Surface Hardening of Zr-1.0Sn-1.0Nb-0.3Fe Alloy Induced by Laser Surface Remelting

Ning, Zhien; Zhang, Fangli; Wu, Lu; Zhang, Wei; Yang, Jijun; Zhao, Xiaotong; Chai, Linjiang

doi:10.3390/ma18173948

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Surface Hardening of Zr-1.0Sn-1.0Nb-0.3Fe Alloy Induced by Laser Surface Remelting

by

Zhien Ning

^1,2,

Fangli Zhang

³,

Lu Wu

^2,*,

Wei Zhang

⁴,

Jijun Yang

¹,

Xiaotong Zhao

³ and

Linjiang Chai

^3,*

¹

Key Laboratory of Radiation Physics and Technology of Ministry of Education, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China

²

The First Sub-Institute, Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu 610041, China

³

College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing 400054, China

⁴

State Key Laboratory of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu 610041, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Materials 2025, 18(17), 3948; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18173948

Submission received: 16 June 2025 / Revised: 14 August 2025 / Accepted: 20 August 2025 / Published: 22 August 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Metals and Alloys)

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Abstract

To enhance surface hardness, laser surface remelting (LSR) was performed to treat the surface of a novel nuclear-grade Zr-1.0Sn-1.0Nb-0.3Fe zirconium alloy. A combination of advanced characterization techniques was used to systematically analyze the microstructural features of the samples before and after the LSR treatment, and their correlation with hardness variations was studied. Results show that the LSR-treated surface consists of two distinct microstructural regions: (i) the remelted zone (RZ), characterized by fine lath structures and precipitates distributed along the lath boundaries; and (ii) the heat-affected zone, comprising blocky α phase, α laths, and precipitates. The surface of the LSR-treated samples exhibits a random texture, which is attributed to the selection suppression of α variants during the laser-induced rapid transformation. The average hardness of the RZ reaches 285.7 ± 8.3 HV, ~40% higher than the substrate. This hardness enhancement is ascribed to LSR-induced grain refinement.

Keywords: zirconium alloy; laser surface remelting; hardness; microstructure; texture

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ning, Z.; Zhang, F.; Wu, L.; Zhang, W.; Yang, J.; Zhao, X.; Chai, L. Surface Hardening of Zr-1.0Sn-1.0Nb-0.3Fe Alloy Induced by Laser Surface Remelting. Materials 2025, 18, 3948. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18173948

AMA Style

Ning Z, Zhang F, Wu L, Zhang W, Yang J, Zhao X, Chai L. Surface Hardening of Zr-1.0Sn-1.0Nb-0.3Fe Alloy Induced by Laser Surface Remelting. Materials. 2025; 18(17):3948. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18173948

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ning, Zhien, Fangli Zhang, Lu Wu, Wei Zhang, Jijun Yang, Xiaotong Zhao, and Linjiang Chai. 2025. "Surface Hardening of Zr-1.0Sn-1.0Nb-0.3Fe Alloy Induced by Laser Surface Remelting" Materials 18, no. 17: 3948. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18173948

APA Style

Ning, Z., Zhang, F., Wu, L., Zhang, W., Yang, J., Zhao, X., & Chai, L. (2025). Surface Hardening of Zr-1.0Sn-1.0Nb-0.3Fe Alloy Induced by Laser Surface Remelting. Materials, 18(17), 3948. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18173948

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Surface Hardening of Zr-1.0Sn-1.0Nb-0.3Fe Alloy Induced by Laser Surface Remelting

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