Laser heat treatment of steel cutting blades for agricultural uses

Abstract

The present paper focuses on the laser surface treatment of mild steels with different %wt of carbon to be used as cutting blades in agricultural applications. The results are discussed in function of the metallographic study, hardness profiles, wear resistance and corrosion testing. Special attention is paid to the results of the results obtained with the experimental steel with carbon 0.33 %wt because it is a new promising material specifically developed to be applied in such agricultural uses. Metallographic studies showed three well defined regions: the laser treated zone, where solid state phase transformation occurs, the heat affected zone (HAZ) with partial transformations and finally the bulk metal with the original microstructure. Surface hardness was in all cases higher than the base steel in a depth range 600 μm. Wear resistance is notably improved with laser heat treatment while no detrimental effects were induced in their specific corrosion resistance.