Laser cladding of Stellite 6 on EN8 steel - A fuzzy modelling approach

Laser cladding is a very popular technique for the process of providing protection to the surface of materials that are subjected to extreme working conditions. This article describes the process where Stellite 6 alloy is added on to the surface of EN8 steel in a controlled manner. EN8 steel is the material that is used as a base material as it the commonly used material in the manufacturing sector. Stellite 6 is a cobalt base super alloy which is characterized by extreme wear resistance and high hardness. The laser cladding process is done whilst considering parameters like laser scanning speed, laser focus height, laser power and powder feed. The laser cladded samples are corrosion tested in an acidic environment and the electron images of the samples are taken. From the electron microscopy images the corrosion is classified in order to be fed to a fuzzy logic model. This fuzzy logic model is used to deduce a corrosion index and this corrosion index is further optimized using Taguchi method and the results have been reported. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.