FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The current invention is related to a process of improving tensile strength of cold
rolled close annealed (CRCA) grade low carbon steel using multi-track laser
surface hardening method. The steel manufactured by current methods can be
used for producing automotive components which require tailored properties.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Automotive components such as A, B and C pillars, chassis arm, wheel
connector, connecting rail etc. require different strength across the length of the
components. A number of methods such as flame heating, induction heating etc.
are established to increase surface hardening but these methods have several
limitations. The surface hardening of steel using laser has attracted much
attention during the past two decades.
High power laser beam of specific size can be used for surface hardening. Laser
surface hardening method provides various advantages such as high degree of
controllability, high reproducibility, treatment of complex areas with precision,
case depth controllability, excellent amenability to automation, high processing
speed etc. Furthermore, the typical shallow laser hardened zone facilitates in
minimizing distortion and vast reduction or elimination of post-hardening process
requirements compared to hardening techniques.
In a typical laser hardening process, a laser beam of specific power and spot size
is scanned on the steel surface of a steel sheet with a specific pre-determined
speed. The laser contact increases the surface temperature of steel surface to
the extent of austenetization temperature and thereby, results in martensitic
transformation beneath the steel surface to a certain depth.
The extent of martensite formation in the microstructure and its depth is
dependent upon hardenability (chemical composition) of the steel sheet and
adopted processing parameters.

The technique [1,2] of surface hardening using laser beams have been
extensively utilized and commercially exploited for medium carbon and high
carbon steels mainly for the applications where wear resistance improvement is
required to a big extent. However, the technique is not explored for low carbon
steel because hardenability of low-carbon steel is not significant to improve the
surface property. Use of lasers provide precisely determined localized heat input,
negligible distortion, ability to treat specific areas, access to confined areas and
short cycle times.
Although, Nd:YAG (Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet) and CO2 laser
systems have both been used for a number of years. However, these systems
have limitations such as high capital cost, perceived reliability of equipment, low
wall-plug efficiency, high size of equipment, low area coverage rates and
complexity of operation. These limitations have restricted their adaptability in
industry. Also, such system when used with laser source for the study of surface
hardening, the problems associated with high reflectance are observed as
reported by Selvan et al. [3], Katsamas [4] and Putatunda et al. [5].
Ehlers et al. [2] used a 2kW diode laser to harden medium carbon steel to
achieve the case depths of up to 1mm at speeds of 400 mm/min, although no
hardness values were reported. An even energy distribution with wider spot, and
a shorter wavelength produced by the diode laser, attribute many beneficial
effects in using the diode laser beam for surface hardening, for instance,
increased process efficiency, high coupling efficiency, high area coverage, high
surface-temperature controllability, wide area processing compared to the other
available laser types [2].
Most of the prior art work was however carried out on laser hardening of
medium and high carbon steels using different types of lasers and laser beams.
For instance, the transformation hardening of hypo-eutectoid and hypereutectoid
steel surface was reported by Ashby [6], using continuous wave CO2 laser beam.

They have concluded that steels with a carbon level below 0.1%wt does not
respond to laser treatment on account of poor hardenability.
Besides the above work on laser surface hardening, a number patents have also
been published. For instance, patent No: CN1121115 states that Long cylinder of
medium carbon steel, medium carbon alloy steel etc, were surface hardened by
involving carbon-nitrogen co-cementing treatment. Similarly, Patent Nos:
JP59179776 and JP59185723 used laser carburization method for surface
hardening of pure Iron and low carbon steel, whereas Patent Nos: US4533400,
US4539461, US5073212 developed laser surface hardening method and
apparatus for surface hardening of gear and to improve fatigue properties of
turbine blade alloy steel. A new method was introduced namely laser quenching
in the Patent No: US5182433 and it was effectively used in Patent Nos:
US5313042 and US6379479. Laser phase transformation and ion implantation
process were used for ferrous and non-ferrous metals to improve the hardness
and corrosion resistance as patented in Patent No: US6454877.
The US patent US6218642, assigned to J. F. Helmold & Bro., Inc., discloses a
method of surface hardening of steel work piece using laser beam to obtain
equivalent or superior ductility with enhanced wear resistance. The selected
surface areas of steel work pieces are heat treated using the laser beam to
increase the hardness in the required surfaces. Laser beam of less intensity is
subsequently applied, for relieving stress. Application of laser beam reduced
processing time without weakening metal section and its durability. The method
can be used for the cutting rules, knife blades etc.
The European patent EP2161095, assigned to Alstom Technology Ltd., discloses
method of surface treatment of turbine component using laser or electron
radiation. In this method the surface of the steam turbine is remelted by laser
radiation or electron radiation and then surface-alloying is done to increase the
mechanical stability and the corrosion resistance of the surface of the steam
turbine. The method provides steam turbine part with good smoothness, high

