Velocity Distribution of the Powder Particles in Laser Cladding

1　Ｉｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ　　Ｏｖｅｒｔｈｅｌａｓｔｄｅｃａｄｅｓ,ｔｈｅｈｉｇｈｐｏｗｅｒｌａｓｅｒｂｅａｍｓａｒｅｎｏｗｗｉｄｅｌｙｕｓｅｄｉｎｍａｔｅｒｉａｌｐｒｏｃｅｓｓｉｎｇ .Ｔｈｅｓｅａｐｐｌｉｃａｔｉｏｎｓｈａｖｅｍａｄｅｇｒｅａｔｐｒｏｇｒｅｓｓｗｉｔｈｓｉｇｎｉｆｉｃａｎｔｓｕｃｃｅｓｓ[1,2 ] .Ｔｈｅｌａｓｅｒｃｌａｄｄｉｎｇ ,ｗｈｉｃｈｕｓｅｓａｈｉｇｈｐｏｗｅｒｌａｓｅｒａｓｔｈｅｈｅａｔｉｎｇｓｏｕｒｃｅｔｏｆｏｒｍａｃｌａｄｏｎｔｏｔｈｅｓｕｒｆａｃｅｏｆｓｕｂｓｔｒａ…     

激光熔覆中金属粉末粒子与激光相互作用模型

为了对同轴激光熔覆过程中运动的金属粉末粒子的速度和温度进行理论分析,并研究各工艺参量的影响,建立了运动中金属粉末粒子的运动模型和热模型.模拟结果表明,粉嘴几何尺寸、粒子直径以及气/粉两相流初始速度是影响粒子运动行为的重要因素;粉嘴几何尺寸、激光焦点位置、激光发散角、激光功率、粒子直径以及气/粉两相流初始速度是影响粒子热行为的重要因素.在相同的工艺参量下(粉嘴出口内径r=2 mm,粉嘴倾角α=60°,初始气流速度v0=0.8 m/s),基于数字粒子图像测速(DPIV)技术,对316L不锈钢粉末粒子运动模型进行了实验验证.结果表明,运动理论模型是可靠的.该模型是掌握同轴激光熔覆过程中金属粉末粒子运动行为的有效工具;同时,热模型也是分析粉末粒子温度随不同参量变化的重要工具.     

Numerical simulation of powder transport behavior in laser cladding with coaxial powder feeding

Laser cladding with coaxial powder feeding is one of the new processes applied to produce well bonding coating on the component to improve performance of its surface. In the process, the clad material is transported by the carrying gas through the coaxial nozzle, generating gas-powder flow. The powder feeding process in the coaxial laser cladding has important influence on the clad qualities. A 3D numerical model was developed to study the powder stream structure of a coaxial feeding nozzle. The predicted powder stream structure was well agreed with the experimental one. The validated model was used to explore the collision behavior of particles in the coaxial nozzle, as well as powder concentration distribution. It was found that the particle diameter and restitution coefficient greatly affect the velocity vector at outlet of nozzle due to the collisions, as well as the powder stream convergence characteristics below the nozzle. The results indicated a practical approach to optimize the powder stream for the coaxial laser cladding.     

激光熔覆中同轴粉末流温度场的数值模拟

在激光同轴送粉熔覆中,由于激光与粉末流相互作用,粉末流整体温度分布直接影响激光熔覆的质量.基于非预混燃烧模型,将激光相处理为连续性介质,粉末颗粒相看作离散相物质,建立了激光作用下粉末流的质量、动量和能量方程.用Fluent软件进行了不同激光功率和粉末流速度条件下粉末流整体温度场数值模拟,讨论了各种参数对温度场分布的影响.为了验证该模型的准确度,利用CCD比色测温方法测量了粉末流整体温度场分布.结果表明,数值模拟与CCD检测结果具有良好的一致性,数值模拟结果对激光熔覆具有指导意义.     

Temperature analysis of the powder streams in coaxial laser cladding

The powder stream temperature of a newly developed coaxial laser cladding technique have been calculated and measured in this study. A simplified one-dimensional model of the particle heating problem under laser irradiation was solved with various conditions of laser intensity, particle size and flow velocity. The experimental results have been successfully detected by a pin-hole infrared sensor with the temperature calibration for hot particles. The thermal profiles of the coaxial nozzle give an optimum operation range of the stand-off distance for coaxial laser cladding.     

