Publication

Abstract : Aluminium-Silicon alloys are being increasingly considered for manufacture of wear prone components in automobile and aircraft industries owing to their light weight, superior corrosion resistance and high thermal conductivity, besides their amenability to processing methods such as casting. However, poor tribological characteristics have hampered industrial adoption of the above class of alloys. In principle, the tribological properties of these alloys can be improved by refining the microstructure by laser remelting techniques. Recently, Nd:YAG lasers have been used for processing of reflective materials such as Aluminium, as these lasers have better absorptivity compared to the CO2 lasers. The present study investigates the microstructural characteristics and improvements in sliding wear resistance that can result from surface melting of Al-Si alloys using a 400 W pursed Nd:YAG laser. Three different Al-Si alloys with varying Si content 5%, 12.5% and 20% have been investigated in the present study. The microstructures of the transverse cross sections of the treated samples were examined in detail and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies carried out to ascertain changes in phase constitution. The surface melting and subsequent rapid solidification was found to cause considerable refinement of the microstructure, which in turn increased the hardness in the treated layer compared with that of bulk. The effect of laser beam scan speed on microhardness of the treated samples was evaluated. Dry sliding wear tests were conducted on treated and untreated samples of Al-12Si using a pin-on disc tribometer. The volume wear rates determined in case of the treated and untreated samples are discussed in the paper. The results have also been correlated with the morphological and microstructural characteristics noted in the laser treated specimens. Copyright © 2004 by Society for Advancement of Heat Treatment & Surface Engineering (SAHTSE).