Improvement of the corrosion behavior of low carbon steel by laser surface alloying

In the present study, an integrated layer of iron aluminides of FeAl and Fe3Al was formed on the surface of a low carbon steel sheet by a two-step process. The first step was hot dipping of the steel in a molten aluminum pool and secondly laser surface processing using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser. The corrosion resistance of the coated specimens was evaluated by activation polarization and Tafel methods. The results show that laser processing of the aluminized steel leads to a considerable increase in its corrosion resistance compared to both uncoated and merely aluminized materials.

- Laser processing of hot dipped steel formed Fe3Al and FeAl intermetallics.
- Corrosion resistance of dipped steel increased 2 times after laser processing.
- Corrosion resistance of base steel increased 5 times after laser processing.