Improving Wear and Corrosion of Magnesium Alloys through a Combination of Thermal Spraying and Laser Cladding

Saving energy is a major concern in every aspect of the economy, especially in the automotive and aerospace industry. The use of lightweight materials is one way to reduce weight of moving parts and thus energy consumption. Research activities to improve the porosity on the one hand, and the coating properties like wear and corrosion resistance on the other hand, show the potential of a hybrid coating process. The creation of thermal-sprayed coatings and a laser post-treatment enable a minimization of porosity and an improvement of wear properties. Different coating materials (e.g. Al-Si alloy) have been investigated regarding microstructure, hardness, wear- and corrosion protection.