Thermo-mechanical finite element analysis of single-track deposition of Inconel-625 on AISI-1020 substrate

Abstract

Inconel-625 is known for its excellent strength, corrosion and creep resistance. It can be used for cladding of component made-up of material having inferior properties owing to its excellent properties. An excellent metallurgical bonding between deposited layer and substrate material can be obtained with laser cladding. Laser as compared to other heat sources is precise, and causes less thermal damage. Despite of these, cracking and delamination due to distortion and residual stress are major challenges in laser cladding. These become more pronounced in case of difference in thermo-physical properties of the clad track and the substrate. These can be minimized with the selection of suitable parameter which can be obtained with the help of finite element (FE) method. Conduction based FE model was used for predicting distortion and locked in stress for cladding of Inconel-625 on AISI 1020 substrate. Layer thickness, width and height were input from the experimental data. Maximum distortion and residual stress were found to be 31.3 µm and 950 MPa in case of higher power (900 W).