Laser surface alloying of 1045 AISI steel using Ni-CrB₂ powder

Laser surface alloying is a process whose purpose is to improve the surface properties by incorporating alloying elements into the surface. The advantages of using laser for surface treatment are: formation of a non-equilibrium or amorphous phase as well as homogenisation and refinement of the microstructure, all without affecting the substrate properties. Powder (50 wt-%Ni-50 wt-%CrB₂) was injected into a melt pool created by a CW-CO ₂ laser on AISI1045 steel plates. In order to alloy the entire surface, the sample was scanned at scan speeds in the range of 600-6000 mm min^-1 and the laser power was in the range of 1750-2500 W. The powder feed rate was 1•6 g min^-1, the laser beam was 2 mm in diameter, with 60% overlap between successive laser paths. Metallographic cross-sections were made of the samples. For each sample the following properties were characterised: layer depth, microhardness (HV), layer microstructure and composition. It has been found that the scan speed and the laser power affect the depth of the melt pool, the microstructure, the hardness and the treated layer composition. The laser boronised surface exhibits better wear resistance than D2 tool steel hardened to 59 ± 1 HRC. This will be discussed based on numerical analysis of the laser/material interaction.