Structure and mechanical properties of structural steel in laser resolidification processing

The structure of austenitic crystals and mechanical properties in the molten zone of a structural steel (C = 2.29 at.%, Mn = 0.71 at.%, Si = 0.62 at.%, S = 0.003 at.%, P = 0.004 at.%, Cr = 0.21 at.%, Ni = 0.26 at.%) upon laser resolidification has been studied. The laser scan rate has been varied in the range of 0.01-0.167 m/s. The mathematical modeling of laser regimes and formation of crystal patterns in the molten zone has been provided. The results of modeling and experiments are used to develop the microstructure selection map. It is shown that the results obtained can be used for predicting the mechanical properties in the molten zone as a function of the energy parameters of a process of laser annealing and thermophysical properties of the steel. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.