Research of rapid and direct thick coatings deposition by hybrid plasma-laser

In this paper, a new technology of direct and rapid thick coatings fabrication with hybrid plasma-laser deposition manufacturing (PLDM) technology is advanced which is also suitable for functional prototyping and tooling applications. It emphasizes on the influence of laser to the microstructure of coatings and physical properties of surface layers. Unlike the direct rapid plasma deposition manufacturing (PDM), in hybrid plasma-laser deposition manufacturing, the laser beam enters into plasma arc beam and focuses on the molten pool as assisting heat energy. A 280 W pulsed Nd:YAG (yttrium-aluminum garnet) laser machine is used to inspect the effect. The experimental results show that the laser beam could improve the surface state; the elements distribution of coatings deposited by PLDM was even; the physical properties of surface coatings fabricated with PLDM were better than that deposited by PDM.     

The surface modified composite layer formation with boron carbide particles on magnesium alloy surfaces through pulse gas tungsten arc treatment

A novel fabrication process of surface modified composite layer by pulse current gas tungsten arc (GTA) surface modification process was used to deposit B₄C particles on the surface of magnesium alloy AZ31. This method is an effective technique in producing a high performance surface modified composite layer. During the pulse current GTA surface modification process, considerable convection can exist in the molten pool due to various driving forces and the pulse current could cause violent stirring in the molten pool, and the large temperature gradient across the boundary between the GTA modified surface and matrix metal resulted in rapid resolidification with high cooling rates in the molten pool, so that the process result notable grain refinement in the GTA surface modified composite layer. The hardness and wear resistance of the GTA surface modified composite layer are superior to that of as-received magnesium alloy AZ31. The hardness values and wear resistance of GTA surface modified composite layer depend on the GTA process parameters and the B₄C particles powder concentration and distribution. The optimum processing parameters for the formation of a homogeneous crack/defect-free and grain refinement microstructure were established.     

Numerical and experimental studies of molten pool formation during an interaction of a pulse laser (Nd:YAG) with a magnesium alloy

A pulse laser (Nd:YAG) interaction with an AZ91 magnesium alloy has been experimentally and numerically studied. A two-dimensional (2D) axisymmetric model of a molten pool created by a laser heat source has been developed. The elaborated model solves the coupled equations of a laminar fluid flow and heat transfer to demonstrate the flow behavior in the pool. This model takes into account the coupled effects of buoyancy and Marangoni forces, the thermophysic variation properties with temperature, and the radiation and convection heat losses. Concerning numerical results, the molten temperature distribution, velocity field and molten shape were discussed. It was noted that the Marangoni flow significantly alters the characteristics of the thawing and solidifying processes, and makes the molten pool wider and shallower. On the other hand, the experimental results showed that the material thermal properties have significant effects on the transport phenomena which takes place in the molten pool, and consequently on the formation as well as the shape of the pool. Finally, a comparison between the numerical and experimental results exhibited a good agreement.     

Study of plasma technology for silicate refractory melts production

Herein the fundamentally new unit for production of silicate refractory melts with the use of high-concentrated heat fluxes is considered. Mathematical model describing temperature fields in skull layer in the process of the plasma flow interaction with the particles of refractory silicate material has been developed. Typical numerical results of temperature distribution in various sections of the skull layer are presented. Numerical and experimental data have been compared, and their fair agreement is obtained. The work was financially supported by RF President (Grant No. MK 1110.2008.8).     

Heat transfer and diffusion-controlled kinetics of liquid–solid phase in titanium matrix composite during selective laser melting

This study describes a self-consistent theoretical model of simulating diffusion-controlled kinetics on the liquid–solid phase boundary during high-speed solidification in the melt pool after the selective laser melting (SLM) process for titanium matrix composite based on Ti–TiC system. The model includes the heat transfer equation to estimate the temperature distribution in the melt pool and during crystallization process for some deposited layers. The temperature field is used in a micro region next to solid–liquid boundary, where solute micro segregation and dendrite growth are calculated by special approach based on transient liquid phase bonding. The effect of the SLM process parameters (laser power, scanning velocity, layer thickness and substrate size) on the microstructure solidification is being discussed.     

