Laser surface alloying of medium carbon steel with SiC(P)

Laser surface alloying (LSA) is increasingly recognised as a powerful surface modification tool to enhance the wear and corrosion resistance of engineering components. The present work deals with laser alloying of medium carbon steel with silicon carbide using a high-power CO₂ laser. A processing regime, identifying an appropriate laser power-scan speed combination for achieving defect-free alloyed layers, has been established during the study. The influence of repetitive scans on the alloyed layer properties was also subsequently investigated in a comprehensive manner. Repetitive scanning was found to affect substantially the laser-alloyed zone (LAZ) and heat-affected zone dimensions, as well as the phase constitution of the laser-alloyed layers. The microstructure in the LSA layers was also observed to vary significantly with the number of scans, besides changing quite distinctly with depth in the LAZ. Tribological tests revealed considerable improvement in abrasive wear performance by laser surface alloying, and the results also emphasise the need to control the number of repetitive scans to achieve optimum performance.