METAL-CERAMIC FUNCTIONALLY GRADIENT MATERIAL PRODUCED BY LASER PROCESSING

A technique of injection with a powder feed of a mixture of metal + ceramic which combines the processes of laser alloying, cladding and injection, has been applied to study the feasibility of using a continuous wave CO2 laser to produce a functionally gradient material. A 2 kW CO2 laser has been used to produce, on a nickel alloy substrate, single alloy/clad tracks and three totally overlapping clad tracks using powder mixtures of Al-10 wt% SiC, Al-30 wt% SiC and Al-50 wt% SiC, respectively. The variation of composition and structure with position in the processed material has been investigated with reference to the effect of processing traverse speed and the powder feed rate.