Dry sliding wear behaviour of laser surface melting treated AM60B magnesium alloy

Laser surface melting (LSM) treatment using a high power diode laser (HPDL) has been applied to the AM60B Mg alloy and its wear resistance was tested using dry sliding pin-on-disc configuration with carbon steel discs as counterpart. Wear rates, friction coefficients and surface oxidation were measured. The analysis of the worn surfaces was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). The main wear mechanisms observed were abrasion, delamination, plastic deformation and oxidation. In terms of calculated wear parameters, the LSM AM60B magnesium alloy presents better wear behaviour in many conditions but in the slow sliding speed ones. The wear mechanisms for the laser-treated samples were detected under different wear conditions in comparison with the as-received alloy. Severe plastic deformation was not observed for the laser-treated samples. A wear mechanism map was constructed for the laser-treated AM60B Mg alloy.