Rapidly solidified surface melts of Ni-B-Si-Cr brazing alloy

Sintered powder layers of a Ni-based brazing alloy were consolidated by scanned electron beam radiation to produce a continuous fused coating. The surface of this coating was then remelted by laser and electron beams under differing conditions, resulting in a variety of resolidification structures. Alloy BNi2 was chosen for these studies because it exhibits substantial hardening on grain refinement and because it can be prepared in the glassy state relatively easily. Surface microhardness for BNi2 reaches a maximum of about 1200 DPH at a cooling rate approaching 10⁵ K/s. For higher quench rates, hardness decreases and ductility increases. As the cooling rate approaches 10⁷ k/s, overlapping beam scans produce an extended amorphous surface. A solidification rate higher than that needed to produce an amorphous structure in a single melt pass is necessary to avoid surface cracking or crystallization when overlapping melt passes are employed. formerly at the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC