Pulsed Nd:YAG laser cladding of high silicon content coating on low silicon steel

A pulsed Nd:YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) laser-based technique was employed to clad low silicon steel with preplaced Si and Fe mixed powders for high Si content. The surface morphology, microstructural evolution, phase composition, and Si distribution, within the obtained cladding coatings, were characterized by optical microscopy (OM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), with associated energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The microhardness was also measured along the depth direction of the specimens. A crack- and pore-free cladding coating through excellent metallurgical bonding with the substrate was successfully prepared on low silicon steel by means of optimized single-track and multi-track laser cladding. The phases of the coating are alpha-Fe, gamma-Fe, and FeSi. The high microhardness of the laser-cladding zone is considered as an increase in Si content and as the refined microstructure produced by the laser treatment. The Si contents of the cladding coatings were about 5.8wt% in the single-track cladding and 6.5wt% in the multi-track cladding, respectively.