Laser Surface Treatments.

The surface treatment techniques are used to enhance the wear resistance of the work piece. Wear is defined as progressive material loss from the surface of a solid material, caused by contact and movement relative to solid, liquid or gaseous opposing material.

Possible wear mechanisms include:

Abrasive wear; due to soft surface by a hard surface, Adhesive wear, Surface fatigue, Tribochemical wear caused by chemical and mechanical interaction of basic body and opposing body with surrounding medium.

Surface hardening is used exclusively for heat treatable ferrous products and is
characterized by the fact that the process never reaches the melting  temperature. Laser remelting involves the creation of a remelting layer by heating a work piece above melting temperature. Thermo- chemical processes are based on heating while adding additional materials (solid, liquid or gas). Wear resistance by laser radiation may be improved by the following material- alterations:

Increasing the hardness, Modifying the surface topography, Applying wear resistance coatings, Inserting of internal compressive stresses, Creating of reaction layers.