Effects of Laser Treatment on Surface Characterization and Mechanical Properties of Alloys, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Characterization, Deposition and Modification".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2025 | Viewed by 2533

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA
Interests: laser material processing; laser-based wettability modification (superhydrophobicity, superhydrophilicity, superwicking); laser shock processing; laser-based additive manufacturing; laser-assisted machining; ultrasonic welding; friction
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to submit your research to our Special Issue entitled “Effects of Laser Treatment on Surface Characterization and Mechanical Properties of Alloys, 2nd Edition”. Laser-based material processing and surface engineering techniques are able to enhance the material properties and surface characteristics of metals and alloys, and remarkable advances have been achieved from the perspective of both fundamental knowledge and material processing. Controlled and selective laser processing is an active area of research that aims to prepare surfaces for various applications. Laser processing can enhance surface wetting characteristics, activate a surface for multifunctionality, and improve residual stress behavior, corrosion resistance and tribological characteristics. Laser-induced deposition, alloying, and shock processing add another dimension to the process of surface treatment.

Previously, we published the Special Issue “Effects of Laser Treatment on Surface Characterization and Mechanical Properties of Alloys” online. This Special Issue is now closed, but encompassed 15 publications and received 17793 views. Due on our previous success, we are keen to launch a second volume of this Special Issue. This Special Issue of Coatings is devoted to advances in laser-based material processing, with an emphasis on the surface characterization and enhancement of the mechanical properties of metals and alloys. We welcome the submission of original research articles and reviews that address the following topics:

  • Recent developments in laser processing related to surface engineering, such as shock processing, ablation, texturing, re-melting, polishing, etc.;
  • The effect of laser processing on surface roughness, hardness, surface residual stress, fracture toughness, fatigue behavior, and other properties of metal alloys;
  • The effect of laser processing on the strength and ductility of metal alloys and high-entropy alloys;
  • Nanosecond, picosecond, and femtosecond pulsed laser processing of metal alloys and surface wetting enhancement;
  • Laser surface engineering for tribology;
  • Theoretical research, processing mechanisms, and new ideas related to laser treatment.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Avik Samanta
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • laser coatings
  • laser-based surface engineering
  • laser surface functionalization
  • laser shock processing
  • laser texturing
  • laser polishing
  • laser ablation
  • laser-processed multifunctional material
  • tribology
  • mechanical properties

