Open Access Conference Proceedings

This paper deals with an assessment of the corrosion resistance of copper-basalt composite cladded by laser. The filler powder for laser overlaying was a mixture of high-purity copper powder Oerlikon METCO 55 consisting of 45–90 µm particles and a basalt powder comprising particles 50–250 µm in size. Under this experimental programme, three series of specimens were prepared (5 wt. % basalt; 10 wt. % basalt; and 15 wt. % basalt). The substrate was C45 steel 20 mm in thickness. The corrosion resistance of the laser clads was assessed by potentiodynamic corrosion testing using the linear polarization method. The electrolyte was an synthetic prepared mine water. Metallographic evaluation of the laser clads was carried out using optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Based on the outcomes of this study, a summary was developed of the application potential of the laser-deposited composite copper-basalt overlay for surface treatment of storage containers for underground spent nuclear fuel repositories located in the Czech Republic.

© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.