Abstract
Three-beam laser internal coaxial wire feeding cladding is regarded as a promising additive manufacturing technique because it is highly efficient and controllable. In this study, the effects of the defocus distance on cladding using a three-beam laser with internal wire feeding are experimentally and numerically studied. A process map indicating the surface characteristics at different defocus distances with various parameter combinations was developed. The transmission characteristics including laser intensity, beam size, and laser spot distance of the three-beam laser at different defocus distances were analyzed using TracePro software. Based on the TracePro results as heat source, a three-dimensional transient finite element (FE) thermal model was formulated to predict the thermal field, temperature history and molten pool shape at different defocus distances. A molten pool with a flat bottom and low melting depth is generated when the defocus distance is − 2.5 mm, whereas when this distance is − 1.5 mm, a pool with a valley-shaped bond and high melting depth is formed. The simulated results of the temperature cycle and clad geometry are both validated and found to well agree with experimental measurements. The influence of the defocus distance on the microstructure and microhardness are discussed based on the temperature history and cooling rate. With the increase in the absolute defocus distance, the height and dilution of the clad decreased, whereas the width increased. In addition, the effects of defocus distance with various parameter combinations on clad geometry were explored using the formulated FE model.
Highlights
Laser cladding is an additive manufacturing process that uses laser as high-intensity energy source to create a molten pool into which metal powder or wire is injected to build up layers
A 3D transient thermal model was formulated based on the calculation results of TracePro of the transmission characteristics of the three-beam laser
This is consistent with the molten pool simulations in which overheating occurs at a low defocus distance, whereas the energy intensity is extremely low to generate the molten pool at a high defocus distance
Summary
Laser cladding is an additive manufacturing process that uses laser as high-intensity energy source to create a molten pool into which metal powder or wire is injected to build up layers. Many of the previous works have focused on the relationships between the clad characteristics and process parameters (e.g., laser power, flow rate, and traverse speed), insight into the governing impact of defocus distance on laser cladding, especially on the wire feeding method, is minimal. The effects of the defocus distance on cladding using a three-beam laser with internal coaxial wire feeding are experimentally and numerically studied. To simplify the calculation and satisfy the conservation of the total heat input, the three-beam laser is assumed to be mainly applied to the molten pool, and the thermal profile of the feeding wire is neglected.
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