strength and high corrosion resistance thus improves the efficiency of the turbine
blade. This method can be used for treating surface of a steam turbine made of
austenitic or ferritic-martensitic steel.
The European patent EP0893192, assigned to Timken Co, discloses the method
of imparting residual compressive stresses on steel (machine) components by
inducing martensite formation in surface/subsurface microstructure. In this
invention, the steel component, such as a bearing race, is locally melted using
laser beam along its surface of the component. The remelted steel layer gets
rapidly solidified to transform some of the austenite into martensite.
Subsequently after tempering, most of the laser-treated case becomes
martensitic and the solidified steel acquires a residual compressive stress due to
volume expansion associated with martensite transformation. This process
improves fatigue performance and crack resistance of the component and can be
used to improve the physical characteristics of machine.
The Chinese patent CN101225464, assigned to Xi An Thermal Power Res. Inst,
discloses an invention that relates to a method to improve the anti-oxidation
performance in high temperature steam atmosphere of ferrite/martensite
refractory steel. The properties of rapidly heated and rapidly cooled layer results
in phase transformation with grain refinement on the steel surface. This
improves chromium element diffusion from basal body to oxygenation level,
thereby improving high temperature and steam oxidation resisting properties of
ferrite/ferrite refractory steel.
The European patent EP0585843A2 discloses the alloying elements and
microstructures suited for realizing a marked increase in strength of low-carbon
or ultra-low carbon steel plate using a high-density energy source such as a
laser. More particularly, the invention relates to a highly formable steel plate
which can be enhanced in strength in necessary areas by laser treatment after
forming or the laser treatment according to the invention can be performed prior
to the forming as well.

The prior art discusses the use of laser beam hardening process for medium and
high carbon steels, which have limited use in automotive industry as these steels
show poor formability. In addition, it emphasizes the application of surface
hardening only to improve the surface related properties (for example, wear
resistance, oxidation resistance, corrosion resistance etc). In light of the above
mentioned prior art, there is need of developing a laser beam hardening process
that can be used for thin low carbon steels.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to improve overall strength of CRCA (cold rolled
close annealed) steel sheet (low carbon) using multi-track laser surface
hardening method.
Another object of the invention is to design a process with various variables like
laser power, scanning speed, steel chemistry, thickness and pattern etc. that can
be applicable for low carbon steel grades.
Another object of the invention is to propose a process to create a composite
structure by developing hardened layer of the steel blank by employing laser
surface hardening using multi-track laser treatment on one surface.
Still another object of the invention is to propose a process to generate dual
phase structure (bainite / martensite) up to a depth of 0.3 mm (millimeter) from
the surface by employing laser surface hardening (LSH) of low-carbon steel.
Still another object of the invention is to develop a laser surface treatment
process for the formation of a hardened layer up to a depth of 0.3 mm
(millimeter) along the thickness without affecting the bulk structure.
Still another object of the invention is to develop a laser surface treatment
process applicable for steel sheet products of a thickness of 1 mm or below.

