Microstructural evolution and hardness of as-cast Be-Al-Sc-Zr alloy processed by laser surface remelting

As-cast beryllium-aluminum(Be-Al)alloy exhibits a coarse microstructure with pore defects due to a large solidification interval,greatly limiting its mechanical properties.In this research,the relationship between laser surface remelting process and microstructure and hardness of as-cast Be-Al-Sc-Zr alloy was established.The experimental results demonstrated that a pore-free refined microstructure of remelted layer was obtained by controlling the parameter of effective laser energy input.The microstructure of as-cast Be-Al-Sc-Zr alloy consisted of equiaxed grains with Al phase forming a continuous frame wrapping Be phase,which was significantly refined in the remelted zone(from 25μm to 2μm).The Vickers hardness in the remelted zone(approximately 210 HV)was approximately 3 times that of as-cast Be-Al-Sc-Zr alloy.Analysis of the Vickers hardness and the Be phase size showed a good agreement with a Hall-Petch equation.In addition,transmission electron microscopy(TEM),auger electron spectroscopy(AES)and X-ray diffraction(XRD)analysis evidenced that Sc and Zr elements formed a single blocky phase Be13(Scx,Zr1-x),which was also greatly refined from 8μm to 1.5μm in the remelted zone.The results obtained in this study indicate that the laser surface remelting allowed refining the microstructure and further strengthening the Vickers hardness of Be-Al-Sc-Zr alloy.