Surface Laser Quenching as an Alternative Method for Conventional Quenching and Tempering Treatment of 1538 MV Steel

Abstract

This paper aims at encouraging the use of laser treatment as an environmentally friendly technique to improve the mechanical properties of metallic materials over conventional quenching and tempering techniques through the study of the tribological behavior of AISI 1538 MV steel subjected to surface laser quenching treatment. Sliding wear tests were carried out by the pin-on-disk method. In order to identify the wear mechanisms, the worn surfaces on the disks were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and the wear scars on the ball were observed by optical microscopy. Results reveal that laser treatment reduces the average friction coefficient by 25% and the wear rate by 60% compared with those achieved by the conventional methods, while the depths of the wear track and hardness of the cross section and surface are maintained.

Laser Surface Modification of Materials

“…The laser quenched and conventional quenched sample for 25 μm distance from the surface, the produced hardness is 600 HV 0.1 and 625 HV 0.1 respectively. The laser quenched sample has 0.4 mm 3 /N-m wear rate which is lesser than the conventional quenched sample of 0.6 mm 3 /N-m wear rate at 500 m sliding distance [3]. The wear and microhardness studies are performed on 40CrNiMoA steel by using laser quenching and high-frequency quenching.…”

The effect of laser shock peening on surface characteristics of titanium alloy

“…Another laser technique is laser quenching which normally uses diode lasers or CO2 lasers to process targets. Laser quenching is one kind of heat treatment in order to increase the mechanical properties, such as hardness and wear resistance, of metallic materials with the modification of the initial crystalline structure of metal parts [6]. At the beginning of the development of laser surface hardening, CO2 lasers were used with a power density of 1 -100 KW/cm 2 .…”

Modification of working surfaces details by processing with laser irradiation

“…To avoid adhesion and reduce friction, the crystal lattices of the surfaces should not be coherent, meaning the lattice parameters and cell sizes should not be the same. This is achieved by using of different materials of friction pairs, their thermal treatment using different technologies, coating, in particular, the use of composite materials 1,2,3 .…”