镍基合金激光熔覆数值模拟及凝固参数预测

本文采用有限体积法对激光熔覆过程的温度场分布和熔体流动进行了数值模拟.基于CALPHAD相图法计算了基体和粉末的热物理性质,采用三维热源精确预测了凝固过程和温度分布,研究了Marangoni对流对熔池尺寸的影响.在熔池凝固过程中模拟所得出的温度梯度和凝固速度,预测了熔覆层凝固组织的演变趋势,相应的显微组织与实验结果吻合...     

围绕变壁温水平圆柱热源接触熔化的理论分析

研究围绕变壁温热源的接触熔化,建立表面温度随角度变化的水平圆柱热源接触熔化模型.对紧密接触熔化区的液体传热与运动状态进行分析,运用Nusselt液膜理论建立熔化控制方程,并采用理论求解,得到稳定熔化时的熔化速度解析解,所得结果包含了文献关于定壁温热源熔化的分析结果.通过分析不同温度分布下发生接触熔化的熔化速度、液膜厚度和压力分布情况,得到温度分布对熔化影响的规律.     

等离子弧焊接熔池演变过程的模拟和验证

本文建立了描述等离子弧焊接熔池相变传热与流动的三维数理模型,考虑表面张力、电磁力和浮升力的作用,并针对等离子弧焊接特点,改进组合式体积热源模型,上部采用双椭球热源,下部采用圆锥体热源。重点分析了焊接熔池形状和温度场的演变过程,熔合线的模拟形状与实验焊缝吻合,较好地呈现了焊缝的凸起和熔池宽度,验证了数学模型和热源模型的正确性。本文还进一步开展了焊接功率和焊接速度的影响分析。研究结果表明,流动对焊缝形状的影响不容忽略,而表面张力在三个流动驱动力中占主导地位;焊接功率越大,焊接速度越小,越有利于焊件焊透,数值模拟得到优化的焊接功率和速度有益于实际焊接生产质量及效率。     

液氮冷却条件下激光快速熔凝Ni-28 wt%Sn合金组织演变

研究了在液氮冷却条件下激光快速熔凝Ni-28 wt%Sn亚共晶合金的组织演化过程. 结果显示, 熔池从上至下可以分为三个区域: 表层为平行激光扫描方向的α-Ni转向枝晶区; 中部为近乎垂直于熔池底部外延生长的α-Ni柱状晶区; 底部为少量的残留α-Ni初生相和大量的枝晶间(α-Ni+Ni₃Sn) 共晶组织. 激光熔凝区组织受原始基材组织的影响很大, 熔池中的α-Ni枝晶生长方向受到了热流方向和枝晶择优取向的双重影响. 与基材中存在的层片状、棒状和少量离异(α-Ni+Ni₃Sn)共晶的混合组织相比, 熔池内的共晶组织皆为细小的规则(α-Ni+Ni₃Sn)层片状共晶, 皆垂直于熔池底部外延生长, 并且从熔池顶部至底部, 共晶层片间距逐渐增大. 分别应用描述快速枝晶生长的Kurz-Giovanola-Trivedi 模型和描述快速共晶生长的Trivedi-Magnin-Kurz模型对熔池表层凝固界面前沿的过冷度进行估算, 发现熔池表层α-Ni 枝晶和(α-Ni+Ni₃Sn)层片共晶的生长过冷度在50.4-112.5 K 之间, 远大于相应深过冷凝固(α-Ni+Ni₃Sn) 反常共晶生长的临界过冷度20 K, 这说明文献报道的临界过冷度并不是反常共晶出现的充分条件.     

Effect of the stoichiometry on the electronic structure of the Ni（111）/α-Al2O3（0001） interface： a first-principles investigation

In this paper first-principles calculations of Ni（111）/α-Al2O3（0001） interfaces have been performed, and are compared with the preceding results of the Cu （111）/α-Al2O3（0001） interface [2004 Phil. Mag. Left. 84 425]. The AI- terminated and O-terminated interfaces have quite different adhesion mechanisms, which are similar to the Cu（111）/α Al2O3（0001） interface. For the O-terminated interface, the adhesion is caused by the strong O-2p/Ni-3d orbital hybridization and ionic interactions. On the other hand, the adhesion nature of the Al-terminated interface is the image-like electrostatic and Ni-Al hybridization interactions, the latter is substantial and cannot be neglected. Charge transfer occurs from Al2O3 to Ni, which is opposite to that in the O=terminated interface. The charge transfer direction for the Al-terminated and O-terminated Ni（111）/α-A1203（0001） interfaces is similar to that in the corresponding Cu（111）/α- Al2O3（0001） interface, but there exist the larger charge transfer quantity and consequent stronger adhesion nature, respectively.     

