Metal-Ceramic Composite Layer Formation on Al-Si Alloy by Laser Processing
M. Jamal Mohamed Jaffar, D. Sastikumar and A.K. Nath
An Al-Si alloy was laser surface treated with Ni-SiC powders to produce a composite layer to improve its surface properties. The composite layer was formed when the coating composition of Ni-SiC was 25-75 (%wt.) and the laser processing parameters set at 2.5kW (laser power) and 0.5 m/min.(scan speed). The thickness of the composite layer was about 120 microns. The layer exhibited an average microhardness of 425 HV, which is nearly 5 times that of the Al-Si alloy substrate. The paper discusses the microhardness, microstructural and microchemical studies made on the laser treated samples.