Laser cladding of quasicrystalline alloys

Quasicrystals are a new class of ordenated structures with metaestable characteristics at room temperature. Quasicrystalline phases can be obtained by rapid quenching from the melt of some alloys. In general, quasicrystals present properties which make these alloys promising for wear and corrosion resistant coatings applications. During the last years, the development of quasicrystalline coatings by means of thermal spray techniques has been impulsed. However, no references have been found of their application by means of laser techniques. In this work four claddings of quasicrystalline compositions formed over aluminum substrate, produced by a continuos CO2 laser using simultaneous powders mixture injection are presented. The claddings were characterized by X ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Vickers microhardness.