Cavitation erosion of laser quenched Fe - Aluminum bronze

Samples of C62500 aluminum bronze were treated by a continuous wave CO 2 laser to rapidly melt and quench the surface. This processing transformed the surface layer from multiphase \beta' + \gamma_{2} + primary and secondary iron-rich δ to homogeneous, supersaturated single-phase \beta' solid solution. The cavitation erosion resistance of the laser quenched material far surpassed that of untreated C62500. The physically detrimental effect of the processing, i.e., roughening of the surface, appears to have been overridden by the positive microstructural changes in the surface layer.