Modelación del endurecimiento superficial por láser del acero AISI W112 mediante el método de elementos finitos

Hardening processes of steels are require high heating and cooling rates; in the laser hardening the power density of the beam is responsible for the quick heating of the material; rapid cooling is achieved due to the heat conduction to the bulk of the workpiece. The aim of this work was to estimate by means of heat transfer and parametric design capabilities of the fi nite element method the infl uence power laser density, incident beam diameter and scan speed on the dimensions heat-affected zones (HAZ), microstructure and hardness in treated surface. Model calculations are compared with experimental results of a surface thermal treatment with an Nd: YAG laser of AISI W112 steel plates.