Distribution of laser cladding powder concentration on the substrate base on 3D curved surface fitting

Abstract

In the laser cladding (LC) process, the powder concentration distribution on substrates greatly influences the quality and property of coating. Coaxial powder is used for precise coating due to its good powder particle convergence. This paper presents a simulation and experimental approach to study the powder concentration distribution on a substrate. The powder concentration distribution on the substrate was fitted with a three-dimensional curved surface by changing the jet velocity of the injected powder. Accordingly, the model equations were obtained. A high-speed camera captured the powder concentration distribution and obtained the gray value of the pixel. The results show that the distribution area of powder particles decreases and finally tends to have stable values in the simulation with the increase in the powder jet velocity. The concentration of the powder center first gradually increased and then decreased. The powder distribution shape gradually changed from the spindle shape to round shape. The cloud map of the powder concentration distribution is consistent with the figure of the gray value of the pixel. A theoretical guidance is provided for the prediction of LC morphology.