送粉角度对激光熔覆铁基复合涂层形状特征的影响

通过分析激光熔覆过程中光束、粉末和熔池间的作用机理,建立了送粉式激光熔覆材料有效利用率的数学模型,在此基础上推导了送粉角度与工艺参数之间的定量关系式,并计算了不同送粉角度下的熔覆材料有效利用率、熔高和横截面积。结果表明,在熔覆工艺参数不变的条件下,理论计算的熔覆材料有效利用率、熔覆层高度和横截面积均随送粉角度的增加而增大,且均高于实验检测值。激光熔覆过程中,由于粉末烧损和机械损失,使熔覆材料有效利用率、熔高和横截面积随送粉角度变化出现最大值,理想送粉角度为60。     

Effects of powder concentration distribution on fabrication of thin-wall parts in coaxial laser cladding

In this paper, model of effects of powder concentration distribution on fabrication of thin-wall parts in coaxial laser cladding was developed. There exists relationship between powder concentration distribution and power density distribution, which affects fabrication of thin-wall parts in coaxial laser cladding. Changes in powder concentration distribution lead to changes in wall thickness and wall growing rate. Fluctuation of powder feed rate deteriorates the growing wall in laser cladding. Deviation of the powder flow stream makes the powder concentration distribution, the thermal flux density and consequently the molten pool not symmetrical against the x-axis, resulting in irregular upper faces of the formed wall. This was verified by the results of experiment.     

Coaxial laser cladding on an inclined substrate

This paper describes an experimental and theoretical study of the cladding mode of coaxial laser cladding on an inclined substrate. Based on the image analysis of the powder stream and clad profile measurements in coaxial laser cladding, it was found that irregular clad profiles always formed on an inclined surface and the location of the peak profile shifted away from the clad center. This phenomenon is caused by uneven distributions of powder concentration and laser beam intensity. A modified Gaussian mode for powder stream and laser beam was proposed to estimate the clad profiles on an inclined plane under laser beam irradiation. The effects of the inclined steel substrate on the CO₂ laser beam absorption and stainless-steel powder catchment were examined experimentally. The results show that both the laser absorption and the powder catchment on the mild steel decrease with increasing the cladding angle. From the analysis of laser beam mode, the clad width is equivalent to the beam spot size on the inclined substrate. However, the clad height correlates well with the distribution of the powder concentration. The results show that the Gaussian cladding mode could be adopted in various laser cladding applications such as rapid prototyping and butt welding to predict the clad profiles precisely.     

Study on modes of energy action in laser-induction hybrid cladding

The shape and microstructure in laser-induction hybrid cladding were investigated, in which the cladding material was provided by means of three different methods including the powder feeding, cold pre-placed coating (CPPC) and thermal pre-placed coating (TPPC). Moreover, the modes of energy action in laser-induction hybrid cladding were also studied. The results indicate that the cladding material supplying method has an important influence on the shape and microstructure of coating. The influence is decided by the mode of energy action in laser-induction hybrid cladding. During the TPPC hybrid cladding of Ni-based alloy, the laser and induction heating are mainly performed on coating. During the CPPC hybrid cladding of Ni-based alloy, the laser and induction heating are mainly performed on coating and substrate surface, respectively. In powder feeding hybrid cladding, a part of laser is absorbed by the powder particles directly, while the other part of laser penetrating powder cloud radiates on the molten pool. Meanwhile, the induction heating is entirely performed on the substrate. In addition, the wetting property on the interface is improved and the metallurgical bond between the coating and substrate is much easier to form. Therefore, the powder feeding laser-induction hybrid cladding has the highest cladding efficiency and the best bond property among three hybrid cladding methods.     

Simulation of the acceleration mechanism by light-propulsion for the powder particles at laser direct material deposition

The results of the numerical analysis of heat- and mass-transfer processes at powder particles' motion in a gas flow and laser beam by light-propulsion force during the laser cladding and direct material deposition are presented. Under consideration were the stainless steel particles, the radiation power range of the CO₂ laser were 1000, 3000 and 5000 W. Finally, the particles of 45 μm in diameter reach the maximum velocity of about 80, 220, 280 m/s. It is shown that as particles are heated by the laser up to the temperature approaching the boiling point, the particles' velocity in the light field by the vapor recoil pressure may increase significantly. The radius of the particles slightly varies due to the evaporation; the losses in the clad material mass are negligibly small. Comparisons of numerical results with known experimental data on light-propulsion acceleration of single particles (aluminum, aluminum oxide and graphite) under the influence of pulse laser radiation are also presented. Particle acceleration resulting from the laser evaporation depends on the particle diameter, powder material properties, focusing degree and attenuation laser beam intensity by the direction of its propagation.     

