Synthesis of composite coatings using rapid laser sintering of metallic powder mixtures

Presented here is a brief review of research of an authors' collective dealing with laser treatment of materials, sintering metallic powders, and multiscale simulation. A theoretical analysis of the processes of structure formation upon the rapid laser synthesis of composite coatings has been performed. The experimentally obtained structural and phase characteristics of the sintered layers have been explained based on an analytical and numerical simulation of the dynamics of thermal fields in the zone of treatment, processes of melting, and subsequent solidification of porous materials. Upon rapid sintering and solidification, the effect of impurity trapping has been taken into account, which determines the chemical composition of the powders under nonequilibrium conditions of their formation. It has been shown that rapid laser treatment retains the composite structure of the powder layer due to the high rates of local heating/cooling and high rate of solidification comparable with the rate of diffusion of chemical components. The results obtained are applicable in the development of a wide class of functional-gradient composite materials.