported OER electrocatalysts. Furthermore, in a self-assembled seawater electrolyzer with a/c-NiFeOxHy@NF as the anode and l-RuP@NF as the cathode, a large current density of 500 mA cm−2 is easily achieved at the voltage of 1.795 V at 65 °C. The work offers a novel paradigm for constructing low-cost, high-efficiency, and ultra-stable OER catalysts, which shows huge promise for industrial seawater electrolysis applications.

Study on the Influence of Laser Power on the Heat–Flow Multi-Field Coupling of Laser Cladding Incoloy 926 on Stainless Steel Surface

In order to explore the influence of laser power on the evolution of molten pool and convective heat transfer of laser cladding Incoloy 926 on stainless steel surface, a three-dimensional thermal fluid multi-field coupled laser cladding numerical model was established in this paper. The variation of latent heat during solid-liquid phase transformation was treated by apparent heat capacity method. The change in the gas–liquid interface was tracked using the mesh growth method in real time. The instantaneous evolution of temperature field and velocity flow field of laser cladding Incoloy 926 on a stainless steel surface under different laser power was discussed. The solidification characteristic parameters of the cladding layer were calculated based on the temperature-time variation curves at different nodes. The mechanism of the impact of laser power on the microstructure of the cladding layer was revealed. The experiment of laser cladding Incoloy 926 on 316L surface was carried out under different laser power. Combined with the numerical simulation results, the effects of laser power on the geometrical morphology, microstructure and element distribution of the cladding layer were compared and analyzed. The results show that with the increase in laser power, the peak temperature and flow velocity of the molten pool surface both increase significantly. The thermal influence of the molten pool center on the edge is enhanced. The temperature gradient, solidification rate, and cooling rate increased gradually. The microstructure parameters (G/R) are relatively small when the laser power is 1000 W. In the experimental range, the dilution rate and wetting angle of the cladding layer both increase with the increase in laser power. When the laser power is 1000 W, the alloying elements of the cladding layer are more evenly distributed and the microstructure is finer. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulation results.

Multi-view neural 3D reconstruction of micro- and nanostructures with atomic force microscopy

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a widely employed tool for micro- and nanoscale topographic imaging. However, conventional AFM scanning struggles to reconstruct complex 3D micro- and nanostructures precisely due to limitations such as incomplete sample topography capturing and tip-sample convolution artifacts. Here, we propose a multi-view neural-network-based framework with AFM, named MVN-AFM, which accurately reconstructs surface models of intricate micro- and nanostructures. Unlike previous 3D-AFM approaches, MVN-AFM does not depend on any specially shaped probes or costly modifications to the AFM system. To achieve this, MVN-AFM employs an iterative method to align multi-view data and eliminate AFM artifacts simultaneously. Furthermore, we apply the neural implicit surface reconstruction technique in nanotechnology and achieve improved results. Additional extensive experiments show that MVN-AFM effectively eliminates artifacts present in raw AFM images and reconstructs various micro- and nanostructures, including complex geometrical microstructures printed via two-photon lithography and nanoparticles such as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanospheres and zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) nanocrystals. This work presents a cost-effective tool for micro- and nanoscale 3D analysis.

Enhancing of Surface Quality of FDM Moulded Materials through Hybrid Techniques.

With the rapid advancement of 3D-printing technology, additive manufacturing using FDM extrusion has emerged as a prominent method in manufacturing. However, it encounters certain limitations, notably in surface quality and dimensional accuracy. Addressing issues related to stability and surface roughness necessitates the integration of 3D-printing technology with traditional machining, a strategy known as the hybrid technique. This paper presents a study of the surface geometric parameters and microstructure of plastic parts produced by FDM. Sleeve-shaped samples were 3D-printed from polyethylene terephthalate glycol material using variable layer heights of 0.1 mm and 0.2 mm and then subjected to the turning process with PVD-coated DCMT11T304 turning inserts using variable cutting parameters. The cutting depth was constant at 0.82 mm. Surface roughness values were correlated with the cutting tool feed rate and the printing layer height applied. The selected specimen's microstructure was studied with a Zeiss EVO MA 15 scanning electron microscope. The roundness was measured with a Keyence VR-6200 3D optical profilometer. The research results confirmed that the additional application of turning, combined with a reduction in the feed rate (0.0506 mm/rev) and the height of the printed layer (0.1 mm), reduced the surface roughness of the sleeve (Ra = 1.94 μm) and increased its geometric accuracy.

