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Laser Treatment for Surface Layers
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Laser Treatment for Surface Layers

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2022) | Viewed by 16733

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Norbert Robert Radek

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, Al. Tysiaclecia P.P. 7, 25-314 Kielce, Poland
Interests: laser and plasma technologies; EDM; ESD; surface engineering; tribology; coatings for military applications
Dr. Lukasz Orman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Environmental, Geomatic and Energy Engineering, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland
Interests: heat transfer; heat exchangers; thermal comfort; numerical simulations; environmental measurements
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

By applying new engineering materials or protective coatings, it is possible to improve the functional properties of machine parts so that they are resistant to corrosion, abrasion, and erosion, as well as possess high fatigue strength. The new materials, for instance, alloy steels, are usually costly, which is undesirable because the higher cost of material mean a higher the price for the finished product. However, if an element is to be subjected to high loads, then strength—rather than cost—is the primary factor.

Applying protective coatings to machine parts is economically justifiable if the wear is local or if the coating material is expected to display properties different from those of the substrate. Most surface layers are technological surface layers (TSLs)—they are produced before objects are used. Functional surface layers (FSLs), on the other hand, are applied during maintenance.

A number of modern surface-processing methods use an energy flux. The examples include laser treatment.  Interest in its utilization has increased due to the specific properties of laser radiation. As it is possible to construct radiation sources with appropriate parameters, such as wavelength, lateral beam mode, emission power, impulse energy, impulse duration, etc., lasers are being applied to various tasks with increasing frequency. This has been made possible because investigations into the utilization of laser technologies are now being carried out on a large scale. As a result, a number of laser-based systems have been constructed and produced. In spite of the fact that the laser was invented 58 years ago and a great deal has been achieved in this field since then, its application to surfacing is still negligible. This is mainly owing to the high cost of laser systems. Moreover, researchers find it difficult to develop technologies that would take into account the absorption of a laser beam by surfaces.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Norbert Robert Radek
Dr. Lukasz Orman
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • laser treatment
  • surface layers
  • coatings
  • modification
  • properties
  • technology
  • application

