Effect of Tempering on the Microstructure and Wear Properties of Laser Alloyed Composites on a 45 Steel Substrate
J-N. Li, Y-B. Zhang, P. Liu, G-C. Ren, J-C. Fan and C-X. Teng
The influence of tempering on the microstructures and wear properties of laser alloyed composites is investigated in detail. Laser alloying of the T-Co50/B4C/Y2O3 mixed powders on a 45 steel substrate can form the hard composites, which increased the wear resistance of substrate greatly. Such composites were investigated by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Experimental results indicate that after the tempering process, the uniform and compact composites were obtained, and the microhardness increased accordingly. Tempering was able to remove the accumulation of the residual stress in a certain extent, improving the plastic, toughness and tribological properties of such laser composites.
Keywords: CO2 laser, composites, steel, laser alloying, tempering, microstructure, wear, surfaces