(Digital Presentation) Experimental Techniques for Parameterization of a Commercial 21700 Lithium-Ion Cell for Multiscale Battery Models

Lithium-ion batteries have gained huge attention in the past few decades. Since its commercialization, a steady improvement in cost, and performance over the last 25 years has surfaced many new applications such as EV, HEV, etc., and growing popularity for military and aerospace applications [1, 2]. However, developing a safer, longer life, high energy, power-dense, and cheaper Lithium-ion battery requires a concerted research effort from various disciplines. For a long time, research was focused on developing the chemistry, but in the recent past, the improvement in the battery performance has been realized by reengineering the manufacturing processes and model innovation that help to understand the battery performance during the charging-discharging process. Battery models employed to optimize and predict battery performance are useful tools to design and manage batteries to ensure safe and efficient utilization. To understand the underlying physical, chemical, and electrochemical properties and precisely capture the cell dynamics in EVs application, the model should be based on fundamental governing equations of diffusion and migration processes as well as the kinetics of species intercalation.The physicochemical model requires precisely evaluated model parameters for the materials under consideration. Accurately measured kinetics and transport parameters will hold the key to deriving reliable conclusions about the internal state of a Lithium-ion battery. Parameter’s quantification is a challenging and time-consuming process that requires a range of characterization and analytical methods as shown in Figure. The battery modelling community usually borrowed the parameters list from the literature, with their origins not essentially being traced [3]. In literature, parameterizations have been reported for both high-energy and high-power cells for a physicochemical model [4-7]. This work employed several characterization techniques to parametrize a commercial Lithium-ion cell model. Also, various analytical methods were employed to determine the geometrical, chemical, and electrode microstructure as suggested in Figure. To determine the thermodynamic, kinetics, and transport properties of the extracted electrode materials different electrochemical tests, e.g., galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), constant current constant voltage (CC-CV) charge and constant current (CC) discharge were employed. The parameter’s accuracy would be investigated by validating the mathematical modelling simulation results with the experimental charge-discharge curves at different currents of the commercial 21700 cell at room temperature.

The research on the geometrical characteristics and microstructure of the cladding track of DZ125L Nickel-based alloy deposited by laser metal direct deposition

The research on the geometrical characteristics and microstructure of the cladding track of DZ125L Nickel-based alloy deposited by laser metal direct deposition

The mechanism of in-homogeneous mass transfer process of separators in lithium-ion batteries.

The liquid-phase mass transport is the key factor affecting battery stability. The influencing mechanism of liquid-phase mass transport in the separators is still not clear, the internal environment being a complex multi-field during the service life of lithium-ion batteries. The liquid-phase mass transport in the separators is related to the microstructure of the separator and the physicochemical properties of electrolytes. Here, in-situ local electrochemical impedance spectra were developed to investigate local inhomogeneities in the mass transfer process of lithium-ion batteries. The geometric microstructure of the separator affects the mass transfer process, with a reduction in porosity leading to increased overpotentials. There is a competitive relationship among porosity, tortuosity, and membrane thickness in the geometric parameters of the separator, resulting in a peak of polarization. The resistance of the liquid-phase mass transfer process is positively correlated with the viscosity of the electrolyte, making ion migration difficult due to high viscosity. Polarization is closely related to the electrochemical performance, so a phase diagram of battery performance and inhomogeneous mass transfer was developed to guide the design of the battery. This study provides a guiding basis for the development of high stability lithium-ion batteries.

Investigation on mechanism in fabricating truncated cone with tooth features of titanium alloy via flexible free incremental forming at room temperature

It has been a challenge to efficiently make titanium alloy thin-walled components by sheet metal forming. Incremental sheet forming (ISF) method provides a promising way to increase the formability of low-ductility metallic sheets, but making titanium alloy sheet panels still needs heating by electricity or laser. The present work investigates the deformation mechanism in fabricating truncated cones of titanium alloy with tooth features realized by flexible free incremental sheet forming (FFISF) at room temperature. Experimental investigations on auxiliary sheets and tool path selections, analytical modeling, finite element simulation, and microstructure characterization have been conducted to evaluate the deformation mechanism in terms of the geometric deviation, thickness distribution and microstructure evolution of TA2 and TC4. Results indicate that the I-O loading path coupled with an optimized auxiliary sheets selection can ensure the successful fabrication of designed panel without defects. An analytical model is proposed to predict the free edge dependent law of thickness distribution in FFISF, indicating the material thinning is positively correlated with the distance from the free edge, while the thinning rate is inversely proportional to the yield strength. A more uniform thickness of TC4 panel is obtained compared with TA2. Finally, the improved formability of titanium alloys by FFISF can be attributed to grain subdivision, decreasing of intragranular deformation, and optimization of dislocation movement.

