Morphologies,microstructures, and mechanical properties of samples produced using laser metal deposition with 316 L stainless steel wire

Laser metal deposition (LMD) with a filler has been demonstrated to be an effective method for additive manufacturing because of its high material deposition efficiency, improved surface quality, reduced material wastage, and cleaner process environment without metal dust pollution. In this study, single beads and samples with ten layers were successfully deposited on a 316 L stainless steel surface under optimized conditions using a 4000 W continuous wave fibre laser and an arc welding machine. The results showed that satisfactory layered samples with a large deposition height and smooth side surface could be achieved under appropriate parameters. The uniform structures had fine cellular and network austenite grains with good metallurgical bonding between layers, showing an austenite solidification mode. Precipitated ferrite at the grain boundaries showed a subgrain structure with fine uniform grain size. A higher microhardness (205–226 HV) was detected in the middle of the deposition area, while the tensile strength of the 50 layer sample reached 669 MPa. In addition, ductile fracturing was proven by the emergence of obvious dimples at the fracture surface.     

Influence of laser remelting on the microstructure and phases constitution of plasma sprayed hydroxyapatite coatings

In this paper, the plasma sprayed coatings were treated by laser remelting. The morphologies, elements analysis and phases of both sprayed and remelted coatings were studied by means of electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and so on. The results show that the structure of the sprayed coatings is coarse, the amorphization of HA is tremendous, and the bonding state between the coating and the substrate is mechanical combination. After the sprayed coatings were treated by laser remelting in a proper conditions, the properties of the coatings are improved greatly. The microstructure of remelted coatings is columnar and cellular dendritic crystal which is homogeneous and compact, and the coating consists of HA, -TCP and CaO phases, the Ca/P ratio of transition layer is close to 1.67, but the Ca/P ratio of surface layer is higher than that of HA because of the loss of P.     

Effect of substrate temperature and oxygen partial pressure on microstructure and optical properties of pulsed laser deposited yttrium oxide thin films

Yttrium oxide thin films were deposited on Si (1 1 1) and quartz substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique at different substrate temperature and oxygen partial pressure. XRD analysis shows that crystallite size of the yttrium oxide thin films increases as the substrate temperature increases from 300 to 873 K. However the films deposited at constant substrate temperature with variable oxygen partial pressure show opposite effect on the crystallite size. Band gap energies determined from UV-visible spectroscopy indicated higher values than that of the reported bulk value.     

Study on the solidification microstructure in AZ91D Mg alloy after laser surface melting

Laser surface melting (LSM) is known to enhance the wear and corrosion resistance of Mg alloys, but its effect on microstructural evolution of Mg alloys is not well understood. An effort has been made to study the effect of rapid solidification following LSM on the microstructural evolution of AZ91D Mg alloy. The results of X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy indicated that the solidification microstructure in the laser-melted zone was mainly cellular/dendrite structure of primarily α-Mg phase and continuous network of β-Mg₁₇Al₁₂ phase. Numerical prediction of the laser-melted zone suggested that cooling rates increased strongly from the bottom to the top surface in the irradiated regions. An attempt has been made to correlate dendrite cell sizes of the solidification microstructure with the cooling rates in the laser-treated AZ91D Mg alloy.     

Research on the processing experiments of laser metal deposition shaping

Laser additive direct deposition of metals is a new rapid manufacturing technology, which combines with computer-aided design (CAD), laser cladding and rapid prototyping. The advanced technology can build fully dense metal components directly from CAD files with neither mould nor tool. Based on the theory of this technology, a promising rapid manufacturing system called “Laser Metal Deposition Shaping (LMDS)” has been constructed and developed successfully by Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang Institute of Automation. Through the LMDS system, comprehensive experiments are carried out with nickel-based superalloy to systematically investigate the influences of the processing parameters on forming characteristics. By adjusting to the optimal processing parameters, fully dense and near-net-shaped metallic parts can be directly obtained through melting coaxially fed powder with a laser. Moreover, the microstructure and mechanical properties of as-formed samples are tested and analyzed synthetically. As a result, significant processing flexibility with the LMDS system over conventional processing capabilities is recognized, with potentially lower production cost, higher quality components, and shorter lead-time.     

