Processing of Fe-based metallic glass alloy by extreme high-speed laser deposition

The remarkable mechanical properties of Fe-based metallic glass alloys, particularly their high corrosion and wear resistance, motivated the study of KUAMET 6B2® Fe-based metallic powder deposition on an AISI 4130 substrate using the Extreme High-Speed Material Deposition (EHLA) process, aiming to put forward a processing strategy for the deposition of amorphous coatings using the EHLA technique. Deposition parameters were studied for track deposition, single-layer, and multi-layer coatings, where Optical Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Vicker hardness and X-Ray Diffraction were applied to analyze the depositions. High cooling rates combined with low overlapping rates used in single-layer deposits prevent crystallization, increasing the amorphous phase content from 19% to 33%. A novelty processing strategy was proposed based on multi-layers deposition, improving amorphous content of 38%, while mitigating cracks propagation. A Fe-based metallic glass was processed by Extreme High-Speed Laser Deposition. High laser power and a slow scan speed account for the formation of amorphous phase. Small overlapping in single-layer coatings favors the formation of amorphous phase. Multi-layer coatings strategy proved successful in forming sound amorphous layers.