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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18 pages, 4964 KiB  
Article
The Numerical Simulation and Experimental Investigation of the Laser Quenching Process of GCr15 Joint Bearings
by Xiuli Yang, Hao Zhang, Dongliang Jin, Xiqiang Ma and Maolin Cheng
Coatings 2025, 15(2), 158; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings15020158 - 1 Feb 2025
Viewed by 529
Abstract
Joint bearings are widely used in modern industry in order to improve the mechanical properties of the outer surface of its inner ring. A laser quenching experiment was carried out in this paper. First of all, an experimental investigation was conducted on GCr15 [...] Read more.
Joint bearings are widely used in modern industry in order to improve the mechanical properties of the outer surface of its inner ring. A laser quenching experiment was carried out in this paper. First of all, an experimental investigation was conducted on GCr15 ball-bearing material utilizing laser quenching, focusing on the effects of laser irradiation angles ranging from 0° to 10° and laser power levels between 600 W and 1100 W on the degree of hardening and microstructural alterations of the bearing material. Additionally, a reliable finite element analysis model was developed to assess the temperature field throughout the process. The findings indicate that an inclined laser enhances the stability of the hardened layer. Specifically, the hardening effect is minimal when the laser power is below 700 W, and optimal hardening is observed at power levels between 800 W and 900 W. During the laser quenching process when the temperature of the bearing material surpasses Ac1, the cooling rate can exceed 1700 °C/s. In regions where the peak temperature exceeds Ac1, the microstructure will undergo refinement, resulting in a reduction in the size of the martensite and a significant decrease in the number of carbides. In addition, the hardness value of these regions can be increased by 6 to 8 HRC, and the thickness of the quenching layer may exceed 0.3 mm. In the temperature range between Ac1 and Ms, the bearing material undergoes tempering, resulting in lower hardness compared to the base material, along with larger martensite and carbide particles. Furthermore, when using the overlap technique during the laser quenching, there will be a tempering zone both inside and on the surface of the bearing; meanwhile, the heat zones generated by different passes of the laser may have partly interacted, and the hardened zone generated by the previous pass may undergo tempering again. Full article
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25 pages, 19559 KiB  
Article
Comparative Study of the Effects of Different Surface States During the Laser Sealing of 304 Steel/High-Alumina Glass
by Changjun Chen, Bei Bao, Jiaqi Shao, Min Zhang and Haodong Liu
Coatings 2025, 15(1), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings15010101 - 17 Jan 2025
Viewed by 751
Abstract
Laser welding (sealing) is a promising technology for joining metal to glass, but it shows poor joint strength in existing studies. This study conducted the laser sealing of a 304 stainless steel alloy to high-alumina glass using pre-oxidation and laser surface melting as [...] Read more.
Laser welding (sealing) is a promising technology for joining metal to glass, but it shows poor joint strength in existing studies. This study conducted the laser sealing of a 304 stainless steel alloy to high-alumina glass using pre-oxidation and laser surface melting as an interlayer. The present investigation aimed to determine the influence of this surface modification strategy on the mechanical behavior of glass-to-metal sealing joints made via laser welding. An experimental campaign was conducted on 304 stainless steel and high-alumina glass. Pre-oxidation and laser surface melting treatment were performed on the 304 steel alloy surface before joining to improve the mechanical interlock and chemical bonding between the substrates. The microstructures of the 304 steel alloy/glass interface were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and an energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and the interface evolution mechanism and the correlation between the steel/glass joining strength and the interface morphology were discussed. Finite element analysis software simulated the temperature field and stress field in the welding process, and the reasons for the differences in the welding strengths of different surface treatment samples were analyzed in depth. The results showed that the laser surface melting strategy used significantly influenced the mechanical behavior of the joints and the failure mode. Adopting a higher number of scans improved the mechanical interlock and, consequently, the mechanical behavior of the joints. Full article
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16 pages, 7346 KiB  
Article
Study on Mechanism of Microstructure Refinement by Ultrasonic Cavitation Effect
by Chang Li, Shuchao Li, Jiabo Liu, Yichang Sun, Yuhao Wang and Fanhong Kong
Coatings 2024, 14(11), 1462; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings14111462 - 17 Nov 2024
Viewed by 917
Abstract
During the solidification process of the alloy, the temperature lies in the range between the solid-phase line and the liquidus. Dendrite growth exhibits high sensitivity to even slight fluctuations in temperature, thereby significantly influencing the tip growth rate. The increase in temperature can [...] Read more.
During the solidification process of the alloy, the temperature lies in the range between the solid-phase line and the liquidus. Dendrite growth exhibits high sensitivity to even slight fluctuations in temperature, thereby significantly influencing the tip growth rate. The increase in temperature can result in a reduction in the rate of tip growth, whereas a decrease in temperature can lead to an augmentation of the tip growth rate. In cases where there is a significant rise in temperature, dendrites may undergo fracture and subsequent remelting. Within the phenomenon of ultrasonic cavitation, the release of internal energy caused by the rupture of cavitation bubbles induces a substantial elevation in temperature, thereby causing both dendrite remelting and fracture phenomena. This serves as the main mechanism behind microstructure refinement induced by ultrasonic cavitation. Although dendrite remelting and fracture exert significant influences on the solidification process of alloys, most studies primarily focus on microscopic characterization experiments, which fail to unveil the transient evolution law governing dendrite remelting and fracture processes. Numerical simulation offers an effective approach to address this gap. The existing numerical models primarily focus on predicting the dendrite growth process, while research on remelting and fracture phenomena remains relatively limited. Therefore, a dendrite remelting model was established by incorporating the phase field method (PFM) and finite element difference method (FDM) into the temperature-induced modeling, enabling a comprehensive investigation of the entire process evolution encompassing dendrite growth and subsequent remelting. Full article
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