Formation of Structure of an Annealed High-Speed Steel upon Laser Surface Melting

Abstract

The effect of the time and energy parameters of pulsed laser treatment on the structure formation and hardness of high-speed steel after annealing upon surface melting has been studied. The results of the metallographic analysis and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis of the steel, as well as of the microhardness measurements, have been discussed. It has been shown that the laser-induced remelting of the annealed high-speed steel causes a significant refinement of both the solid solution and of the carbide constituent. The structure of the laser-affected zone and the morphology of dendrites depend on the laser-irradiation regimes.