Still another object of the invention is to develop a process for increasing
dent/wear resistance, overall endurance limit for fatigue of the automotive
components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A surface of 500mm x 500mm size of cold rolled close annealed (CRCA) low
carbon and low manganese steel sheet is heat treated by a laser beam with the
optimized process variables, (such as laser power and laser scanning speed) and
self-cooled under a water cooled copper plate on which the cold rolled close
annealed (CRCA) low carbon steel sheet was clamped. The laser treatment
improves the overall mechanical strength of the steel sheet to make it adaptable
for use in automotive components. The effects of laser beam processing (LP) on
the microstructure and micro-hardness of the working steel sheets are recorded
and tensile properties are investigated. Laser beam processing of the steel sheet
results in dual phase structure with some grain refinement in the transition zone
up to a certain depth on one surface. The steel sheet across the cross section
consists of a hardened layer and the softer core, which accomplishes an increase
in overall tensile properties (27-59% increase in YS and 20% -24% increase in
UTS) in the steel sheet.
Variables
As per the current invention, the process can be applied to a CRCA steel
comprising of carbon in the range of 0.04-0.07 weight %. Two grades of steel
were used with variable Manganese composition, one steel grade (type-1)
comprising Manganese in the range of 0.15-0.25 weight % and another steel
grade (type-2) comprising 1.4 weight %. The table 1 shows the chemical
composition of the steel grades considered for experiments. The initial
microstructure of the steel contains primarily ferritic structure. The setup utilized
for laser hardening shown as schematic in Fig 1 constitutes a diode laser beam
carried by a 1500-micron optical fiber (1) and focused with the optical head (2)

to produce laser beam (3) into a square spot of 4 mm X 4 mm onto the surface
of steel blank (4). The steel blank is fixed to the table (6) with the help of
clamps (5) and the laser beam is moved at a predetermined scanning speed to
result in the hardened layer at the interaction region (7). The diode laser beam is
applied using several combinations of process variables to achieve a definite
surface temperature for phase transformation. The process variables for laser
surface hardening have been identified as 2.5-3.5 KW of laser power and a scan
speed of 150-250 mm/s. These variables can be selected with respect to the
desired depth of hardened layer and hardness level. The beam is moved over the
clamped steel sheet surface using a 6-axis Robot with the movement of beam
occurring along the axis of the square beam.
The hardened depths for CRCA steel blanks had been measured up to 200-300
urn, which have been achieved at optimum processing condition of a laser
power: 2.5-3.5 KW and scan speed: 150-250 mm/s.
One type of laser beam pattern (with variations in overlapping effects between
multi-tracks) is selected to create the harder layer and thus to improve the
overall mechanical strength of the steel sheets as shown in Fig. 2.
Microstructure contains a combination of bainitic and/or martensitic dual phase
structure (Fig. 5). This fraction of martensite was found to be enough to achieve
225-250HV hardness level as compared to its base hardness of 90-100HV for
typel steel, whereas, laser treated type2 steel sheet shows 280-300HV and
type3 shows 320-350HV as compared to base hardness of 110-120HV and 150-
160HV respectively (Fig. 3).
Surface hardening of each type of steel sheet was done on one surface. (Fig. 2).
The main application of these types of sheets will be to manufacture auto-
components which require tailored mechanical strength in its different locations

