Performance and efficiency control method of in-situ TiC generated by laser cladding

The work studied the effects of differences in the molar ratios of carbon to titanium on the performance and forming efficiency of in-situ TiC materials generated by laser cladding. The full factor test method was used to explore the coupling effect of process parameters on the hardness of the cladding layer and the formation efficiency of TiC. The combined-parameter method was used to establish the mathematical models of laser power, scanning speed, powder ratio versus hardness, hard-phase production, and cladding efficiency. The results showed that the hardness and hard-phase formation increased with increased laser power and powder ratio and decreased with the increased scanning speed. The cladding efficiency increased with increased laser power and decreased with the increased scanning speed and powder ratio. With the low molar ratio of carbon to titanium, TiC in the form of dendrites was found in the cladding layer. When the carbon-titanium ratios were close and carbon was surplus, the morphology of the generated TiC particles was petal-like and spherical. Besides, the production increased and grain had finer sizes. Sensitivity analysis showed that fine adjustment of the powder ratio significantly affected the three models with the laser power of 1800 W, a scanning speed of 4 mm·s−1, and a powder ratio of 0.7, and the accuracy of the sensitivity analysis was proved through experiments.