CARACTERIZAÇÃO, ESTUDO DO COMPORTAMENTO ELETROQUÍMICO E SIMULAÇÃO NUMÉRICA DA LIGA HIPEREUTÉTICA Al-2%Fe TRATADAS POR REFUSÃO A LASER

Abstract

The technique of remelting superficial laser (RSL) has been set up as a tool of increasing interest in recent years because of its ability to improve the corrosion performance of aluminum alloys, as a result of the formation of thin melting layers, with refined microstructures and practically free of intermetallic precipitates and inclusions. The laser treated samples are much more chemically homogeneous than the base material. This technique is promising versatile and it can be used to modify the surface region by melting and rapid solidification processes without affecting the property of the base material. In this study we used the RSL technique in a media without gas protection and with 2 kW Yb-fiber laser (IPG YLR-2000S), it was applied to the hypereutectic alloy Al-2.0 wt%Fe in order to analyze the changes caused by the treatment, therefore the resultant microstructure was evaluated, as well as, the surface quality (roughness), hardness and corrosion resistance in the aerated media 25ºC, solution of H2SO4 0.1 mol/L. The study of corrosion was analyzed by different techniques such as corrosion potential measurement, cyclic voltammetry and potentiodynamic polarization tests (micro and macro polarization) and the technique of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). By EIS technique, the characterization of the electrochemical behavior of the treated layer was performed and the values of the equivalent circuit, composed of resistors, capacitors and inductors. Therefore equivalent electrical circuits were generated according to the results presented by EIS using computational mathematical tools and Matlab software (tools toolbox) was used to perform this step. These results showed that the laser surface treatment performed on the alloy Al-2.0 wt%Fe resulted to the formation of a more compact structure, homogeneous and finer microstructure, producing an increase in microhardness at about 60.7% compared to the base material, reducing roughness, and corrosion rates was of approximately 11 lower smaller when compared to the untreated alloy, the laser treated layer has behaved passively in a wide range of potential, the polarization resistance of the treated layer was higher in relation to the untreated sample, by the EIS technique at high frequencies the samples had capacitive behavior, however, at low frequencies the samples had an inductive behavior. The treated layer thus evidence the effectiveness of treatment RSL to improve the surface quality of the samples and wear and corrosion resistance.