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Surface characteristics of aluminum 6061-T6 subjected to Nd:YAG pulsed-laser irradiation

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the surface characteristics of an aluminum 6061-T6 alloy subjected to Nd:YAG pulsed-laser irradiation. The test specimens were prepared by a mechanical polishing process using diamond paste and emery polishing paper to obtain different levels of initial surface roughness. After ten pulsed-laser shots, the surface morphology was observed via optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Nano-indentation hardness testing was also conducted on the irradiated surface. The diameter of the melted zone increased with surface roughness because of the multiple reflection and absorption of the laser beam. The relative absorbance was measured as a function of the diameter of the melted zone with varied surface roughness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Automotive Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, 133-791, Korea

    Sungho Choi & Chung Seok Kim

  2. School of Mechanical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, 133-791, Korea

    Kyung-Young Jhang

  3. Agency for Defense Development, Daejeon, Korea

    Wan-Soon Shin

Authors
  1. Sungho Choi
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  2. Chung Seok Kim
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  3. Kyung-Young Jhang
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  4. Wan-Soon Shin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chung Seok Kim.

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Recommended by Guest Editor Dong-Ho Bae

Sungho Choi received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea in 2010. He is currently working on his M.S./Ph.D at Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea, studying ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation methods and laser-material interactions.

Chungseok Kim is currently a research professor of automotive engineering at Hanyang University, Korea. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees in material science & engineering from Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Korea in 2000 and 2002, respectively, and his Ph.D in material science & engineering from Korea University, Korea in 2007. His current research interests include material characterization by ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation and laser-material interactions.

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Choi, S., Kim, C.S., Jhang, KY. et al. Surface characteristics of aluminum 6061-T6 subjected to Nd:YAG pulsed-laser irradiation. J Mech Sci Technol 26, 2163–2166 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-012-0537-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-012-0537-x

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