Laser Surface Modification of Aisi 316L Stainless Steel with SiC-Fe-Ni-Cr
D. Sastikumar, A.Viswanathan, M. Jamal Mohamed Jaffar and A.K. Nath
AISI 316L stainless steel was laser surface treated with SiC-Fe-Ni-Cr to enhance the surface hardness. The pre-placed coating consisted of layers of different compositions of SiC-Fe-Ni-Cr. SiC was used as the major constituent in the coating (40–80% wt.). When the laser energy density was lower (20 J/mm2), the laser treated region showed layers with two different regions and hardness from 500 to 1200 HV. Cracks were observed in the high hardness region (1200 HV). When the energy density was higher (66 J/mm2), the laser treated region exhibited a uniform hardness of 700 HV and a microstructure as free from hard phases. The laser treated regions were characterised by hardness, micro-structural, and micro-chemical analyses.