Laser Nitriding of Ti-5.0Al-2.i5Sn

Laser surface treatment provides excellent wear resistance with good oxidation and corrosion resistance. Laser surface nitriding is one such technique resulting in high surface hardness to a depth of a few microns. This can be carried out in pure nitrogen and dilute nitrogen environments. This paper investigates the effect of laser nitriding on Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) Ti-5.0Al-2.5Sn alloy under pure nitrogen environment. The nitriding was carried out using 3 kW CW CO2 laser at different laser powers 900 W, 1.0 kW, and 1.2 kW with scan speeds 0.5 m min^-1, 1.0 m min^-1 and 1.5 m min^-1 respectively. Optical microscopic and Vickers hardness tests were conducted on the test specimen to reveal the effect of laser nitriding in melt zone of laser nitrided trail. The extra high surface hardness of 3785 VHN at 25-50 (m depth was observed using the laser variable 1.0 kW laser power, 1.0 m min^-1 speed and 3 mm beam dia. This may be attributed to the TiN dendrite formation. The melt zone of laser nitrided trail at other processing parameters shows fine needlelike structure of alpha prime with larger grain size and alpha in the heat affected zone with smaller grain size, with an average hardness 450 VHN. This present investigation shows that the surface of the nitrided trail is free from any cracks, even under the pure nitrogen atmosphere for all laser processing conditions.