THERMAL-PROCESSES IN GAS POWDER LASER CLADDING OF METAL MATERIALS

Energy absorption, heating, melting and heat transfer in a gas-powder laser cladding of substrate metal powders are theoretically investigated. A system of equations is formulated which describes optical and thermal processes of the gas-powder laser cladding. Based on the numerical solution of the system of equations formulated, spatial temporal temperature distributions in one-dimensional approximation and time dendences of the process parameters for continuous and pulse cladding modes are obtained. A possibility is demonstrated to melt metal particles in the laser radiation beam prior to their getting to the surface, which could lead to enhancing the cladding process efficiency and upgrading the cladded layer. Some specific features of the pulse mode of the powdered material cladding are studied.