Experimental study and neural network model based prediction of layer thickness influence on LPBF IN625 single track geometry

The performance of interacting metal surfaces having sliding motion is enhanced by fabricating microfeatures on-top of the surfaces. Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is used to fabricate the microfeatures of IN625 on-top of a flat surface. In LPBF, geometrical characteristics of microfeatures are based on the energy supplied and the volume of material melted (layer thickness) at that instant of time. There is very few research reported in open literature on the effect of layer thickness on microfeatures geometry during LPBF. In this work, a series of single tracks is fabricated with different combinations of laser power and scanning speed for 75 μm, 100 μm, and 125 μm layer thickness and its effect on single track geometrical characteristics and microstructure was evaluated. It has been found that laser power and scanning speed have a significant influence on the track geometry irrespective of layer thickness. The minimum linear energy density of 2.5 J/mm is considered to fabricate the continuous track formation for investigated layer thickness. From statistical analysis, it is observed that the laser power and scanning speed shows higher contribution on track width and remelting depth, respectively. Whereas, layer thickness shows a higher influence on track height and contact angle of single track as compared to laser power and scanning speed. In 125 μm layer thickness, the volume of material melting is increased which encourages the gravity effect to deform the melt pool and produces larger track width compare to 100 μm layer thickness. Further, the cell spacing is gradually increased with layer thickness resulting increase in the solidification period. The shape controllability of the single track is significantly increased with layer thickness, but as keeps on increasing layer thickness due to the larger volume of molten metal, the melt pool losses ability to maintain convex shapes. An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model is developed to understand the relationship between the LPBF process parameters and single track geometrical characteristics to predict the responses for a wide range of process parameters. The multiple response neural network model shows excellent agreement with experimental results with R2 value greater than 0.95.

Macroscopic Characteristic and Properties of Inconel 625 Cladding Layers on a Cylinder Liner Based on Laser Cladding Assisted by a Steady-State Magnetic Field

Cylinder liners, which are an vital part of marine diesel engines, are prone to damage owing to the pool working conditions of reciprocating friction and electrochemical corrosion. As a burgeoning manufacturing technology, laser cladding has a prospective application on repairing and performance enhancement of cylinder liners. The performance of cladding layers on cylinder liners reported by current studies is not satisfactory. The laser cladding, assisted by the steady state magnetic field on the cylinder liner, is an effectual method to cover the shortage. However, there are few studies about that. In this study, single-track Inconel 625 cladding layers were carried out on a cylinder liner, assisted by a steady-state magnetic field. The effects of the magnetic field intensity and direction on the geometrical characteristics (width, height, penetration, and dilution ratio), microstructure, phase composition, microhardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance were investigated. According to the results obtained, adding a magnetic field with a small magnetic field intensity can significantly enhance the flatness, hardness, friction, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance of the cladding layer. Applying a magnetic field in the horizontal direction was conducive to improving the corrosion resistance of the sample. With the application of a vertical magnetic field, the microhardness increased, and wear resistance, as well as the flatness of the cladding layer, were improved.

Geometric Size Prediction and Microstructure Evolution of Laser-Cladded AlSiTiNi-WC Coating

Geometric Size Prediction and Microstructure Evolution of Laser-Cladded AlSiTiNi-WC Coating

Tuning heterogeneous geometric microstructure of Cu-based materials via powder metallurgy for improving high synergistic strengthening and electrical conductivity

