Experimental study of picosecond laser-assisted grinding of GH4169 nickel-based superalloy

The nickel-based superalloy GH4169 exhibits excellent thermal stability and fatigue resistance, making it widely utilized in the aerospace and marine manufacturing industries. However, the high mechanical strength of the nickel-based superalloy GH4169 leads to issues such as high grinding forces during grinding and poor surface morphology of the material after grinding. To improve the processing quality of GH4169, this study employs ultrafast pulse laser texturing to create two distinct biomimetic structures on its surface. The study explores the impact of laser parameters on both the recast layer and surface hardness. Subsequently, grinding experiments are conducted on both structured and non-structured workpieces. The grinding forces and surface roughness during grinding are analyzed, and the surface morphology of the workpiece after grinding and the corrosion resistance of the material are also tested. According to the test results, the grinding forces of the fishbone-like and nacre-like structure workpieces are reduced compared with those of the non-structured workpieces, and the maximum tangential grinding forces are reduced by 38.54 % and 35.98 %, and the maximum normal grinding forces are reduced by 30.24 % and 29.6 %, respectively. In addition, the corrosion resistance of the surface of the structured workpieces after grinding is better compared to the non-structured workpieces, and the best corrosion resistance is obtained for the fishbone-like structure. • Proposed laser structured assisted grinding of nickel-based superalloy GH4169. • Under specific laser parameters, the surface of nickel-based superalloy material is softened. • Compared with conventional grinding, laser structure-assisted grinding can reduce grinding force and surface damage. • Structured grinding improves the corrosion resistance of the workpiece.