Laser surface treatment of aluminum alloy 6061 with SiC powder injection: study of microstructure and wear behavior

The microstructure and mechanical properties (hardness and wear resistance) of aluminum Alloy 6061 were studied via laser-induced melting, with SiC particle injection. The upper part of the laser-treated zone was strongly alloyed, showing a fine microstructure with varied morphology and very high microhardness values (500 HV 0.03 ), compared to the substrate (60 HV 0.03 ). In the lower part of this zone, SiC particles remained completely unreacted and had only mechanical adhesion with the matrix. Wear tests revealed that extremely high wear resistance (10 times greater than the untreated substrate surface) resulted from this laser surface treatment technique when a 50-N load was applied