The effect of laser remelting in the formation of tunable nanoporous Mn structures on mild steel substrates

Nanoporous manganese was fabricated by a three-step process involving high power laser cladding of a homogeneous Cu₄₀Mn₆₀ alloy coatings onto a mild steel substrate, laser remelting for tuning the grain size and the composition homogeneity followed by selectively electrochemical de-alloying for removal of Cu element and formation of nanoporous Mn. The microstructure and homogeneity of the precursor Cu₄₀Mn₆₀ alloys have a significant influence on the evolution of nanopores during selectively electrochemical de-alloying. Laser remelting can significantly refine the microstructure. The second dendrite arm spacing decreases with increasing of laser remelting scanning speed. A SDAS of 1.17 μm was obtained at the laser scanning speed of 133 mm/s. When the remelting scanning speed reaches 100 mm/s, a nanoporous structure with average pore size less than 100 nm was achieved under optimized dealloying electrode current density about 2 mA/cm². Nanoporous Mn with nanopore sizes ranging from 80 to 130 nm was fabricated by this method. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering characteristics of the nanoporous materials have been investigated. It is found that smaller nanoporosity leads to significant improvements in surface-enhanced Raman scattering.     

Influence of laser power on the orientation and microstructure of CeO2 films deposited on Hastelloy C276 tapes by laser chemical vapor deposition

CeO₂ films were prepared on LaMnO₃/MgO/Gd₂Zr₂O₇ multi-coated Hastelloy C276 tapes by laser chemical vapor deposition at different laser power (P_L) from 46 to 101 W. Epitaxial (1 0 0) CeO₂ films were prepared at P_L = 46-93 W (deposition temperature, T_dep = 705-792 K). Epitaxial CeO₂ films had rectangular-shaped grains at P_L = 46-77 W (T_dep = 705-754 K), while square-shaped grains were obtained at P_L = 85-93 W (T_dep = 769-792 K). CeO₂ films showed a columnar microstructure. Epitaxial (1 0 0) CeO₂ films with rectangular grains exhibited full width at half maximum of ω-scan on (2 0 0) reflection and ?-scan on (2 2 0) reflection of 3.4-3.2° and 6.0-7.2°, respectively. The deposition rate of the epitaxial (1 0 0) CeO₂ films had a maximum of 4.6 μm h⁻¹ at P_L = 77 W (T_dep = 754 K).     

Effect of laser surface hardening on the microstructure, hardness and residual stresses of austempered ductile iron grades

A study of the laser surface hardening process of two austempered ductile iron grades, with different austempering treatments has been carried out. Hardening was performed with an infrared continuous wave Nd:YAG laser in cylindrical specimens. The microstructure of the laser hardened samples was investigated using an optical microscope, microhardness profiles were measured and surface and radial residual stresses were studied by an X-ray diffractometer. Similar results were achieved for both materials. A coarse martensite with retained austenite structure was found in the treated area, resulting in a wear resistant effective layer of 0.6 mm to 1 mm with a microhardness between 650 HV and 800 HV. Compressive residual stresses have been found at the hardened area being in agreement with the microhardness and microstructural variations observed. The achieved results point out that the laser surface hardening is a suitable method for improving the mechanical properties of austempered ductile irons.     

Flow characteristics and micro-scale metallic particle formation in the laser supersonic heating technique

The characteristics of the supersonic flow of the laser heating technique for producing micro-scale metallic particles were investigated in this study. A numerical model was established to predict the flow fields and particle trajectories leaving a spray nozzle with shock wave effects. The compressible flow of the shock waves and the trajectories of particles in diameters of 1–20 μm were simulated and compared with the flow visualization. In the experiment, a pulsed Nd-YAG laser was used as heat source on a carbon steel target within the nozzle, and the carbon steel particles were ejected by high-pressure air. The result shows that the shock wave structures were generated at various entrance pressures, and there is a significant increase in the amount of carbon steel particles and the spraying angles by increasing the entrance air pressure.     

Microstructure, hardness and stress in melted zone of 42CrMo steel by wide-band laser surface melting

Using laser surface melting (LSM) of a roller, to obtain the desired distribution of the microstructure, hardness and residual stresses with minimum distortion, is essential in order to improve machining efficiency and to achieve reliable service performance. In this study, a 3D finite element model has been developed to simulate the wide-band LSM process and predict the thermal and mechanical properties in the melted zone. The microstructure evolution, hardness distribution and stress field in the melted zone with different laser power were simulated. With the increase of the laser power from 3000 to 3800 W, the width and the depth of the laser melted layer increase, while the laser power has a little effect on the martensite contents, which exceed 90% in the melt-hardened zone. It greatly affects the mechanical properties in the melt-hardened zone with its volumetric expansion effect and the hardness increases by 2-3 times. The residual stress distributed within the melt-hardened zone is always of the compressive type. The amplitude of compressive stress exists in the transition region, and the amplitude of von Mises stress within the heat affected-zone (HAZ) decreases with the increase in laser power. The accuracy of the developed finite element simulation strategy is validated for phase proportion and hardness distributions through the wide-band LSM on roller steel with proper instrumentation for data measurement. This agreement is encouraging.     

