Creation of heterogeneous materials on the basis of B4C and Ni powders by the method of cold spraying with subsequent layer-by-layer laser treatment

Abstract

A method is proposed for creating principally new functionally graded heterogeneous materials on the basis of B₄C ceramic powders with different mass fractions in the original mixture and plastic metallic additive of Ni by a combined method of cold spraying with subsequent layer-by-layer laser treatment. Mechanical properties of the resultant tracks are examined. It is shown that the track microhardness increases with increasing B₄C concentration in the original mixture. The track structure is found to depend on the size of ceramic particles in the interval from 3 to 75 μm. Reduction of the B₄C particle size (approximately by a factor of 2–3) inside the track owing to fragmentation under the action of the laser beam is observed for the first time.