Laser cladding is one of the material additive manufacturing processes used to produce a metallurgically bonded deposition layer. To obtain a high-quality resulting part, a deep understanding of the underlying mechanisms is required. In this article, a mathematical model is developed to simulate the coaxial laser-cladding process with powder injection, which includes laser-substrate, laser-powder, and powder-substrate interactions. The model considers most of the associated phenomena, such as melting, solidification, evaporation, evolution of the free surface, and powder injection. The fluid flow in the melt pool, which is mainly driven by Marangoni shear stress as well as particle impinging, together with the energy balances at the liquid-vapor and the solid-liquid interfaces, are investigated. Powder heating and laser power attenuation due to the powder cloud are incorporated into the model in the calculation of the temperature distribution. The influences of the powder injection on the melt pool shape, penetration, and flow pattern are predicted through the comparison for the cases with powder injection and without powder injection. Dynamic behavior of the melt pool and the formation of the clad are simulated. The effects of the process parameters on the melt pool dimension and peak temperature are further investigated based on the validated model.

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Melt pool geometry and thermal behavior control are essential in obtaining consistent building performances, such as geometrical accuracy, microstructure, and residual stress. In this paper, a three dimensional model is developed to predict the thermal behavior and geometry of the melt pool in the laser material interaction process. The evolution of the melt pool and effects of the process parameters are investigated through the simulations with stationary and moving laser beam cases. The roles of the convection and surface deformation on the heat dissipation and melt pool geometry are revealed by dimensionless analysis. The melt pool shape and fluid flow are considerably affected by interfacial forces such as thermocapillary force, surface tension, and recoil vapor pressure. Quantitative comparison of interfacial forces indicates that recoil vapor pressure is dominant under the melt pool center while thermocapillary force and surface tension are more important at the periphery of the melt pool. For verification purposes, the complementary metal oxide semiconductor camera has been utilized to acquire the melt pool image online and the melt pool geometries are measured by cross sectioning the samples obtained at various process conditions. Comparison of the experimental data and model prediction shows a good agreement.

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Dissimilar materials of H220 Zn-coated high strength steel and 6008 aluminum alloy were welded by median frequency resistance spot welding. Interfacial characteristics and kinetics of growth of intermetallic compound layer at steel/aluminum interface in the welded joint were investigated. The intermetallic compound layer was mainly made up of η-Fe2Al5 and θ-FeAl3 phases, and its morphology and thickness varied with positions along the interface. The growth behavior of the intermetallic compound layer was dominated by η-Fe2Al5, which exhibited parabolic characteristic. The growth coefficient of η-Fe2Al5 could be expressed as with k0 of 132 m 2 /s and Q of 239 kJ/mol. The kinetics of growth of the intermetallic compound layer indicated that its formation and growth were mainly driven by reactive diffusion between Fe and Al atoms, and hence the thickness and morphology of the layer were dependant on interaction time between liquid aluminum alloy and solid steel, and also interfacial temperature history during welding. The brittle intermetallic compound layer at the steel/aluminum interface was the weak zone where cracks inclined to derive and propagate during tensile shear testing. The fracture surfaces of the welded joint displayed mixed fracture morphology with both brittle and ductile features.

Laser aided Directed Material Deposition (DMD) is an additive manufacturing process based on laser cladding. A full understanding of laser cladding is essential in order to achieve a steady state and robust DMD process. A two dimensional mathematical model of laser cladding with droplet injection was developed to understand the influence of fluid flow on the mixing, dilution depth, and deposition dimension, while incorporating melting, solidification, and evaporation phenomena. The fluid flow in the melt pool that is driven by thermal capillary convection and an energy balance at the liquid–vapor and the solid–liquid interface was investigated and the impact of the droplets on the melt pool shape and ripple was also studied. Dynamic motion, development of melt pool and the formation of cladding layer were simulated. The simulated results for average surface roughness were compared with the experimental data and showed a comparable trend.

A series of triaxial compression experiments were preformed for the coarse marble samples under different loading paths by the rock mechanics servocontrolled testing system. Based on the experimental results of complete stress-strain curves, the influence of loading path on the strength and deformation failure behavior of coarse marble is made a detailed analysis. Three loading paths (Paths I-III) are put forward to confirm the strength parameters (cohesion and internal friction angle) of coarse marble in accordance with linear Mohr-Coulomb criterion. Compared among the strength parameters, two loading paths (i.e. Path II by stepping up the confining pressure and Path III by reducing the confining pressure after peak strength) are suggested to confirm the triaxial strengths of rock under different confining pressures by only one sample, which is very applicable for a kind of rock that has obvious plastic and ductile deformation behavior (e.g. marble, chalk, mudstone, etc.). In order to investigate refracture mechanical behavior of rock material, three loading paths (Paths IV-VI) are also put forward for flawed coarse marble. The peak strength and deformation failure mode of flawed coarse marble are found depending on the loading paths (Paths IV-VI). Under lower confining pressures, the peak strength and Young's modulus of damage sample (compressed until post-peak stress under higher confining pressure) are all lower compared with that of flawed sample; moreover mechanical parameter of damage sample is lower for the larger compressed post-peak plastic deformation of coarse marble. However under higher confining pressures (e.g. σ 3 =30 MPa), the axial supporting capacity and elastic modulus of damage coarse marble (compressed until post-peak stress under lower confining pressure) is not related to the loading path, while the deformation modulus and peak strain of damage sample depend on the difference of initial confining pressure and post-peak plastic deformation. The friction among crystal grains determines the strength behavior of flawed coarse marble under various loading paths. In the end, the effect of loading path on failure mode of intact and flawed coarse marble is also investigated. The present research provides increased understanding of the fundamental nature of rock failure under different loading paths.