Laser surface modification techniques and their impact on various properties of aluminum alloys: a comprehensive review

Nowadays, aluminum alloy is most prominently used in aerospace and automotive applications due to its high strength-to-weight ratio. In aggressive environments, the performance of corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and hardness is limited. The laser treatment approach is used for surface modification to overcome limitations, which enhances the surface properties of the material without affecting its bulk properties. This comprehensive review discusses various laser techniques interacting with aluminum alloy, such as laser cladding (LC), laser shock peening, laser surface alloying, laser remelting, laser texturing, and laser engraving (LE). The mechanism of each and every laser surface treatment (LST) has its impact on surface morphology, the development of residual stresses, and microstructural grain phase transformation. Previous researchers highlight that LST enhances surface hardness, wear, and corrosion resistance. This review helps to identify the suitable laser processing methods to enhance material surface properties, which can be further utilized to cater to various automotive or industrial applications. This review also highlights the various laser surface modification techniques and their impact on the various mechanical and microstructural properties of various alloys. Comparative analysis demonstrates that LC offers maximum enhancement in hardness and wear resistance, while other lasers, such as laser texturing and LE provide significant improvement in tribological performance. Additionally, laser process parameters are also studied which are being used by various researchers to get the maximum output.