Numerical and experimental investigation of nickel-deposited 410 stainless steel using the laser cladding process

This study investigates the laser cladding (LC) of pure nickel onto AISI 410 stainless steel using a low-power pulsed diode laser. The process parameters included scanning speeds of 0.5–1.5 mm/s and average laser powers of 20–40 W, with a fixed pulse width of 110 ns and pulse frequency of 50 kHz. Microhardness, clad geometry, and microstructure at the clad-substrate interface were analyzed using optical microscopy, FE-SEM, and EDS. At 40 W, successful nickel deposition was achieved, demonstrating optimal metallurgical bonding. The clad depth decreased from 364.7 to 170.0 µm as the scanning speed increased, with the best microstructure and highest microhardness observed at 1 mm/s. A 3D finite element model was developed to complement the experimental findings and to gain a deeper understanding of the LC process, particularly in terms of temperature distribution, and the resulting clad geometry. The simulations revealed that increasing scanning speed significantly reduced the peak temperature, from 3121 K at 0.5 mm/s to 2445 K at 1.5 mm/s. The nickel deposition was unsuccessful at 20 and 30 W due to insufficient peak temperatures of 1468 and 1899 K, respectively. At 40 W, a peak temperature of 2879 K was achieved, aligning well with the experimental results and confirming the accuracy of the simulation in predicting the effects of processing parameters.