Surface texturing of the carbon steel AISI 1045 using femtosecond laser in single pulse and scanning regime

Surface texturing of the metals, including steels, gained a new dimension with the appearance of femtosecond lasers. These laser systems enable highly precise modifications, which are very important for numerous applications of metals. The effects of a Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser with the pulse duration of 160 fs, operating at 775 nm wavelength and in two operational regimes - single pulse (SP) and scanning regime, on a high quality AISI 1045 carbon steel were studied. The estimated surface damage threshold was 0.22 J/cm² (SP). Surface modification was studied for the laser fluences of 0.66, 1.48 and 2.37 J/cm². The fluence of 0.66 J/cm², in both working regimes, induced texturing of the material, i.e. formation of periodic surface structures (PSS). Their periodicity was in accordance with the used laser wavelength. Finally, changes in the surface oxygen content caused by ultrashort laser pulses were recorded.     

Numerical modeling and experimental investigation of TiC formation on titanium surface pre-coated by graphite under pulsed laser irradiation

A model for carbonization of titanium surface by pulsed Nd:YAG laser was developed. The Ti substrate was covered with a relatively thick graphite layer prior to be processed under the laser beam. The experiments were performed at 15 J pulse energy with various pulse durations and overlapping factor to validate the results obtained from the numerical calculations. The model results such as temperature gradient, surface temperature, and the cooling rate were correlated with the micro-hardness of the alloyed layer. Higher pulse durations and overlapping factors which lead to the heat input increasing will result in significant rising in the micro-hardness values. The hardness values of the processed layer partially containing TiC, increased up to 10 times of the Ti substrate.     

On the delamination and crack formation in a thin wall fabricated using laser solid freeform fabrication process: An experimental–numerical investigation

Parts fabricated using laser solid freeform fabrication (LSFF) are subject to thermal stresses due to the layer-by-layer material deposition and the temperature distribution characteristic throughout the process domain. The thermal stress patterns and intensity contribute significantly to potential delamination and crack formation. In this paper, the temperature distribution and stress field induced during the multilayer LSFF process, and their correlation with delamination and crack formation are studied. This is performed by a numerical and experimental investigation in the fabrication of a thin wall of 304L stainless steel. For time-dependent predictions on the locations of maximum temperatures and thermal stresses and their patterns, a three-dimensional (3D) transient finite element model is employed to simulate the process, including the geometry of the deposited materials as well as coupled temperature and stress distributions across the process domain. The experimental results are used to verify the numerical results as well as to investigate the correlation between the numerical results and micro-crack formations across the fabricated parts. The experiments are conducted with the same process parameters used in the numerical analyses using a 1 kW Nd:YAG pulsed laser. The trend of numerical and experimental results reveals that by preheating the substrate prior to the fabrication process, it is possible to substantially reduce the micro-cracks formed across the part. To demonstrate the feasibility of preheating on the reduction of micro-cracks, several simulations and experiments are performed in which a crack-free result is obtained when the substrate is preheated to 800 K. For this case, 22% reduction in thermal stresses is obtained throughout the process domain.     

The influence of laser and powder defocusing characteristics on the surface quality in laser direct metal deposition

To investigate the influencing rules of the variations of powder and laser defocusing distance on surface quality and obtain the smooth surface of parts in laser direct metal deposition, the thin-walled metal parts were fabricated under three different powder defocusing distances and three different laser defocusing distances conditions. The experimental results show that a high surface quality can be obtained with the powder focussed below the substrate and laser focussed above the substrate process, and the variation in which the powder focus moves from above to below the melt pool plays a leading role and the variation in which the laser focus moves from above to below the melt pool plays a supplementary role in the influence on the surface quality. To explain the experimental results, a simple model of the track height is established.     

Effect of laser-remelting of surface cracks on microstructure and residual stresses in 12Ni maraging steel

The paper presents the results of a study on possible application of laser-remelting to repair of narrow and comparatively deep cracks at the surface of highly thermo-mechanically loaded parts made of 12% Ni hot-working maraging tool steel. Laser-remelting of maraging steel is, due to very good weldability and flexibility of the process, very prospective for repair of fatigued surfaces of parts made of this steel at which the presence of surface microcracks may be observed. In addition to the efficiency of crack remelting, the influence of laser-remelting on the heat-affected zone in terms of its microstructure and residual stresses was also studied. The microstructure in the laser-remelted track is cellular/dendritic. In the heat-affected zone surrounding the laser-remelted track, the microstructure varies considerably. A microstructure analysis revealed, in the heat-affected zone, five microstructural zones and sub-zones. Residual stresses measured after laser-remelting are with reference to gradual through-depth changing of the stresses favourable.     