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 8016 KiB  
Article
Laser Treatment of Surfaces for Pool Boiling Heat Transfer Enhancement
by Łukasz J. Orman, Norbert Radek, Jacek Pietraszek, Janusz Wojtkowiak and Marcin Szczepaniak
Materials 2023, 16(4), 1365; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16041365 - 6 Feb 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1671
Abstract
The laser treatment of surfaces enables the alteration of their morphology and makes them suitable for various applications. This paper discusses the use of a laser beam to develop surface features that enhance pool boiling heat transfer. Two types of structures (in the [...] Read more.
The laser treatment of surfaces enables the alteration of their morphology and makes them suitable for various applications. This paper discusses the use of a laser beam to develop surface features that enhance pool boiling heat transfer. Two types of structures (in the ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ scale) were created on the samples: microfins (grooves) and surface roughness. The impact of the pulse duration and scanning velocity on the height of the microfins and surface roughness at the bottom of the grooves was analyzed with a high precision optical profilometer and microscope. The results indicated that the highest microfins and surface roughness were obtained with a pulse duration of 250 ns and scanning velocity of 200 mm/s. In addition, the influence of the ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ scale modifications on the boiling heat transfer of distilled water and ethyl alcohol was studied on horizontal samples heated with an electric heater. The largest enhancement was obtained for the highest microfins and roughest surfaces, especially at small superheats. Heat flux dissipated from the samples containing microfins of 0.4 mm height was, maximally, over three times (for water) and two times (for ethanol) higher than for the samples with smaller microfins (0.2 mm high). Thus, a modification of a selected model of boiling heat transfer was developed so that it would be applicable to laser-processed surfaces. The correlation proved to be quite successful, with almost all experimental data falling within the ±100% agreement bands. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Treatment for Surface Layers)
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18 pages, 14997 KiB  
Article
Decarburization in Laser Surface Hardening of AISI 420 Martensitic Stainless Steel
by Aprilia Aprilia, Niroj Maharjan and Wei Zhou
Materials 2023, 16(3), 939; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16030939 - 19 Jan 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2888
Abstract
Decarburization deteriorates the surface mechanical properties of steel. It refers to the loss of carbon from steel’s surface when exposed to an open-air environment in elevated-temperature conditions. Despite the short interaction time and fast thermal cycle of the laser surface-hardening process, decarburization may [...] Read more.
Decarburization deteriorates the surface mechanical properties of steel. It refers to the loss of carbon from steel’s surface when exposed to an open-air environment in elevated-temperature conditions. Despite the short interaction time and fast thermal cycle of the laser surface-hardening process, decarburization may still occur. This paper investigates if decarburization occurs during the laser surface hardening of AISI 420 martensitic stainless steel. For comparison, surface-hardening results and decarburizations in a conventional air furnace-heated hardening process (water-quenched and air-cooled) of the same steel material were also investigated. Decarburization seems to have occurred in the laser surface hardening of AISI 420SS. However, the decarburization might not be significant, as the hardness of the steel’s surface was increased more than three times to 675 HV during the laser surface hardening, and the hardness drop due to decarburization was estimated to be only 3% with the decarburization depth of 40 μm. Simulations using ThermoCalc software to get the carbon concentration profiles along the depth for both laser-hardened and furnace-heated samples were also investigated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Treatment for Surface Layers)
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21 pages, 8038 KiB  
Article
Laser Surface Alloying of Sintered Stainless Steel
by Agata Dudek, Barbara Lisiecka, Norbert Radek, Łukasz J. Orman and Jacek Pietraszek
Materials 2022, 15(17), 6061; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15176061 - 1 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1691
Abstract
A characteristic feature of sintered stainless steel (SSS) is its porosity. Porosity results in a lower density of steel, making attractive components for producing lightweight structures and materials used in industry (e.g., the automotive industry or aerospace). Scientists also observe that porosity adversely [...] Read more.
A characteristic feature of sintered stainless steel (SSS) is its porosity. Porosity results in a lower density of steel, making attractive components for producing lightweight structures and materials used in industry (e.g., the automotive industry or aerospace). Scientists also observe that porosity adversely affects steel’s properties, especially its strength properties. One of the proposals for improving the discussed properties is the use of surface treatment of sintered stainless steels, e.g., with the use of concentrated energy sources such as plasma beams or laser beams. However, this proposal is an incidental subject of research, which is not justified from the point of view of the obtained research results presented by a few research groups. In this study, the surface modification (surface treatment) of sintered stainless steel was presented. The authors proposed the use of two surface treatments in order to compare them and obtain the best results. The first treatment was the deposit of Cr3C2–NiCr coatings on SSS surfaces using the atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) method. The second treatment was to create surface layers on SSSs by laser alloying the surface with a CO2 laser. Due to high precision and ease of automation, the most common methods in surface alloying treatment are laser technologies. This research’s main aim was to analyze the microstructure and strength properties of the SSS surface layer. The research confirms that applying the Cr3C2–NiCr coating and modifying the surface layer through the laser alloying method improves the mechanical properties of SSSs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Treatment for Surface Layers)
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21 pages, 6492 KiB  
Article
Nano X-ray Tomography Application for Quantitative Surface Layer Geometry Analysis after Laser Beam Modification
by Aneta Gądek-Moszczak, Norbert Radek, Izabela Pliszka, Joanna Augustyn-Nadzieja and Łukasz J. Orman
Materials 2022, 15(17), 5935; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15175935 - 27 Aug 2022
Viewed by 1223
Abstract
Analysis of the geometrical structure of the surface of materials is an issue already widely recognised and included in international standards. The authors present the possibilities of extending the analysis of the coatings’ geometrical structure through X-ray nanotomography imaging, three-dimensional image processing, and [...] Read more.
Analysis of the geometrical structure of the surface of materials is an issue already widely recognised and included in international standards. The authors present the possibilities of extending the analysis of the coatings’ geometrical structure through X-ray nanotomography imaging, three-dimensional image processing, and stereological methods. Analysis of the state of the art reveals that there are no scientific rapports (indexed by Scopus) on the application X-ray nanotomography for analysis of the geometry of a coating. The presented study shows that this imaging technique can be applied and provide additional information on the quality of the layer. The comparative tests were carried out on samples with a cermet coating before and after laser treatment, including standard tests of the surface geometry and the analysis of three-dimensional images obtained from nanotomography. A set of parameters describing the compactness and thickness distribution of the applied coating is proposed, which facilitates the qualitative assessment of the application process and improvements through the additional processing of technological layers. The obtained results show that although the average thickness values before and after laser treatment did not differ significantly, their distribution on the sample surface was different, as presented in the visualisation. The determined stereological parameter NV (number of objects per unit volume) allowed for the assessment of the layer compactness, and as the analyses showed, this value decreased by more than two times after laser treatment. The analysis of the degree of sample coverage by the cermet layer showed that it increased from 70% to 95% after laser treatment, which confirms the treatment’s positive effect on the layer’s quality. This research shows that three-dimensional analysis significantly enriches the information about the geometry of the surface layer, providing data which other research techniques are unable to acquire. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Treatment for Surface Layers)
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17 pages, 11200 KiB  
Article
Adhesive Joints with Laser Shaped Surface Microstructures
by Szymon Tofil, Robert Barbucha, Marek Kocik, Rafał Kozera, Mateusz Tański, Natarajan Arivazhagan, Jianhua Yao and Andrej Zrak
Materials 2021, 14(24), 7548; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14247548 - 9 Dec 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1920
Abstract
One of the most commonly applied methods of joining dissimilar materials is gluing. This could be mainly attributed to the applicability of this technique in various industries. The article presents a method of material surface treatment, which increases the shear strength of adhesive [...] Read more.
One of the most commonly applied methods of joining dissimilar materials is gluing. This could be mainly attributed to the applicability of this technique in various industries. The article presents a method of material surface treatment, which increases the shear strength of adhesive joints for lightweight metals such as aluminum with plastics. For this purpose, laser surface microstructuring was performed on each of the selected construction materials. As a result of the performed treatment, the active surface of the glued area was increased, which increased the adhesive strength. The picosecond laser with UV radiation used in the research is TruMicro 5325c with which material can be removed as a result of the cold ablation phenomenon. The applied parameters of the laser device did not cause thermal damage to the surface of the microstructured materials, which was confirmed by microscopic examination. Laser micromachining did not deteriorate the degree of wetting of the tested materials, either, as was confirmed by the contact angle and surface energy measurements with the use of water as the measuring liquid. In investigated cases of microstructure types, the presented method significantly increased the shear strength of the joints formed, as demonstrated by the presented strength test results. Research has shown that created joints with microstructure made according to the described method, are characterized by a significant increase in strength, up to 376%, compared to materials without microstructure. The presented results are part of a series of tests aimed at selecting the operating laser parameters for the implementation of geometric shapes of microstructures which will increase the strength of adhesive joints in selected materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Treatment for Surface Layers)
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21 pages, 13257 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Laser Beam Processing on the Properties of WC-Co Coatings Deposited on Steel
by Norbert Radek, Janusz Konstanty, Jacek Pietraszek, Łukasz J. Orman, Marcin Szczepaniak and Damian Przestacki
Materials 2021, 14(3), 538; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14030538 - 23 Jan 2021
Cited by 35 | Viewed by 2526
Abstract
The main objective of the present work is to determine the effects of laser processing on properties of WC-Co electro-spark deposited (ESD) coatings on steel substrates. Tungsten carbide coatings have been applied to steel substrates using a manual electrode feeder, model EIL-8A. The [...] Read more.
The main objective of the present work is to determine the effects of laser processing on properties of WC-Co electro-spark deposited (ESD) coatings on steel substrates. Tungsten carbide coatings have been applied to steel substrates using a manual electrode feeder, model EIL-8A. The laser beam processing (LBP) of electro-spark coatings was performed using an Nd:YAG fiber laser. The microstructure and properties of laser treated/melted coatings were evaluated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface geometric structure (SGS) and roughness measurements and adhesion, microhardness, residual stresses, corrosion resistance and application tests. The obtained experimental data were subjected to statistical analysis and multidimensional numerical and visual exploratory techniques. It has been shown conclusively that the laser-treated ESD WC-Co coatings are characterized by lower microhardness, higher resistance to corrosion, increased roughness and better adhesion to the substrate. LBP homogenizes the chemical composition, refines the microstructure and heals microcracks and pores of ESD coatings. The laser treated ESD WC-Co coatings can be used in frictional sliding nodes (e.g., on the front seal rings used in pumps) and as protective layers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Treatment for Surface Layers)
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Review