Boundary coupled dual-equation numerical simulation on mass transfer in the Process of laser cladding

The coupled numerical simulation on fluid flow, heat transfer, and mass transfer in the process of laser cladding is undertaken on the basis of the continuum model.In the simulation of mass transfer in the laser molten pool, the concentration distribution in the regions on different sides of the interface between cladding layer and substrate is calculated separately and coupled at the co-boundary.The non-equilibrium solute partition coefficient is obtained from equilibrium solute partition coefficient according to the Sobolev model.By using the developed software which is based on the commercial software PHOENICS 1.4, the distribution of Fe in laser molten pool in an experiment of cladding Stellite 6 on 12CrMoV is calculated.The obtained results well coincide with the experimental ones.     

Numerical simulation of temperature distribution and TiC growth kinetics for high power laser clad TiC/NiCrBSiC composite coatings

A three dimensional model was proposed to simulate high power laser clad TiC/NiCrBSiC composite coatings on Ti6Al4V alloys. The temperature distribution, temperature curves on different nodes, three dimensional shape and size of TiC melting region, molten pool and heat affected zone (HAZ) of the substrate were obtained. To have a clear physical insight into the phase transformation and microstructure evolution in the coatings during laser cladding process, a theoretical kinetic analysis was performed to elucidate the nucleation, growth velocity, and size of TiC particles on the basis of simulated temperature curves of the molten pool. A good quality TiC/NiCrBSiC composite coating with low dilution rate and excellent metallurgical bond was fabricated under optimal processing parameters using powder mixture of TiC and NiCrBSiC as clad material and cuboid of Ti6Al4V alloys as substrate. To validate the reliability of the proposed model, the theoretical results were compared with the microstructure of the coatings. It shows that these theoretical results are in excellent agreement with the experiment cases.     

Elimination of turned dendrite in laser multilayer deposition of Rene88DT superalloy on DD3 single crystal

Laser multilayer deposition of Rene88DT superalloy on DD3 single-crystal substrate is conducted.The influences of the crystal orientation of the substrate and the profile of the solid/liquid interface of the molten pool on the deposited microstructure are investigated.A unique strategy is proposed by adjusting the angle between the substrate surface and the substrate crystal orientation.This approach prevents the formation of the turned dendrite,thus obtaining a fully directional microstructure in the deposits.     

Finite element analysis of laser irradiated metal heating and melting processes

Laser technology has shown fast growth due to its demands in material processing and manufacturing. Laser material processing includes various applications like cutting, welding, drilling, cladding and surface treatment. In laser surface treatment, the material properties at the surface are altered through surface alloying and transformation hardening. In this study, an enthalpy-based computational model is developed for analyzing laser heating and melting of metals. The solution to the problem is obtained by using a finite element method and validated by comparing the results with that given by an analytical solution to a limiting case problem. A solution algorithm and a computational code are developed to estimate the temperature distribution, solid-liquid interface location and shape and size of the molten pool. The computational model is validated by comparing results with a limiting case analytical model. The study is conducted to analyze the heating rate, the heat affected zone, and the shape and size of the molten pool using a Gaussian laser beam.     

温度梯度区域熔化作用下熔池迁移的元胞自动机模拟

本文采用耦合凝固和熔化效应的二维元胞自动机(cellular automaton, CA)模型,对温度梯度区域熔化(temperature gradient zone melting, TGZM)效应引起的熔池在固液两相区中的迁移现象进行模拟研究.模拟分析了抽拉速度、熔池初始位置、温度梯度和合金成分等因素对TGZM动力学的影响,并将模拟结果与解析模型的预测结果进行比较验证.通过模拟发现,在温度梯度作用下,熔池总是向着高温方向迁移;当抽拉速度低于或高于临界抽拉速度时,熔池朝向移动的液相线或固相线迁移;对于给定的抽拉速度,位于糊状区内临界位置以上的熔池会迁移进入液相,而位于临界位置以下的熔池会逐步靠近固相线.此外,温度梯度越高,合金成分越低,熔池的迁移速度越快.     

