PSI - Issue 74

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2025) 000–000 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect

www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 74 (2025) 77–84

© 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under the responsibility of Libor Pantělejev Abstract Ultrafast laser ablation is an effective technique for tailoring surface-related properties of materials for specific applications. This study investigates the influence of picosecond laser ablation on the wettability of three alloys. Surface characterization was conducted using scanning electron microscopy, mechanical profilometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and contact angle measurements. The ablated surfaces exhibited laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS), with surface roughness increasing as laser fluence increases. XPS results revealed a decrease in surface carbon content with increasing laser fluence. Correspondingly, the contact angle increased from 90° on polished samples to over 136° on laser-ablated samples. It was also observed that contact angles increased with an increase in laser fluence but decreased with an increase in hatching distances. These findings demonstrate the potential of ultrafast laser ablation to tailor surface wettability for practical applications. © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under the responsibility of Libor Pant ě lejev Keywords: 699 XA; Kanthal® AF; MONEL® alloy 400; Laser ablation; Morphology; Wettability 1. Introduction Nickel-based and iron-based superalloys are valued engineering materials due to their high mechanical strength, excellent corrosion and oxidation resistance, and stability at elevated temperatures (Geantă et al., 2020; Rajčić et al., Eleventh International Conference on Materials Structure and Micromechanics of Fracture Effect of ultrafast laser ablation on the wettability of superalloys Kipkurui Ronoh a,b,c,d *, Ivo Šulák b , Dinara Sobola a,b,c a Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 123, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic b I nstitute of Physics of Materials, Czech Academy of Sciences, Žižkova 22, 61662 Brno, Czech Republic. c Department of Physics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication, Brno University of Technology, Technická 2848/8, 616 00 Brno, Czech Republic. d Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Private Bag - 10143, Dedan Kimathi, Nyeri, Kenya

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +420774263037 E- mail address: kipkurui.ronoh@ceitec.vutbr.cz

2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under the responsibility of Libor Pant ě lejev

2452-3216 © 2025 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under the responsibility of Libor Pantělejev 10.1016/j.prostr.2025.10.037