Analytical modeling and experimental investigation of laser induction hybrid rapid cladding for Ni-based WC composite coatings

Laser induction hybrid rapid cladding (LIHRC) cannot only increase the cladding efficiency, but can also eliminate porosity and cracking of ceramic–metal composite coatings. In order to obtain a deep understanding of LIHRC with rapid cladding speed and high powder deposition rate, an analytical model of LIHRC for Ni-based WC composite coatings is proposed in the paper. The predictions of cladding height and powder efficiency obtained with this model are in good agreement with experimental results. Injection angles at which the attenuation rate of laser power is relatively low are identified and crack-free composite coatings with smooth surface, good profile and metallurgical bonding to substrate can be obtained. The calculated results for the temperature of the powder particles are compared to experimental data of the microhardness profiles and show a similar trend.     

Laser induction hybrid rapid cladding of WC particles reinforced NiCrBSi composite coatings

In order to investigate the microstructure characteristics and properties of Ni-based WC composite coatings containing a relatively large amount of WC particles by laser induction hybrid rapid cladding (LIHRC) and compare to the individual laser cladding without preheating, Ni60A + 35 wt.% WC composite coatings are deposited on A3 steel plates by LIHRC and the individual laser cladding without preheating. The composite coating produced by the individual laser cladding without preheating exhibits many cracks and pores, while the smooth composite coating without cracks and pores is obtained by LIHRC. Moreover, the cast WC particles take on the similar dissolution characteristics in Ni60A + 35 wt.% WC composite coatings by LIHRC and the individual laser cladding without preheating. Namely, the completely dissolved WC particles interact with Ni-based alloy solvent to precipitate the blocky and herringbone carbides, while the partially dissolved WC particles still preserve the primary lamellar eutectic structure. A few WC particles are split at the interface of WC and W₂C, and then interact with Ni-based alloy solvent to precipitate the lamellar carbides. Compared with the individual laser cladding without preheating, LIHRC has the relatively lower temperature gradient and the relatively higher laser scanning speed. Therefore, LIHRC can produce the crack-free composite coating with relatively higher microhardness and relatively more homogeneous distribution of WC particles and is successfully applied to strengthen the corrugated roller, showing that LIHRC process has a higher efficiency and good cladding quality.     

Concentration mode of the powder stream in coaxial laser cladding

The blown powder laser cladding process has recently been greatly enhanced by the development of a coaxial powder feed system. It provides a new route to generate the metal parts directly from CAD drawings. The performance of the coaxial powder feeder depends on various gas flow streams which significantly affect the distribution mode of the powder stream and the deposition rate in cladding.Two types of optical techniques have been adopted in this study to investigate the powder concentration mode of the coaxial jet streams. The mode of the powder stream is also mathematically modelled and compared to the experimental results of stainless steel powder. The Gaussian distribution mode in the transverse direction of the powder stream was identified by theory and experiment at cold stream conditions.     

Thermal processes of a powder particle in coaxial laser cladding

This paper presents a numerical analysis of the heating, melting and evaporation processes of a single spherical powder particle when irradiated by a CO₂ laser beam in coaxial laser cladding. The power particle has a size ranging from 20 to 200 μm and the intensity of the laser has been varied from 500 to 3000 W. The laser energy, initial powder velocity and size have been shown to have important effects on the temperature profile of the powder stream. It has also been shown that high powder evaporation due to high power laser radiation may induce significant loss in the powder particle mass, to as much as 25% of the initial size at certain conditions in the simulation.     

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.     