Designing heterogeneous structures (HS) is recognized as a promising method to achieve high performance for Cu-based materials. However, how to tune and control stably still remains challenging. In this work, a reproducible method based on powder metallurgy and heat treatment is proposed for designing controllable HS. Herein, spatial distribution of coarse and fine grains can be controlled via addition of different volume fraction of Cu powder. The microstructure evolution of the resultant HSed material was characterized in detail by utilizing electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) combined with a transmission electron microscope (TEM). An optimal heterogeneous geometric microstructure consisting of individual isolated micron-sized grain completely surrounded and constrained by the hard ultrafine-grained Cu-Cr0.67 matrix is discovered, which produced an excellent combination of high yield strength (531.4 ± 10.3 MPa), uniform elongation (～22.1%)，and conductivity (～90.4% IACS) (International Annealed Copper Standard). The well-dispersed and high-density soft/hard zone interfaces in the resultant HS cause geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) piling ups, which produce extra strain hardening to enhance the strength and ductility. This reproducible method provides a feasible strategy to optimize the mechanical properties of metals via tailoring HS.

Investigation on Cracking Cause of Drill Pipe Joint Used in an Ultra Deep Well

The drill pipe joint cracked during service, resulting in joint failure. The geometric dimensions of thread, chemical composition and microstructure of the drill pipe joint were tested. The geometric dimensions, chemical composition and microstructure were found to comply with the standard requirements. The whole macroscopic fracture didn’t show obvious corrosion product. The tensile properties, Charpy impact properties, and Brinell hardness met the standard requirements. Microstructure of fracture was analyzed, which showed a typical erosion micromorphology with parallel arranged fatigue strips. Through simulation analysis, it was found that the location of cracking was the stress concentration area. The failure mechanism of the drill pipe joint was revealed. The stress concentration led to fatigue cracking at the drill pipe joint. After the fatigue crack penetrated through the wall thickness, the drilling fluid leaked from the inner wall to the outer wall. The flow rate of the leaking drilling fluid is significantly increased. And it is sprayingly leaked, which further leads to fan-shaped erosion damage of the cracked surface from the inner wall to the outer wall.

A Novel, Efficient Approach to Simulate the 3D Resolved Spatial and Temporal Development of Space-Charge Layers in Solid Electrolytes

The role of space-charge layers (SCLs) on the overall battery performance of solid-state batteries is heavily discussed in the scientific community ranging from dominant to negligible [1]. Reasons for this are that direct measurements of SCLs in experiments are difficult and so far, simulation models that can efficiently resolve the transient development of the shape of SCLs while being thermodynamically consistent are missing. The different length scales of SCLs on the one hand and of the microstructure of a battery cell on the other hand make a spatial discretization of realistic microstructures with resolved SCLs infeasible. To date, this was circumvented by using phenomenological models that do not require a spatial discretization of the SCL, by applying thermodynamically consistent models to simplified one-dimensional geometries, or by performing simulations on the sub-continuum scale, e.g. DFT simulations or kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. As all models, the mentioned models have limitations. In this case, they are for example either thermodynamically not consistent or limited to small, not representative geometries.In this work [2], we propose a model that enables the prediction of the spatial and temporal development of SCLs within geometrically resolved microstructures while being thermodynamically consistent [3]. We exploit that effects in SCLs are predominantly one-dimensional. Furthermore, it can be shown, that SCLs develop orthogonal to the interface between the solid electrolyte and the electrode in the steady state. This allows to project the equations in the regions of the solid electrolyte where SCLs are expected in one dimension. In the remaining region of the solid electrolyte, the equations remain three-dimensional. A consistent coupling strategy between the three-dimensional and the one-dimensional region is derived and is irrevocably connected to the fulfilment of conservation properties. This modelling approach allows to drastically reduce the size of the numerical discretization required to resolve SCLs in space, as a fine discretization is only required in one direction embedded into a coarse three-dimensional discretization which represents the geometric microstructure. Thus, the required computational effort significantly reduces.The continuous equations are discretized in space using the finite element method. The obtained nonlinear system of equations is solved with the Newton-Raphson scheme using one monolithic system, i.e. the concurrent solution of the differently discretized regions to ensure robustness and efficiency of the solver. Tailoring an iterative solver by utilizing physical information of the system (similar to [4]), enables to apply the model to realistic microstructures with more than 10 million unknowns.With the proposed approach it is possible for the first time to quantify the influence of realistic microstructures on the transient and spatial formation process of SCLs. This work is the first to show that the formation process of SCLs at the interface between solid electrolyte and electrode is strongly influenced by the geometry of the microstructure (see Fig. 1): The dominating trend is a propagation of the SCL through the composite electrode, i.e. from the separator side to the current collector side of each electrode. Simultaneously, an inhomogeneity in the plane being orthogonal to the dominant direction is observed. This can be attributed to different conduction paths within this two-dimensional manifold due to the irregularity of the investigated microstructures and their geometric complexity. Furthermore, characteristic points in the microstructure can be identified where more charge is stored in the SCL during the transient development compared to the steady state. Again, this is attributed to the complex microstructures in interplay with the impedance of the bulk electrolyte and of the SCL. For these observations a modelling approach that resolves SCLs in realistic microstructures is mandatory.