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13 pages, 663 KiB  
Review
The Use of Laser Energy for Etching Enamel Surfaces in Dentistry—A Scoping Review
by Anca Labunet, Andrada Tonea, Andreea Kui and Sorina Sava
Materials 2022, 15(6), 1988; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15061988 - 8 Mar 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3592
Abstract
Background: In dental practice, different situations require etching the enamel layer. Acid etching, the present golden standard, may be replaced by other methods, such as laser etching. The main focus of our scoping review is to assess the existent literature regarding the effectiveness [...] Read more.
Background: In dental practice, different situations require etching the enamel layer. Acid etching, the present golden standard, may be replaced by other methods, such as laser etching. The main focus of our scoping review is to assess the existent literature regarding the effectiveness of different types of lasers, to identify the main aspects studied so far, and to understand where new search strategies are needed. Methods: The search was conducted in several databases focusing on the laser etching of human definitive enamel. We included English language articles published between January 2000 and December 2021. Results: The 34 articles reviewed showed that hard lasers, Er:YAG, Er,Cr:YAG, may represent an alternative etching method on enamel surfaces. They create a fractured, irregular surface and open dentin tubules, highly suitable for adhesion but with a lower risk of cavity formation. Nd:YAG, CO2, and Diode lasers do not help in creating sufficient shear bond strength. There is, however, evidence suggesting that microcracks in the enamel layer may appear after thermomechanical ablation using laser energy. Conclusions: While the use of acid etching is still successfully used for enamel conditioning, some researchers have emphasized the role played by saliva in the enamel-remineralization process a few days after the procedure. In this context, laser energy can be used, especially for bonding ceramic brackets in the case of orthodontic treatments. However, as thermomechanical ablation can generate microcracks, further research is required in order to establish clear findings concerning the use of laser energy on enamel etching. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Laser Treatment for Surface Layers)
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