Surface oxidation and phase transformation of the stainless steel by hybrid laser-waterjet impact

Hybrid jets (laser guided by water jet) are commonly used in the area of microelectronics for cutting thin wafer plates and for the design of special pieces. In this context, the hybrid jet works with a low power and low pressure. Efforts are made to apply and to improve this hybrid technology for cutting thicker metallic materials. In order to facilitate this development, we have studied the effects induced by a water jet–laser system coupled to the same point on a metallic material. The pressure of the water jet is about 1 MPa and the power of the laser source is about 400 W, which is much higher than the actual hybrid jet power. As a result, in the case of 301 L steel plates, we have noticed the formation of a magnetite layer around the cut in accordance with the high temperature reactions between water and iron, but, surprisingly, in this case, the reaction is practically instantaneous. A small percentage of hematite also appears, from a secondary reaction of reduction of magnetite. By using different techniques (Raman spectroscopy, optical microscopy, SEM, XRD…) we have observed, firstly, that the width of the oxidized zone is proportional to the cutting speed and on the other hand, that there exists a phase transformation in a small heat-affected zone, consistent with the hybrid jets literature. (paper)