Absolute stability of the solidification interface in a laser resolidified Zn--2wt.%Cu hypoperitectic alloy

This paper reports on laser surface remelting experiments performed on a Zn--2wt.%}Cu hypoperitectic alloy by employing a 5kW CW CO₂ laser at scanning velocities between 6 and 1207mm/s. The growth velocities of the microstructures in the laser molten pool were accurately measured. The planar interface structure caused by the high velocity absolute stability was achieved at a growth velocity of 210~mm/s. An implicit expression of the critical solidification velocity for the cellular--planar transition was carried out by nonlinear stability analyses of the planar interface. The results showed a better agreement with the measured critical velocity than that predicted by M--S theory. Cell-free structures were observed throughout the whole molten pool at a scanning velocity of 652~mm/s and the calculated minimum temperature gradient in this molten pool was very close to the critical temperature gradient for high gradient absolute stability (HGAS) of the \eta phase. This indicates that HGAS was successfully achieved in the present experiments.     

Solute transport and composition profile during direct metal deposition with coaxial powder injection

Direct metal deposition (DMD) with coaxial powder injection allows fabrication of three-dimensional geometry with rapidly solidified microstructure. During DMD, addition of powder leads to the interaction between laser and powder, and also the redistribution of solute. The concentration distribution of the alloying element is very important for mechanical properties of the deposited clad material. The evolution of concentration distribution of carbon and chromium in the molten pool is simulated using a self-consistent three-dimensional model, based on the solution of the equations of mass, momentum, energy conservation and solute transport in the molten pool. The experimental and calculated molten pool geometry is compared for model validation purposes.     

Estimation of laser solid forming process based on temperature measurement

By using a moving disc heat source model, an analytical model was developed to describe laser solid forming (LSF) process with the feedback of the surface temperature of the molten pool, which can be used to estimate the geometric characterizations (width and height) of the clad layer rapidly. An on-line temperature measurement system was established and some single-pass cladding experiments were conducted while the molten pool temperature was monitored. It was found that the estimated geometric characterizations agreed well with the experimental results. In addition, the power consumed by conduction, convection, radiation, evaporation and absorption during LSF were also estimated by the model. It was shown that the majority of the total absorbed power was conducted to the substrate. The effective model can not only be used to optimize the processing parameters but also potentially applied to the real-time feedback control.     

The influence of pre-melting in laser drilling with temporally modulated pulse

Laser drilling by temporally modulated pulse is a promising technique and has many advantages compared with normal pulse drilling. In this work, the effect of modulated pulse comprising pre-heating front and sharp trail was mainly studied. The function of the former was to pre-melt the radiated material, and the latter was to expel the liquid melt from the molten pool, thus to form a blind hole. While the trail subpulse was kept constant, the difference in the pre-heating subpulse parameter could cause a considerable influence on the hole quality and drilling efficiency. The depth and volume of the molten pool were proportional to the pre-heating energy, and inversely proportional to the pre-heating duration. With pre-heating subpulses of proper parameters, the sharp trail subpulse was very effective in expelling the melt liquid, leaving only a small quantity of melt to re-solidify as the recast layer, which was observably thinner compared with the holes drilled using the normal pulse mode. In the pre-melting process, the directional melt flow and heat conduction were found to be the reasons why the deep melting phenomenon had occurred.     

Features of film growth during plasma anodizing of Al 2024/SiC metal matrix composite

Plasma anodizing is a novel promising process to fabricate corrosion-resistant protective films on metal matrix composites. The corrosion-resistant films were prepared by plasma anodizing on SiC reinforced aluminum matrix composite. The morphology and microstructure of films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Specifically, the morphology of residual SiC reinforcement particles in the film was observed. It is found that the most SiC reinforcement particles have been molten to become silicon oxide, but a few tiny SiC particles still remain in the film close to the composite/film interface. This interface is irregular due to the hindering effect of SiC particles on the film growth. Morphology and distribution of residual SiC particles in film provide direct evidence to identify the local melt occurs in the interior of plasma anodizing film even near the composite/film interface. A model of film growth by plasma anodizing on metal matrix composites was proposed.