In Situ Synthesis of a Wear Resistant Layer on the Surface of Low Carbon Steel Produced by Laser Melt Injection Technology

Abstract

Titanium and its compounds are one of the most frequently used reinforcing particles in iron ceramic composite materials. These materials have special characteristics because they are quenchable, their hardness can be increased by heat treatment and they can be quite easily machined. The point of the technology developed in the Bay Zoltán Institute of Materials Sciences and Technology is to form the reinforcing layer on the surface of the sample in an in situ way by melting the surface of the low carbon steel and the laminar carbon felt using laser beam while the titanium metal powder is simultaneously added to the melt. Several methods (metallographic examinations, selective area hardness measurements, SEM, and XRD) were applied to answer the questions about the optimal conditions for the in situ synthesis of a wear resistant layer.