Overlapping regions of laser surface treatment are necessary features when processing large surface areas or cylindrical specimens. However, complex microstructural changes that appear in the regions with multiple heat treatment can affect their mechanical properties. Therefore, this study focuses on examining thermal cycle characteristics and resulting microstructures, particularly martensite and retained ferrite structures, to better understand the correlation between experienced thermal cycles and resulting microstructures. Laser surface hardening experiments on 44MnSiVS6 microalloyed steels together with thermal diffusion simulations were conducted to relate microstructures after the secondary pass of the laser treatment to the local thermal cycles experienced during the process. The amount of retained ferrite was calculated and compared to the respective thermal cycle characteristics. Regions which experienced thermal cycles below Ac3 temperature showed microstructures similar to those after tempering. The sizes of retained ferrite structures were found to decrease as the total holding time increases regardless of how the holding time is distributed in multiple laser treatments. However, the size of retained ferrite structures were constant in the region where tempering effect occurred. This shows that the amount of retained ferrite can be tailored by modifying the experienced total holding time and a reduction of retained ferrite structure happens only if the secondary thermal cycle is above Ac3 temperature.

Improvement of crankshaft fatigue properties can be approached by altering its mechanical properties in the surface, such as laser surface treatment. Laser beam treatment offers efficient and precise surface hardening processing with possibility of reducing the production cost compared to the conventional hardening techniques. However, its characteristic of having short thermal cycle can be a challenge for the development of laser surface hardening techniques, such as inadequacy of literatures in phase transformation and resulting mechanical properties under rapid heating and cooling rate. Therefore, this work investigated the impact of short thermal cycles induced by the laser beam on the resulting microstructure and hardness properties in the surface of 38MnSiVS5 and 44MnSiVS6 microalloyed steels. Temperature cycles during the process were recorded and examined with the resulting microstructure along with microhardness values. 44MnSiVS6 microalloyed steel, which contains ca. double the amount of vanadium compared to 38MnSiVS5 steel, produces finer ferrite grains in the treated area for all investigated short thermal cycles. This fine-grained microstructure leads to steady hardness distributions in the treated area. The short thermal cycle was assumed to be unable to dissolve the vanadium precipitates that reside in the ferrite grains, which then initiate precipitation hardening.

The depth homogeneity of laser-treated zones is one possible factor to define the quality and efficacy of altered mechanical properties in materials. For instance, half-rounded cross-sectional shapes of laser hardened zones using Gaussian beams provide dissimilar hardened depth in the edges and center of the treated area. This means that the in-depth distribution of compressive residual stress varies between the edges and the center of the hardened area. Nonhomogeneity of compressive residual stress distributions can inhibit fatigue properties and can lead to product failure. The utilization of oscillated laser beams has been proven to improve the welding efficiency and energy input distribution to the material, which promises achieving a homogeneous depth of laser-treated zones in hardening applications. Therefore, this work examines the influence of triangular, square, and circular beam oscillation strategies on the energy input distribution during the process and the geometry of the laser-treated zones on microalloyed steel. Laser beam pathways were assembled using a vector graphic editor to visualize the energy distribution from each oscillation strategy. Cross section images of the hardened tracks were taken and related to the thermal energy input profiles. It was revealed that each oscillation strategy demonstrates characteristic temporal and spatial thermal energy input distribution, influencing the geometry of the hardened zone. The circular oscillation strategy produced a widely constant depth in contrary to the triangular and square beam oscillation due to its characteristic energy distribution that allows homogeneous heat dissemination in the material. This confirms that the laser beam oscillation strategy can tailor the energy input distribution to optimize the processing outcome.

Fatigue property improvement for automotive components such as crankshafts can be achieved through material selection and tailored surface design. Microalloyed steels are of high interest for automotive applications due to their balanced properties, excellent hardenability and good machinability. Lasers facilitate efficient and precise surface processing and understanding the laser-material-property interrelationships is the key to process optimisation. This work examines microstructural development during laser surface treatment of 44MnSiVS6 microalloyed steel and the resulting mechanical properties. Laser beam shaping techniques are employed to evaluate the impact of beam shaping on the process. It revealed that ferrite structures remain in the treated area surrounded by martensite due to insufficient heating and dwell time of carbon diffusion.