Laser Assisted Al-Si-SiC Composite Layer Formation on an Al-Si Alloy
M. Jamal Mohamed Jaffar, D. Sastikumar and A.K. Nath
Laser Surface Modification has been employed to produce Al-Si-SiC composite layers on an Al-Si alloy to improve the surface hardness. The formation of a well incorporated Al-Si-SiC composite layer of almost uniform thickness (~ 120m) on an Al-Si alloy is possible at 2.5kW laser power and a scan speed of 0.5m/min. A shrinkage cavity free layer-substrate interface was observed. The composite layers exhibited a six fold increase in hardness (520 and 570HV) compared to that of the substrate. The influence of the laser processing parameters and coating composition on the layer morphology were analysed.