Superior corrosion resistance-dependent laser energy density in(CoCrFeNi)95Nb5 high entropy alloy coating fabricated by laser cladding

(CoCrFeNi)95Nb5 high entropy alloy(HEA)coatings were successfully fabricated on a substrate of Q235 steel by laser cladding technology.These(CoCrFeNi)95Nb5 HEA coatings possess excellent properties,particularly corrosion resistance,which is clearly superior to that of some typical bulk HEA and common engineering alloys.In order to obtain appropriate laser cladding preparation process parameters,the effects of laser energy density on the microstructure,microhardness,and corrosion resistance of(CoCrFeNi)95Nb5 HEA coating were closely studied.Results showed that as the laser energy density increases,precipitation of the Laves phase in(CoCrFeNi)95Nb5 HEA coating gradually decreases,and diffusion of the Fe element in the substrate intensifies,affecting the integrity of the(CoCrFeNi)95Nb5 HEA.This decreases the microhardness of(CoCrFeNi)95Nb5 HEA coatings.Moreover,the relative content of Cr2O3,Cr(OH)3,and Nb2O5 in the surface passive film of the coating decreases with increasing energy density,causing corrosion resistance to decrease.This study demonstrates the controllability of a high-performance HEA coating using laser cladding technology,which has significance for the laser cladding preparation of other CoCrFeNi-system HEA coatings.

Experimental study on mechanism of influence of laser energy density on surface quality of Ti-6Al-4V alloy in selective laser melting

This experiment obtained different laser energy density(LED) by changing SLM molding process parameters.The surface morphology, surface quality, and microstructure of as-fabricated samples were studied. The effects of scanning speed, hatching space, and laser power on surface quality were analyzed, and the optimal LED range for surface quality was determined. The results show that pores and spherical particles appear on the sample’s surface when low LED is applied, while there are lamellar structures on the sides of the samples. Cracks appear on the sample’s surface,and the splash phenomenon increases when a high LED is taken. At the same time, a large amount of unmelted powder adhered to the side of the sample. The surface quality is the best when the LED is 150-170 J/mm^(3). The preferred hatch space is currently 0.05-0.09 mm, the laser power is 200-350 W, and the average surface roughness value is(15.1±3) μm.The average surface hardness reaches HV404±HV3, higher than the forging standard range of HV340-HV395.Increasing the LED within the experiment range can increase the surface hardness, yet an excessively high LED will not further increase the surface hardness. The microstructure is composed of needle-like α’-phases with a length of about 20μm, in a crisscross ‘N’ shape, when the LED is low. The β-phase grain boundary is not obvious, and the secondaryphase volume fraction is high;when the LED is high, the α’-phase of the microstructure is in the form of coarse slats, and the secondary-phase is composed of a small amount of secondary α’-phase, the tertiary α’-phase and the fourth α’-phase disappear, and the volume fraction of the secondary-phase becomes low.

Selective Laser Melting of 30CrMnSiA Steel: Laser Energy Density Dependence of Microstructural and Mechanical Properties

Three-dimensional parts of the 30 CrMnSiA steel were successfully fabricated using selective laser melting（SLM）. The microstructures and mechanical properties of the SLM-processed 30 CrMnSiA samples were investigated by scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicate that the microstructures of the 30 CrMnSiA samples consist mainly of lath martensite and acicular martensite. The value of the surface roughness decreases with increasing laser energy density（LED） before it reaches a minimum and then increases with further increasing LED. The relative density, microhardness and ultimate tensile strength of the SLM-processed samples initially increase and then decrease with increasing LED. By taking the relative density, surface roughness, microhardness and ultimate tensile strength into account, the optimized LED should be in the range of 46.15–51.28 J mm^（-3） for the SLM-processed30 CrMnSiA alloys. In addition, the differences in the microstructures and mechanical properties between the conventionally wrought 30 CrMnSiA sample and SLM-processed 30 CrMnSiA samples were also studied.

New scheme to trigger fusion in a compact magnetic fusion device by combining muon catalysis and alpha heating effects

The application of laser pulses with psec or shorter duration enables nonthermal efficient ultrahigh acceleration of plasma blocks with homogeneous high ion energies exceeding ion current densities of 10^(12) A cm^(-2). The effects of ultrahigh acceleration of plasma blocks with high energy proton beams are proposed for muon production in a compact magnetic fusion device. The proposed new scheme consists of an ignition fusion spark by muon catalyzed fusion(μCF) in a small mirror-like configuration where low temperature D–T plasma is trapped for a duration of 1 μs. This initial fusion spark produces sufficient alpha heating in order to initiate the fusion process in the main device. The use of a multi-fluid global particle and energy balance code allows us to follow the temporal evolution of the reaction rate of the fusion process in the device. Recent progress on the ICAN and IZEST projects for high efficient high power and high repetition rate laser systems allows development of the proposed device for clean energy production. With the proposed approaches,experiments on fusion nuclear reactions and μCF process can be performed in magnetized plasmas in existing kJ/PW laser facilities as the GEKKO-LFEX, the PETAL and the ORION or in the near future laser facilities as the ELI-NP Romanian pillar.