of the component Additionally, it will also give better wear resistance for skin
panel components as the hardness level is improving by 100%.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
Figure 1 - Schematic of processing setup utilized for laser hardening of a
CRCA steel sheet (1: 1500-μm fiber carrying diode laser beam, 2:
optical head for focusing laser beam, 3: 4 mm X 4 mm square
diode laser beam spot, 4: steel blank, 5: Clamps used for fixing
steel sheet, 6: working table and 7: laser interaction region
(hardened layer).
Figure 2 - Schematic representation of laser surface treatment of the steel
sheet.
Figure 3 - Hardness profile on the laser treated surface across the laser tracks
as shown in Figure 2. (a) Typel (b) Type2 (c) Type3.
Figure 4 - Tensile Stress-Strain diagram of the base and laser surface treated
steels sheets, (a) Typel (b) Type2 (c) Type3.
Figure 5 - SEM micrograph of base and laser treated surface, (a) Typel-Base
(b) Typel-LSH (c) Type2-Base (d) Type2-LSH (e) Type3-Base (f)
Type3-LSH
Figure 6 - Blanks shapes and dimensions (a) Base steel (b) laser treated; (c)
Image of the base steel and laser surface hardened sample after LDH test.
Figure 7 - Punch force Vs. punch displacement. Comparison between base and
laser treated for the three steel grades.
Figure 8: a) B Pillar (Type 1 Steel) -as received, b) B Pillar (Type 1 Steel) -
Tailored Microstructure, c) B Pillar (Type 1 Steel) - Full area hardened.
Figure 9: Salt Spray Test of type 1 Steel sample-base and Type 1 Steel sample -
laser treated (as per the process of the current invention).

Figure 10: S-N curve for type 1 grade steels to evaluate the fatigue limit of
typel base material and laser surface hardened(LSH) type 1 steel.
Figure 11: S-N curve for type3 grade steels to evaluate the fatigue limit of type3
base steel sample and laser surface hardened(LSH) type 3 steel.
Figure 12: S-N curve for type2 grade steels to evaluate the fatigue limit of type2
base steel sample and laser surface hardened (LSH) type2 steel.
DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The process of the current invention involves laser surface hardening treatment
of the cold rolled closed annealed steel sheet. Further, steel used in the current
invention involves carbon in the low range. The objective of using low carbon
and low manganese steel is to develop desired steel composition for use in
automotive components. In an embodiment of the current invention, the carbon
present in the steel is in the range of 0.04-0.07 weight % and manganese in the
range of 0.15-0.25 weight %. In another embodiment of the current invention,
the manganese present in the steel is equal to 1.4 weight %. Table 1 shows the
chemical composition of the steel grades selected for laser surface treatment
according to the current invention.
Table 1: Chemical composition of the steel sheet used for experiments:


The selected compositions of the steel sheets were laser treated using different
laser profiles to evaluate optimized processing parameters. The process of the
current invention involves heating the surface of the cold rolled close annealed
(CRCA) low carbon steel sheet using a multi-track laser beam to an austenizing
temperature and self-quenched for phase transformation of the initial
microstructure to harder dual phase structure. The process involves tracks of
laser beam overlapping in the range of 0 -2 mm. In the embodiment of the
invention the tracks of laser beam are overlapping preferably within 1 mm.
Further, rapid cooling is achieved by using a water cooled copper plate on which
the cold rolled close annealed (CRCA) low carbon steel sheet is clamped.
Table 3 below demonstrates the tensile property evaluation of the all laser
treated samples. The laser power of the multi-track laser beam used for treating
typel, type 2 and type 3 steel varies in the range of 1.8 - 3.5 KW. Further, the
scanning speed of the multi-track laser beam is in the range of 100- 250 mm/s.
In an embodiment of the invention, the laser power of the multi-track laser beam
is in the range of 2.5-3.5 KW and scanning speed of the multi-track laser beam is
in the range of 150-250 mm/s. Further, surface temperature of the cold rolled
close annealed (CRCA) low carbon steel sheet is restricted to eliminate any
possibility of melting (This is achieved by evaluating effect of process parameters
insitu surface temperature and post process analysis.).
The type 1 and type 2 steel contains low manganese with similar carbon
contents, however tensile property of base material is different and the
improvement of YS for type 2 is significant (59% increase) compared to type 1
after laser surface hardening as evident from figure 4 and Table 3. Increase in
UTS for both grades type 1 and type 2 steel was 20% after the laser surface
hardening. The type 3 though has high Mn content (1.4%) and thus higher
tensile strength of base material, however, it shows lesser increase in YS (27%).
The increase in UTS was around (20%). The process of the current invention
resulted in more increase in YS than UTS in all the cases.

