{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T13:08:15Z","timestamp":1788959295647,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788912000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2025ZD1605801"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025ZD1605801"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["2025ZD1605801"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025ZD1605801"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Surface remelting is an effective method for modifying surface microstructures and improving the mechanical properties of metallic materials. However, the influence of an underwater environment on the laser remelting behaviour of zirconium alloys remains insufficiently understood. In this study, commercially pure Zr60702 was subjected to laser surface remelting in air and underwater environments under identical processing parameters. The phase constitution, microstructure, microhardness, and wear resistance of the remelted samples were systematically investigated. The maximum remelting depth decreased from 507.08 \u03bcm in air to 191.35 \u03bcm underwater because of the enhanced heat extraction and reduced effective laser-energy input in the aqueous environment. Both remelted samples were dominated by \u03b1-Zr at room temperature, while underwater remelting produced finer acicular \u03b1\u2032-Zr and refined Widmanst\u00e4tten structures. The maximum hardness values of the underwater- and air-remelted samples reached 636.7 and 546.5 HV, respectively, compared with 198.3 HV for the base material. The wear volumes of the base material, air-remelted sample, and underwater-remelted sample were 7.04 \u00d7 107, 6.77 \u00d7 107, and 5.66 \u00d7 107 \u03bcm3, respectively. The improved wear resistance of the underwater-remelted sample was attributed to its refined microstructure and increased hardness, which suppressed plastic deformation and ploughing during sliding. These results demonstrate that underwater laser remelting is a promising method for improving the surface properties of Zr60702.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma19183835","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T12:26:11Z","timestamp":1788956771000},"page":"3835","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effect of Laser Remelting on Microstructure and Wear Resistance of Zr60702 in an Underwater Environment"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Chengyong","family":"Ma","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Central-Ironand-Steel-Research Institute, Beijing 100081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhen","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jianwei","family":"Dong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qiren","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhen","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"609","DOI":"10.1515\/corrrev-2024-0075","article-title":"Research progress on zirconium alloys: Applications, development trend, and degradation mechanism in nuclear environment","volume":"43","author":"Okonkwo","year":"2025","journal-title":"Corros. 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