Product Code: ICA11_1404

Influence of Process Parameters and Energy Density on the Microstructure of Ti-6Al-4V Wire/Wc Powder Cladding
Authors:
Peter Farayibi, The Univsersity of Nottingham; Nottingham Great Britain
Janet Folkes, The Univsersity of Nottingham; Nottingham Great Britain
Adam Clare, The Univsersity of Nottingham; Nottingham, Great Britain
Presented at ICALEO 2011

Laser Cladding offers an excellent means for surface coating and alloying. Areas of a component can be targeted and locally modified with the properties tailored to meet specific applications. Research has generally concentrated on the use of powder. Here, work on a combination of wire and powder is presented, where the microstructure is altered depending on the exact combination and laser parameters used, giving the ability to produce region specific functionally graded (in this paper Cermet) materials. Optical, SEM, EDS, XRD and microhardness have been used to characterise the clad layers. Results for the deposition of Ti-6Al-4V wire with WC powder using a 2 kW IPG fibre laser show that the amount of dissolution and distribution of the WC powder can be controlled, being largely influenced by the laser power, interaction time and energy density used. At a given energy density (257J/mm^2) no WC particles were observed in clads at higher powers (1.8 kW), whereas at lower power (1.2 kW) but the same energy density (257J/mm^2) WC particles were still present within the clad. Similarly, the formation and morphology of the TiC formed within the clad layer can be tailored to specific requirements.