Thermal-mechanical coupling finite element analysis of laser cladding process Part I: Temperature field

Laser cladding consists of covering a substrate surface with a coating of a different nature. As a complex thermal mechanical process, laser cladding is not quite understood yet. In this study, a finite element model for analyzing the temperature field was built and the laser cladding process with powder feeding was analyzed with the model. The analysis results show that the maximum temperature at the melting pool during cladding is directly proportional to the laser power and preheated temperature. The maximum cooling rate at the melting pool is inversely proportional to them. Increasing the preheated temperature can decrease the cooling rate of the clayed layer effectively. Increasing the laser power can also decrease the cooling rate, but the effect is not obvious.