Table 3: Tensile property evaluation of the all laser treated samples. (LSH: Laser
Surface Hardening)

The process variables for laser surface hardening have been identified as 1.8-3.5
KW of laser power and a scan speed of 100-250 mm/s. In an embodiment of the
invention, laser surface hardening parameters were identified as 2.5-3.5 KW of
laser power and a scan speed of 150-250 mm/s
Results:
Hardenabilitv
The surface microstructure of the laser treated area is illustrated in Fig. 5. At the
same time, hardness profile was taken across multi-tracks of laser treated area
on the surface and is presented in Fig. 3. The hardness level increased to 225-
250HV as compared to its base hardness of 90-100HV for typel steel, whereas,
laser treated type 2 steel sheet shows 280-300HV and type3 shows 320-350HV
as compared to base hardness of 110-120HV and 150-160HV respectively (Fig.
3). The SEM micrograph shown in Fig. 5 indicates the formation of hard dual
phases (bainite and martensite) which are responsible for the increased hardness
values.

Formabilitv
Formability test
Dome test was carried out on base and laser treated blanks of three different
grades: a) Type 1 b) Type 2 and c) Type 3 . Blank size was 200 mm X 200 mm
as shown in Fig.6. In case of laser treated blanks, the half portion of the blank
was treated as shown below. Dome test was carried by a servo-hydraulic forming
press. The punch speed was 1.0 mm per second and the blank holding force was
120 kN. It can be seen that the load for CMn 440 is highest followed by DQ and
then EDD. This is in line with the expectation as the strengths of base material
were in that order only. Fig. 7 shows the Punch force Vs Punch displacement for
laser treated blanks and it can be seen that in this case also the trend follows the
same sequence. Fig.6 c shows the comparison between base and laser treated
blanks for the three steel grades and it can be seen that for all the steel grades
the punch load for laser treated blanks are higher compared to that of the base
blank signifying the strength increase due to laser treatment.
Formability Test on B-pillar
B-pillar was selected as it is one of the components which require variable
strength. The forming was carried on the same double action hydraulic forming
press. Figure 8 shows the prototype of the formed component.
Painting Test:
Zinc phosphate treatments for the automobile industry determine the paint
adhesiveness and influence the corrosion resistance of the automobile body. We
have studied the Zinc phosphability and the cathodic electro deposition (CED)
coating on base of Type 1 and Laser treated Type 1 steel substrate. From the
different experimental analysis, it can be concluded that on base-Type 1 steel
phosphating provides small crystal with uniform coverage. Whereas Laser treated
type 1 steel sheet provides large-leaf shape crystal. But both the samples i.e.
with and without laser treated Type 1 phosphate sheet provides almost similar
performance after CED coating. In both the cases CED coated samples

provide good mechanical, adhesion and corrosion resistance properties.
Physical Properties of CED Coating
The result on physical properties of CED films has been tabulated in table 9 i.e.,
no square was lifted by the cross-hatch test. Hardness of the CED film of this
adduct can also be said to be good, as indicated by scratch hardness and pencil
hardness as shown in table 4.Table 4: Coating properties of 3 mint CED coating
at 180V

No Change*: No Blister, no Creepage
Painted panels (base sample and laser treated samples) with scribe on the
surface were exposed in ASTM B117 test chamber. At regular interval of time,
panels were withdrawn from the test cabinet and visually check for any types of
degradation or damage happened on coated surface. Soon after the check,
panels were inserted back into the ASTM B 117 test chamber. From the salt
spray test result it has been observed that, initially CED coating on type 1 steel
and laser treated type 1 steel sample provide almost similar corrosion
performance (Figure 9). But after 24 days of exposure some micro blister and

