Effects of low-power laser hardening on the mechanical and metallurgical properties of biocompatible SAE 420 steel

The present experimental work is carried out on SAE 420 steel to optimize process parameters of low-power laser hardening to improve surface micro-hardness and wear resistance for dry sliding for bio-medical applications. Laser power is the most significant factor for micro-hardening and wear resistance. Rank two for scanning speed and three for standoff distance, respectively. The experiments show that the surface micro-hardness of treated samples varies from 711 to 833 Vickers Pyramid Number by optimized process parameters such as laser beam power of 300 W, laser scan speed of 1.0 mm/s, and standoff distance of 225 mm. In comparison, the base material micro-hardness is 208 Vickers Pyramid Number as the predictive equation generated for finding micro-hardness value for the above three laser hardening process parameters. The dry sliding wear test is conducted on all laser-treated samples and a comparison is made with the untreated sample. A significant improvement in wear resistance was observed for treated as compared to untreated samples. The wear of laser hardened sample of SAE 420 steel was 3.67 x10-9 g/cm compared to untreated base metal wear rate of 139.00 x 10-9 g/cm at an applied load of 30 N and sliding speed of 300 revolutions per minute. The scanning electron microscopy analysis of wear samples (untreated, treated maximum, and minimum hardness) is observed for investigating material removal patterns.