Laser Surface Modification of Metal Material

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Additive Manufacturing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2024 | Viewed by 1173

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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Interests: materials engineering; thermal engineering; additive manufacturing; composite materials; materials characterization and development; laser materials processing; surface engineering; structure-property relationship; laser surface modification; metal matrix composites; atomic layer deposition; laser welding
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Surface integrity, materials control, design variable constraints, reliability, maintainability, production sustainability, and cost factors are some of the issues that are still limiting the total inclusiveness of surface modification in many industries.

Metallic component characteristics have been laser-surface-modified in the past using composite coatings such as metal matrix composites in a bid to enhance the surface properties. Instead of tampering with the whole microstructure of metallic components base structure, direct laser surface modification can be used to target and solve a particular problem. This will result in extended application of metallic components. The enhancement of components’ service life span can be achieved by fabricating metallic composite coatings. When there is failure of material due to exposure to environmental conditions, it can either be repaired or replaced for extended service life span. Laser surface modification techniques are another way of enhancing metallic materials’ properties compared to conventional methods. The direct laser surface modification technique has been identified as one of the most promising areas for producing engineering components. The process parameters used for these techniques have an impact on the structure and mechanical properties of a finished product. Quality parts cannot be produced until deep understanding of the technology is inculcated and the materials design is well understood. These require all the aforementioned process parameters to be optimized and materials selection decision making needs to be carried out right.

For laser surface modification of metallic materials to exhibit excellent properties, swift heating and solidification must play a part in the enhanced properties as a result of the complex nature of the process. This is because properties of materials are affected by temperature distribution.

Dr. Fatoba Olawale Samuel
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • surface engineering
  • rapid solidification
  • heat transfer mechanism
  • material processing
  • surface properties
  • laser metal deposition
  • temperature gradient
  • microstructure
  • laser surface technique
  • residual stresses
  • physical properties

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 6970 KiB  
Article
The Interplay of Thermal Gradient and Laser Process Parameters on the Mechanical Properties, Geometrical and Microstructural Characteristics of Laser-Cladded Titanium (Ti6Al4V) Alloy Composite Coatings
by Olawale Samuel Fatoba and Tien-Chien Jen
Metals 2023, 13(9), 1617; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13091617 - 19 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 846
Abstract
With the development of laser surface modification techniques like direct laser metal deposition (DLMD), titanium alloy (TI6Al4V) may now have its entire base metal microstructure preserved while having its surface modified to have better characteristics. Numerous surface issues in the aerospace industry can [...] Read more.
With the development of laser surface modification techniques like direct laser metal deposition (DLMD), titanium alloy (TI6Al4V) may now have its entire base metal microstructure preserved while having its surface modified to have better characteristics. Numerous surface issues in the aerospace industry can be resolved using this method without changing the titanium alloy’s primary microstructure. As a result, titanium alloy is now more widely used in sectors outside of aerospace and automotive. This is made possible by fabricating metal composite coatings on titanium alloys using the same DLMD method. Any component can be repaired using this method, thereby extending the component’s life. The experimental process was carried out utilizing a 3000 W Ytterbium Laser System at the National Laser Centre of the CSIR in South Africa. Through the use of a laser system, AlCuTi/Ti6Al4V was created. The characterization of the materials for grinding and polishing was performed according to standard methods. There is a substantial correlation between the reinforcement feed rate, scan speed, and laser power components. Due to the significant role that aluminum reinforcement played and the presence of aluminum in the base metal structure, Ti-Al structures were also created. The reaction and solidification of the copper and aluminum reinforcements in the melt pool produced the dendritic phases visible in the microstructures. Compared to the base alloy, the microhardness’s highest value of 1117.2 HV1.0 is equivalent to a 69.1% enhancement in the hardness of the composite coatings. The enhanced hardness property is linked to the dendritic phases formed in the microstructures as a result of optimized process parameters. Tensile strengths of laser-clad ternary coatings also improved by 23%, 46.2%, 13.1%, 70%, 34.3%, and 51.7% when compared to titanium alloy substrates. The yield strengths of laser-clad ternary coatings improved by 19%, 46.7%, 12.9%, 69.3%, 34.7%, and 52.1% when compared to the titanium alloy substrate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Surface Modification of Metal Material)
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