Corrosion and wear resistance improvement of magnesium alloys by laser cladding with Al-Si

Laser cladding with Al-Si powders have been carried out on three different magnesium alloys (AZ61, ZK30 and WE54) in order to improve their wear and corrosion properties using Nd:YAG CW laser. Optimized parameters allow obtaining crack and pore free coatings with good metallurgical bonding. Special care in shielding atmosphere is required to avoid porosity and corrosion. The hardness of the coatings is higher (130-250 HV) than that of as-received alloys. Salt spray corrosion tests and pin on disc sliding wear tests were carried out confirming that Al-Si coatings improves the wear and corrosion resistance of the alloys.