Thermo-Mechanical Coupling Numerical Simulation for Extreme High-Speed Laser Cladding of Chrome-Iron Alloy

Abstract

With the aim to improve cladding coating quality and prevent cracking, this paper established an extreme high-speed laser cladding thermo-mechanical coupling simulation model to study the evolution of the temperature field and the residual stress distribution. Process parameters that impacted the macroscopic morphology of single-pass coatings were investigated. Numerical calculations and temperature field simulations were performed based on the process parameter data to validate the effects of the temperature gradient and cooling rate on the coating structure and the residual stress distribution. The results showed that a good coating quality could be achieved using a laser power of 2400 W, a cladding speed of 20 m/min, and a powder feeding rate of 20.32 g/min. The coatings’ cross-sectional morphology corresponded well with the temperature distribution predicted by the numerical modeling of the melt pool. The microstructure of the molten coatings was affected by the temperature gradient and the cooling rate, which varied greatly from the bottom to the middle to the top. Maximum residual stress appeared between the bonding region of the coatings and the substrate, and the coatings themselves had significant residual stress in the form of tensile strains, that were mostly distributed in the direction of the laser cladding.