The effects of laser cladding process parameters oncharacteristics such as track height and width havenow been well investigated, experimentally,analytically and numerically. Less predictable, due tocomplexity of the non-linear physical effects duringlaser cladding, but still highly significant for practicalapplication, are characteristics such as themicrostructure and mechanical properties of the finalclads or parts produced from them.This paper presents an investigation into the lasercladding of M2 steel using a coaxial nozzle. Singlescan tracks were produced on M2 substrates at anumber of specific energies and line masses and alsomodelled using a coupled Computational FluidDynamics (CFD) and Finite Elements (FE) model ofthe process. Characteristic of the clad track arepredicted using the model with and without theinfluence of melt pool flow accounted for and thepredictions compared with the experiment outcomes,analyzed via techniques such as Optical microscopy,Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-RayDiffraction (XRD). The results highlight the manyparameters that affect the laser cladding process.
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