Microstructural Evaluation of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Treated With Pulsed Laser Nd:YAG

The present study concerns laser surface nitriding of Ti-6Al-4V. The Ti-6Al-4V alloy was submitted a superficial treatment of pulsed laser Nd:YAG (λ=1.064 μ\m) in atmosphere of 40wt% nitrogen-60wt% argon. The samples were characterized by optical microscopy and electron scanning microscopy. The microstructure of the surface nitrided Ti-6Al-4V consists of TiN dendrites distributed in α--Ti matrix. It can be noted that there is a significant enhancement in surface roughness after surface nitriding (6.60 μm) as compared to the as received Ti-6Al-4V (0.46 μm). The microhardness of the surface is improved to 1100 VHN as compared to the 340 VHN of substrate.