Laser gas assisted nitriding and tin coating of Ti–6Al–4V alloy: Experimental and numerical investigation of mechanical properties

Three-point bending tests are carried out to measure the Young's modulus of laser gas assisting nitrided, laser gas assisting nitrided and coated, heat treated and coated, specimens. The testing conditions are incorporated to simulate the material response to the bending load using finite element modelling (FEM) and the ANSYS code is utilized in this regard. Laser gas assisted nitriding is carried out using a CO2 laser system while TiN coating is realized using the PVD coating unit. It is found that crack-free laser gas assisting nitrided layer of about 80 μm is achieved while TiN coatings thickness is about 2 μm. Young's modulus of TiN coating is similar to that obtained for laser gas assisting nitrided layer.