Effects of process variables on laser direct formation of thin wall

In this paper, effects of process variables on wall thickness, powder primary efficiency and speed of forming a thin metallic wall in single-pass coaxial laser cladding are investigated, and some resolution models are established and testified experimentally. With some assumptions, each of wall thickness, powder primary efficiency and formation speed can be defined as a function of the process variables. Wall thickness is equal to width of the molten pool created in single-pass laser cladding and determined by laser absorptivity, laser power, initial temperature, scanning speed and thermo-physical properties of clad material. Powder primary efficiency and formation speed are both dependent on an exponential function involving the ratio of melt pool width, which is decided by the process variables, to powder flow diameter. In addition, formation speed is influenced by powder feed rate. In present experiment, a 500 W continual-wave (CW) CO₂ laser is used to produce thin-wall samples by single-pass coaxial laser cladding. The experimental results agree well with the calculation values despite some errors.     

42CrMo轧辊激光熔覆TiC-VC增强铁基熔覆层性能

采用同步送粉方式,在42CrMo轧辊基材上利用钛铁、钒铁和石墨等通过激光熔覆原位自生反应,制备了成型良好、致密无气孔、无裂纹、与基体呈冶金结合的TiVC2增强铁基熔覆层。利用X射线衍射、电子探针、显微硬度计、电化学工作站研究了熔覆层的显微组织及性能。结果表明,熔覆层中碳化物为TiVC2,TiVC2大小约0.5~2.0 m,呈多角块状均匀分布,碳化物对应两种不同的形核机制:以氧化铝异质形核和碳化物自发形核。随着熔覆合金粉末中TiC-VC数量的增加,熔覆层硬度并不呈简单的线性增加,熔覆层的耐蚀性逐渐变差。     

3-D finite element modeling of laser cladding by powder injection: effects of laser pulse shaping on the process

This paper introduces a 3-D transient finite element model of laser cladding by powder injection to investigate the effects of laser pulse shaping on the process. The proposed model can predict the clad geometry as a function of time and process parameters including laser pulse shaping, travel velocity, laser pulse energy, powder jet geometry, and material properties. In the proposed strategy, the interaction between powder and melt pool is assumed to be decoupled and as a result, the melt pool boundary is first obtained in the absence of powder spray. Once the melt pool boundary is obtained, it is assumed that a layer of coating material is deposited on the intersection of the melt pool and powder stream in the absence of the laser beam in which its thickness is calculated based on the powder feedrate and elapsed time. The new melt pool boundary is then calculated by thermal analysis of the deposited powder layer, substrate and laser heat flux. The process is simulated for different laser pulse frequencies and energies. The results are presented and compared with experimental data. The quality of clad bead for different parameter sets is experimentally evaluated and shown as a function of effective powder deposition density and effective energy density. The comparisons show excellent agreement between the modeling and experimental results for cases in which a high quality clad bead is expected.     

Characterization of dilution action in laser-induction hybrid cladding

Based on an experimental study of laser-induction hybrid cladding by powder feeding, the dilution action and elemental composition distribution were investigated in detail. The results indicate that, compared with individual laser cladding, by using laser-induction hybrid cladding it is easier to form a metallurgical bonding coating and the change range of dilution is much larger. Moreover, at the bottom of molten region, the morphology exhibits nearly a straight line. The processing parameters have great influence on dilution in hybrid cladding. With the increase of scanning speed, the tendency of dilution presents a U-shaped profile, i.e., the middle dilution is much less than those of two ends. The dilution increases with the induction energy. Furthermore, the bigger the dilution, the more uniform is the elemental composition throughout coating. In laser-induction hybrid cladding, the microstructure of low dilution coating is relatively fine due to the low hybrid cladding energy. By adjusting the laser energy and induction energy appropriately, i.e., high induction energy—low laser energy, the low dilution coating with fine microstructure and good mechanical properties can be achieved.     

Effects of processing parameters on structure of Ni-based WC composite coatings during laser induction hybrid rapid cladding

The relationships between the processing parameters (i.e. laser specific energy, powder density, preheated temperature of substrate and types of substrate) and the structure characteristics of Ni-based WC composite coatings during laser induction hybrid rapid cladding (LIHRC) were investigated systematically. The results show that laser specific energy, cladding height and contact angle have a linear relation with powder density, as can provide the predictions of laser processing parameters according to the geometrical characteristics of a single laser track (i.e. cladding height, cladding width). Moreover, dilution of composite coating increases with the increasing of laser specific energy and the preheated temperature of substrate, while reduces with the increasing of powder density. The types of substrate also have an important effect on dilution of composite coating, as has a strong dependence on the thermophysical properties of substrate (i.e. melting point, resistivity and permeability).