A Multiphase Approach In Numerical Modeling Of Laser Cladding Process With Coaxial Powder Injection

Abstract

A 3-D transient numerical model based on the numerical resolution of fluid flow and heat transfer equations is developed for laser cladding with powder injection. The numerical study was performed in a co-ordinate system fixed to the base material (Lagrange description) and a moving laser beam with a constant scanning speed. In this study, the Volume Of Fluid (VOL) approach was adopted to deal with the liquid/gas interface boundary conditions. The model enables prediction of temperature field, shape and size of the molten zone, and the geometry of the deposited clad. A simple model for dilution is considered to analyze the clad quality. The effects of powder feed rate on temperature field, clad geometry, dilution factor, maximum temperatures in the melt pool and the heating and cooling rates are investigated.