Corrosion Behaviour of a Magnesium ZM5 Alloy Following Laser Cladding with a Mg-Cu Powder Layer.

The effect of laser cladding on the corrosion resistance of ZM5 magnesium alloy has been studied. Mg-Cu powders were ejected onto ZM5 magnesium alloy and then remelted by an continuous wave (CW) CO2 laser. As a result, a good metallurgical bond interface was obtained. The microstructure and phase constituent of the coating were investigated. The corrosion resistance of the coatings was also measured by means of potentiodynamic anodic polarization plots. The experimental results showed that the corrosion potential of the laser treated samples was about 185 mV higher than that of the untreated ZM5 sample. The immersion tests confirmed the corrosion resistance was enhanced after laser cladding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]