under film creepage was observed on scribe area. Whereas laser treated type 1
steel CED sample showing good corrosion resistance even after 24 days of
exposure in SST chamber. There was no blister or under film corrosion observed
on laser treated type 1 steel sample.
Fatigue Property Evaluation:
a) S-N Curve to determine fatigue limit:
High cycle fatigue tests were conducted for Type 1 base steel and the type 1
laser treated steel under the following test parameters and plotted S-N curve to
evaluate the fatigue life of both the materials for comparison.
R = -1, Sinus waveform, Frequency: 20 Hz
No. of cycle to failure vs. the amplitude as depicted in Fig. 10 shows that typel-
laser treated steel sheets have better fatigue life compared with the tyepl-base
steel. The endurance limit for typel-base material was obtained in the stress
level of 60% of its YS, i.e. 120 MPa, whereas endurance limit for typel-laser
treated steel sample is in the stress level of 50% of its YS, i.e. 140 MPa. As the
YS of laser treated materials are higher than the base material, the fatigue
resistance of the former one is superior.
Similarly, laser treated type3 grade of steel sheets show the endurance limit at
stress level of 40% of YS, whereas for type3-base steel sample the same is 50%
of YS (Fig. 11). Nevertheless, YS of laser surface treated material is 420MPa, and
for base material is 330 MPa. Therefore, the stress level of endurance limit of
laser treated material will be marginally higher than that of base materials. These
results suggest that for type3 grade of steel, fatigue resistance is not increasing
as much as compared to the typel-laser treated material.
S-N curve for type2 base steel sample and laser treated type2 steel was
generated to evaluate its endurance limit as shown in Fig. 12. No. of cycle to

failure for type 2 steel is very scattered, however, the stress level of endurance
limit is the 60% of YS in the both cases. The no. of cycles to failure for laser
treated type2 steel material drops sharply. YS of laser treated type2 steel
increases 60% as compared to the type2 base materials.
The process of the current invention offers significant advantages in light of the
prior art. The process can be used for laser hardening of low carbon steel that
have good formability and hence, can be used for automotive components. The
process further results in increasing dent/wear resistance, overall endurance limit
for fatigue of the treated steel sheets as evident from the various experimental
results described above. The process further results in increasing hardening of
the steel sheets and hence can be used for building components which need
different strength along the length of the components.

References:
1. W.M. Steen, Laser Material Processing, Springer, London 1991.
2. B. Ehlers, et al., Proceedings of the ICALEO, Section G, 1998, pp. 75-84.
3. J. Selvan, et al., J. Mater. Process. Technol. 91 (1) (1999) 29-36.
4. A.I. Katsamas, Surf. Coat. Technol. 115 (2) (1999) 249-255.
5. S.K. Putatunda, et al., Surf. Eng. 13 (5) (1997) 407-414.
6. M.F. Ashby et al., Acta Metall. Vol. 32, No. 11.(1984), 1935-1948.
7. Patent No: CN1121115, Surface hardening treatment method for inner wall
of long cylinder, 1996-04-24.
8. Patent No: JP59179776, Surface hardening method by carburization
hardening of pure Iron and low carbon steel by laser, 1984-10-12.
9. Patent No: JP59185723, Low strain surface hardening method of cold worked
parts, 1984-10-22.

WE CLAIM
1. A process for increasing tensile and fatigue strength of a cold rolled close
annealed (CRCA) low carbon steel sheet, the process comprising:
multi-track laser beam heating of surface of the cold rolled close annealed
(CRCA) low carbon steel sheet to an austenizing temperature; and rapid
cooling for phase transformation of the initial microstructure to harder
dual phase structure.
2. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tracks of laser beam are
overlapping in the range of 0 -2 mm.
3. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tracks of laser beam are
overlapping preferably within 1 mm.
4. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cold rolled close annealed
(CRCA) low carbon steel sheet comprises carbon in range of 0.03-0.07
weight %.
5. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cold rolled close annealed
(CRCA) low carbon steel sheet comprises Manganese in the range of 0.15-
1.4 weight %.
6. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cold rolled close annealed
(CRCA) low carbon steel sheet comprises Manganese in range of 0.15-
0.25 wt%.
7. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cold rolled close annealed
(CRCA) low carbon steel sheet composition comprises (wt%) Carbon:
0.03-0.08, Manganese: 0.15-0.25 and 1.4, Sulphur: 0.005-0.008,
Phosphorous: 0.009-0.024, Silicon: 0.005-0.02, Aluminium: 0.04,
Vanadium: 0.001, Niobium: 0.001, Titanium:0.002, and rest is Iron (Fe).