Effect of the oxygen pressure on the microstructure and optical properties of ZnO films prepared by laser molecular beam epitaxy

A series of ZnO films were prepared on the Si (1 0 0) or glass substrate at 773 K under various oxygen pressures by using a laser molecular beam epitaxy system. The microstructure and optical properties were investigated through the X-ray diffraction, Raman spectrometer, scanning electron microscope, ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer and spectrofluorophotometer. The results showed that ZnO thin film prepared at 1 Pa oxygen pressure displayed the best crystalinity and all ZnO films formed a columnar structure. Meanwhile, all ZnO films exhibited an abrupt absorption edge near the wavelength of 380 nm in transmission spectra. With increasing the oxygen pressure, the transmission intensity changed non-monotonically and reached a maximum of above 80% at 1 Pa oxygen pressure, based on which the band gaps of all ZnO films were calculated to be about 3.259–3.315 eV. Photoluminescence spectra indicated that there occurred no emission peak at a low oxygen pressure of 10⁻⁵ Pa. With the increment of the oxygen pressure, there occurred a UV emission peak of 378 nm, a weak violet emission peak of 405 nm and a wide green emission band centered at 520 nm. As the oxygen pressure increased further, the position of UV emission peak remained and its intensity changed non-monotonically and reached a maximum at 1 Pa. Meanwhile the intensity of green emission band increased monotonically with increasing the oxygen pressure. In addition, it was also found that the intensity of UV emission peak decreased as the measuring temperature shifted from 80 to 300 K. The analyses indicated that the UV emission peak originated from the combination of free excitons and the green emission band originated from the energy level jump from conduction band to O_Zn defect.     

Effect of the laser fluence on structural and optical characterization of thin CdS films synthesized by femtosecond pulsed laser deposition

CdS thin films have been grown on Si(1 1 1) and quartz substrates using femtosecond pulsed laser deposition. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, photoluminescence measurement, and optical transmission spectroscopy were used to characterize the structure and optical properties of the deposited CdS thin films. The influence of the laser fluence (laser incident energy in the range 0.5–1.5 mJ/pulse) on the structural and optical characterizations of CdS thin films has been studied. The results indicate that the structure and optical properties of the CdS thin films can be improved as increasing the per pulse output energy of the femtosecond laser to 1.2 mJ. But when the per pulse output energy of the femtosecond laser is further increased to 1.5 mJ, which leads to the degradation of the structure and optical properties of the CdS thin films.     

The laser polarization as control parameter in the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures: Comparison of numerical and experimental results

Considering self-organized surface pattering upon multi-pulse femtosecond laser irradiation, in particularly the strong dependence of ripples orientation on the laser polarization, we present numerical simulations from an adopted surface erosion model and compare the result to our experimental data on laser-induced nanostructures formation. We present the surface morphologies obtained by this model for different polarizations of the incident laser electric field and show good agreement with ripple formation produced by laser ablation experiments. The correlation of ripples orientation with laser polarization can be described within a model where the polarization causes a breaking of symmetry at the surface. Further we discuss a time evolution of pattern formation. Our results support the non-linear self-organization mechanism of pattern formation on the surface of solids.     

Microstructure and microhardness analysis of the hexagonal oxides formed on the surface of the AISI 304 stainless steel after Nd:YAG pulsed laser surface melting

The laser surface melting (LSM) technique was adopted to modify the surface layer microstructure of the AISI 304 stainless steel in this paper. The results showed that the hexagonal morphologies have been successfully fabricated on the surface after LSM. These hexagons had side lengths of about 0.5-1 μm and were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). It was proved by the XRD that the stainless steel surface mainly consisted of γ-Fe, Cr₂O₃, Fe₂O₃ and some manganese oxides. The FESEM micrographs showed that the hexagonal oxides were regular hexagons in geometry. The HRTEM micrographs also indicated the presence of the hexagons on the surface of the stainless steel. The spacing values were calculated from the HRTEM micrograph and the SAED pattern, and the hexagonal oxide phases determined by these spacing values were consistent with those verified by the XRD. After LSM, the microhardness of the stainless steel was significantly improved.     

Microstructural modification by laser surface remelting and its effect on the corrosion resistance of an Al-9 wt%Si casting alloy

Aluminum alloys with silicon as a major alloying element constitute a class of materials, which provides the most significant part of all shaped castings manufactured. Such alloys have a wide range of applications in the automotive and aerospace industries. The literature presents contradictory results and no satisfactory explanations concerning to resulting microstructures provided by laser surface remelting (LSR) and its effect on the electrochemical behavior of Al-Si alloys. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of microstructural refinement by LSR on corrosion resistance of an Al-9 wt%Si casting alloy. As-cast samples were subjected to a continuous 1 kW CO₂ laser. Corrosion resistance has been analyzed by an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique and polarization curves carried out in both 0.5 M NaCl and 0.5 M H₂SO₄ solutions at 25 °C. An equivalent circuit has also been proposed and impedance parameters were simulated by the ZView^® software. It was found that the structural modification provided by the LSR process induces a decreasing effect on the corrosion resistance when compared to that of the untreated sample.