Laser Processing of Diffusion Boronized Layer Produced on Monel® Alloy 400-Microstructure, Microhardness, Corrosion and Wear Resistance Tests

Aneta Bartkowska; Dariusz Bartkowski; Damian Przestacki; Mateusz Kukliński; Andrzej Miklaszewski; Piotr Kieruj

doi:10.3390/ma14247529

Laser Processing of Diffusion Boronized Layer Produced on Monel^® Alloy 400-Microstructure, Microhardness, Corrosion and Wear Resistance Tests

Materials (Basel). 2021 Dec 8;14(24):7529. doi: 10.3390/ma14247529.

Authors

Aneta Bartkowska¹, Dariusz Bartkowski², Damian Przestacki³, Mateusz Kukliński³, Andrzej Miklaszewski¹, Piotr Kieruj³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Materials Engineering and Technical Physics, Poznan University of Technology, ul. Jana Pawła II 24, 61-138 Poznan, Poland.
² Institute of Materials Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, ul. Piotrowo 3, 61-138 Poznan, Poland.
³ Institute of Mechanical Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, ul. Piotrowo 3, 61-138 Poznan, Poland.

Abstract

The paper presents the results of studies of microstructure, mechanical and physicochemical properties of surface layers produced by laser modification of the diffusion boron layer on Monel^® Alloy 400. The diffusion boron layers were produced at 950 °C for 6 h. The gas-contact method was used in an open retort furnace. The process was carried out in a powder mixture containing B₄C carbide as a boron source. The next stage was the modification of the boron layer with a diode laser beam of a nominal power of 3 kW. A constant power of 1400 W of the laser beam was used. The scanning speed was variable (successively 5 m/min, 25 m/min, 50 m/min). In order to determine the best parameters, single tracks were created, after which multiple tracks were prepared using previously selected parameters. It was found that both the diffusion borided layer and the laser modified layer had better properties than the substrate material. Both these processes contributed to an increase in corrosion resistance, hardness and wear resistance. It was also found that laser modification caused a slight deterioration of the properties in comparison with the diffusion borided layer. However, the laser modification process resulted in the production of a much thicker layer.

Keywords: Monel; chemical composition; corrosion resistance; diffusion boronized layer; laser processing; microhardness; microstructure; phase composition; wear resistance.