Laser surface modification of AISI 410 stainless steel with brass for enhanced thermal properties

Brass coating was applied to AISI410 steel using high power laser in a laser engineered net shaping (LENS™) system. The influence of laser treatment on interfacial microstructure and thermal performance was evaluated as a function of coating thickness. Laser deposition resulted in a diffused and metallurgically sound interface between metallurgically incompatible brass coating and AISI410 steel substrate. The thermal conductivity of AISI410 steel increased from 27 W/mK to a maximum of 37 W/mK depending on the coating thickness, almost 50% gain. The absence of sharp interface between the coating and the substrate, as a result of laser processing, resulted in a low interfacial thermal contact resistance. Thermal performance tests showed that the brass coating can enhance the heat transfer rate of stainless steel substrate. These results show that novel and efficient feature based coatings can be exploited using laser-based advanced manufacturing technologies for various industrial applications.