scholarly journals Experimental Investigation of Laser Surface Transformation Hardening of 4340 Steel Spur Gears

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Borki ◽  
El Ouafi ◽  
Chebak

This paper presents an experimental investigation of laser surface transformation hardening (LSTH) of 4340 steel spur gears using regression analysis. The experimental work is focused on the effects of various LSTH parameters on the hardness profile shape and the hardened depth variation. The investigations are based on a structured design of experiments and improved statistical analysis tools. The experimentations are carried out on AISI 4340 steel spur gears using a commercial 3 kW Nd:YAG laser system. Laser power, scanning speed, and rotation speed are used as process parameters to evaluate the variation of the hardened depth and to identify the possible relationship between the process parameters and the hardened zone physical and geometrical characteristics. Based on the experimental data and analysis of variance, the direct and interactive contributions of the process parameters on the variation of the hardness profile shape and the hardened depth are analyzed. The main effects and the interaction effects are also evaluated. The results reveal that all the process parameters are relevant. The cumulative contribution of the three parameters in the hardened depth variation represents more than 80% with a clear predominance of laser power. The contribution of the interactions between the parameters represents 12% to 16%. The resulting hardness values are relatively similar for all the experimental tests with about 60 HRC. The evaluation of the produced regression models for hardened depth prediction shows limited performance suggesting that the predictive modeling process can be improved.

Coatings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noureddine Barka ◽  
Sasan Sattarpanah Karganroudi ◽  
Rachid Fakir ◽  
Patrick Thibeault ◽  
Vincent Blériot Feujofack Kemda

This study displays the effect of laser surface hardening parameters on the hardness profile (case depth) of a splined shaft made of AISI 4340 steel. The approach is mainly based on experimental tests wherein the hardness profile of laser hardened splines is acquired using micro-hardness measurements. These results are then evaluated with statistical analysis (ANOVA) to determine the principal effect and the contributions of each parameter in the laser hardening process. Using empirical correlations, the case depth of splined shaft at tip and root of spline’s teeth is also estimated and verified with measured data. The obtained results were then used to study the sensitivity of the measured case depths according to the evolution of laser process parameters and geometrical factors. The feasibility and efficiency of the proposed approach lead to a reliable statistical model in which the hardness profile of the spline is estimated with respect to its specific geometry.


Author(s):  
Ilyes Maamri ◽  
Noureddine Barka ◽  
Abderrazak El Ouafi

Maximum hardness and hardened depth are the responses of interest in relation to the laser hardening process. These values define heat treatment quality and have a direct impact on mechanical performance. This paper aims to develop models capable of predicting the shape of the hardness profile depending on laser process parameters for controlling laser hardening quality (LHQ), or rather the response values. An experimental study was conducted to highlight hardened profile sensitivity to process input parameters such as laser power (PL), beam scanning speed (VS) and initial hardness in the core (HC). LHQ modeling was conducted by modeling attributes extracted from the hardness profile curve using two effective techniques based on the punctual and geometrical approaches. The process parameters with the most influence on the responses were laser power, beam velocity and initial hardness in the core. The obtained results demonstrate that the geometrical approach is more accurate and credible than the punctual approach according to performance assessment criteria.


Author(s):  
Alessandro Fortunato ◽  
Leonardo Orazi ◽  
Giovanni Tani

The bottleneck in laser hardening principally occurs when large surfaces have to be treated because this process situation leads to multi-tracks laser scanning in order to treat all the component surface. Unfortunately, multi-tracks laser trajectories generate an unwanted tempering effect that depends on the overlapping of two close trajectories. To reduce the softening effects, a simulator capable to optimize the process parameters such as laser power and speed, number and types of trajectories, could sensibly increase the applicability of the process. In this paper an original model for the tempering is presented. By introducing a tempering time factor for the martensitic transformation, the hardness reduction can be predicted according to any laser process parameters, material and geometry. Experimental comparisons will be presented to prove the accuracy of the model.


2015 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shib Shankar Banerjee ◽  
Anil K. Bhowmick

ABSTRACT The application of the low-power CO2 laser-cutting process to fluoroelastomer (FKM), polyamide 6 (PA6), PA6/FKM thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), and their thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV) is reported. The main laser process parameters studied were laser power, cutting speed, and material thickness. The value of the top and bottom widths of the slit that were formed during laser cutting (kerf width), melted transverse area, and melted volume per unit time were measured and analyzed. Interestingly, TPE showed a smaller melted area and melted volume per unit time when compared with those values with PA6. Dynamic vulcanization further decreased these values. For example, the melted areas of PA6 and TPE were 510 × 10−3 mm2 and 305 × 10−3 mm2, respectively, which reduced to 238 × 10−3 mm2 for TPV at 40 W laser power. FKM showed the lowest value (melted area of 180 × 10−3 mm2). In addition, the output quality of the cut surface was examined by measuring the root mean square (RMS) roughness of the cut edges and heat-affected zone (HAZ). The obtained results indicated that the dimension of the HAZ and RMS roughness largely decreased in TPE when compared with PA6. For example, the HAZ of PA6 was 700 μm, which decreased to 230 μm for TPE at 40 W laser power. On the other hand, HAZ was nonexistent for FKM. Infrared spectroscopic analysis showed that there was no structural change of TPE or pristine polymers after applying the low-power CO2 laser on the surface of materials. CO2 laser cutting will be a new technique in this industry, and this analysis will assist the manufacturing industry to choose a suitable laser system with exhaustive information of process parameters for cutting or machining of rubber, TPEs, and TPVs.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shimin Dai ◽  
Hailong Liao ◽  
Haihong Zhu ◽  
Xiaoyan Zeng

Purpose For the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) technology, the side surface quality is essentially important for industrial applicated parts, such as the inner flow parts. Contour is generally adopted at the parts’ outline to enhance the side surface quality. However, the side surface roughness (Ra) is still larger than 10 microns even with contour in previous studies. The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of contour process parameters, laser power and scanning velocity on the side surface quality of the AlSi10Mg sample. Design/methodology/approach Using L-PBF technology to manufacture AlSi10Mg samples under different contour process parameters, use a laser confocal microscope to capture the surface information of the samples, and obtain the surface roughness Ra and the maximum surface height Rz of each sample after analysis and processing. Findings The results show that the side surface roughness decreases with the increase of the laser power at the fixed scanning velocity of 1,000 mm/s, the side surface roughness Ra stays within the error range as the contour velocity increases. It is found that the Ra increases with the scanning velocity increasing and the greater the laser power with the greater Ra increases when the laser power of contour process parameters is 300 W, 350 W and 400 W. The Rz maintain growth with the contour scanning velocity increasing at constant laser power. The continuous uniform contour covers the pores in the molten pool of the sample edge and thus increase the density of the sample. Two mechanisms named “Active adhesion” and “Passive adhesion” cause sticky powder. Originality/value Formation of a uniform and even contour track is key to obtain the good side surface quality. The side surface quality is determined by the uniformity and stability of the contour track when the layer thickness is fixed. These research results can provide helpful guidance to improve the surface quality of L-PBF manufactured parts.


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