Abstract
Steel is a well-known material for various manufacturing applications because of its unique
properties such as great formability and durability, good tensile and yield strength and good
thermal conductivity. This paper reports on the evaluation of the structural integrity of laser
formed steel sheets for possible load carrying applications. The tensile tests conducted revealed
46% elongation while the yield strength of the laser formed components were enhanced with
about 18%. Furthermore, elongated grain structures were observed in the micrographs of the
three components formed at the maximum parameter setting. It was revealed that this elongation
varied indirectly to the applied line energy. The measured grain sizes further showed that the
components formed at the optimized maximum process parameter window were characterized by
smaller grain structures with about 60% of the grain sizes of the parent material. A progressive
increase in the micro Vickers hardness of about 40% was also observed in the three laser formed
components in comparison to the parent material. The analysis of the residual stresses conducted
in this study revealed that the changes in the residual stresses are a function of the process
condition to which the samples were subjected...