Studies on high power laser cladding Stellite 6 alloy coatings: Metallurgical quality and mechanical performances

Abstract

The present study systematically investigates the effect of powder feeding rates (Vp) on the quality of Stellite 6 alloy coatings with a 20 kW fiber laser. The results demonstrate that the hot cracks in the Stellite 6 coatings can be effectively eliminated by increasing the Vp without preheating substrate or adding buffer layers. It is possible to achieve a single-track coating with a thickness of 2.34 mm, width of 20 mm and dilution rate of 17.3 % with crack-free and densely microstructure when Vp is 90 g/min. Moreover, the build rate (172 mm3/s) surpasses the maximum build rate (133 mm3/s) of low power laser cladding. The heat accumulation of multi-track and double-layer (5.6 mm) under high power laser results in the formation of ε-Co through phase transformation from part of γ-Co. Consequently, the dendrite region primarily consists of γ-Co while a small amount of ε-Co and Cr23C6 dominate in the inter-dendritic region. Although the heat accumulation effect also tends to coarsen the grains in bottom region of the coatings, leading to a slight reduction in mechanical properties, both hardness (485 HV–523 HV) and tensile strength (1131 MPa–1250 MPa) are comparable to those achieved by low power laser cladding, and the break elongation (6.9 %–8.1 %) has significantly surpassed the current level of 3 %. High power laser cladding processes may play a significant role in enhancing the effectiveness of surface modification or remanufacturing for large workpieces, such as the runner of hydroelectric generator set.