8. The process as claimed in claim 1 to claim 7, wherein laser power of the
multi-track laser beam is in the range of 1.8 - 3.5 KW.
9. The process as claimed in claim 1 to claim 7, wherein scanning speed of
the multi-track laser beam is in the range of 100- 250 mm/s.
10. The process as claimed in claim 1 and claim 8, wherein laser power of the
multi-track laser beam is in the range of 2.5-3.5 KW.
11. The process as claimed in claim 1 and claim 9, wherein scanning speed of
the multi-track laser beam is in the range of 150-250 mm/s.
12. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rapid cooling is achieved
using a water cooled copper plate on which the cold rolled close annealed
(CRCA) low carbon steel sheet is clamped.
13. The process as claimed in claim 1 further comprising the steps of
controlling surface temperature of the cold rolled close annealed (CRCA)
low carbon steel sheet to eliminate any possibility of melting based on on-
line surface temperature effect and comparing with pre-stored data
representing surface temperature effect.
14. The cold rolled close annealed (CRCA) low carbon steel sheet produced as
per the process claimed in claim 1 to claim 13, wherein YS and UTS of the
cold rolled close annealed (CRCA) low carbon steel sheet increases by 27-
59%, and 20-24% respectively.
15. The cold rolled close annealed (CRCA) low carbon steel sheet produced as
per the process claimed in claim 1 to claim 13, wherein the cold rolled
close annealed (CRCA) low carbon steel sheet comprises a harder dual
phase structure with a hardened layer up to a depth of 0.3 mm.

16. The cold rolled close annealed (CRCA) low carbon steel produced as per
the process claimed in claim 1 to claim 13, wherein the cold rolled close
annealed (CRCA) low carbon steel sheet comprises a harder dual phase
structure with a hardened layer depth preferably in the range 200-300
urn.
17. The cold rolled close annealed (CRCA) low carbon steel produced as per
the process claimed in claim 1 to claim 13, wherein the fatigue strength of
the low carbon steel sheet is 60% of its YS.
18. The cold rolled close annealed (CRCA) low carbon steel sheet produced as
per the process claimed in claim 1 to claim 13, wherein the fatigue
strength of the cold rolled close annealed (CRCA) low carbon steel sheet is
at least 50% of YS.

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a multi-track laser beam process of surface hardening of
steel sheet with low-carbon and low manganese steel. The resulting steel shows
improved mechanical strength and can be used for manufacturing of automotive
components. The process comprises the steps of: providing CRCA steel grades of
( low carbon and low manganese) in the form of flat sheet having a chemical
composition range by weight percentage, C: 0.03-0.07, Mn: 0.15-0.25 and 1.4,
S: 0.005-0.009, P: 0.009-0.014, Si: 0.005-0.02, Al: 0.04, V: 0.001, Nb: 0.001,and
Ti:0.002 ; optimizing laser processing variables to reach austenizing temperature
capable for phase transformation of the initial microstructure to harder dual
phase structure of the steel sheet; selecting a laser track pattern for surface
hardening of the steel sheet; applying the selected laser processing variables in
the form of laser power (2.5-3.5 KW) and scanning speed (150-250 mm/s)
combinations on the surface of the steel sheet; selecting and adapting associated
laser optics to operate the laser beam such that an impingement laser spot size
on the sheet is of square shape, wherein a 6-axis robot employed to carry the
laser through a fiber fixed on 6th axis enabling an movement of the laser beam
under the specimen along the axis of the square beam controlling the surface
temperature of the specimen to eliminate any possibility of melting the sheet
based on on-line surface temperature effect and comparing with pre-stored data
representing surface temperature effect; and periodically reviewing the
development of desired microstructure of the sample, including measuring
hardness level and fraction of different phases.