The single effect of microstructure, residual strain and geometric structure on the stress corrosion cracking behavior of scratched alloy 690TT

Scratched area on alloy 690TT were treated by relief annealing (RA) and solution annealing plus thermal treatment (SATT), respectively, and then detailed characterization and immersion tests in simulated pressurized water reactor environment were carried out. RA reduces residual strain but not changes microstructure stratification, which causes stress corrosion cracking (SCC). SATT eliminates both strain and microstructure stratification, preventing SCC. Meanwhile, the independent effects of geometric structure, strain and microstructure on SCC behavior were investigated. Specifically, geometric structure is necessary but not sufficient for crack initiation. While the residual strain mainly enhances propagation, and the microstructure promotes both initiation and propagation.

Processability of High-Speed Steel by Coaxial Laser Wire Deposition Technology for Additive Remanufacturing of Cutting Tool

The recently introduced Coaxial Laser Wire Deposition technology can become a new promising method for remanufacturing high-complexity and expensive cutting tools (e.g., flat broach), which will have a significant impact on their service life. In addition, it is an innovative approach to tool management. An analysis of the feasibility of processing cobalt-added HSS powder steels was carried out for single clads and multilayer structures. The effect of process parameters (laser, beam power, travel speed, wire feed rate) on geometric properties, hardness and microstructure was discussed. In order to avoid cracking during multilayer deposition, an additional preheating to 320 °C was applied. Two sets of process parameters with high and low heat input were obtained. Both sets lead to crack-free structures that fulfill geometric (≥2.5 mm in height) and hardness (≥700 HV) requirements.

Enhanced comprehensive properties of directed energy deposited Inconel 718 by a novel integrated deposition strategy

Nickel-based superalloys fabricated by wire-arc directed energy deposition, also known as wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), usually exhibit inherent columnar grain structure, micro-segregation, and rough surface. A novel deposition strategy, integrating an oscillating arc and forced interlayer cooling, was developed in WAAM of Inconel (IN) 718 components. The influences of deposition modes on geometrical characteristics, defects, microstructure, and mechanical properties were systematically evaluated. The results showed that the oscillation mode, compared to the standard parallel mode, can effectively promote the molten pool's spread and wettability, as well as prevent overflow, finally resulting in high geometric accuracy. In addition, the voids-like defects were reduced by 77.78%, while most common crack defects were not observed. Meanwhile, the forced interlayer cooling process further increased the cooling rate, leading to the reduction of the element segregation as well as the proportion of long-chain-like Laves phases. After a short-process modified heat treatment, the anisotropic mechanical behaviors of the as-deposited samples were almost eliminated. Compared with the parallel mode samples, the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the oscillation path samples increased by 5.75% and 9.25%, respectively, while the elongation increased significantly by 51.20%. This signifies that their strength and ductility were simultaneously improved. The strengthening mechanisms were further analyzed based on the distribution of the strengthening phases, as well as the residual Laves phases and porosity.

Direct Energy Depositions of a 17-4 PH Stainless Steel: Geometrical and Microstructural Characterizations

Direct energy deposition (DED) is a widely accepted additive manufacturing process and a possible alternative to the subtractive manufacturing processes due to its high flexibility in fabricating new 3D parts. DED enables the manufacture of complex parts without using costly and time-consuming conventional processes, even though building parameters need to be accurately determined. In the present investigation, the effect of different process parameters on geometrical features, quality, microstructure, and microhardness of 17-4 PH stainless steel single tracks deposited onto an AISI 316L stainless steel substrate was investigated. Four sets of process parameters, considering different values of laser power, scanning speed, and powder feed rate, were selected in the manufacturing strategy, and specimens drawn from each single-track deposition were analyzed by stereomicroscopy, optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the optimized geometrical features of the track, together with the best microstructural and hardness properties, were obtained with the highest values of the laser energy input.