Accepted Manuscript

Research on microstructures and properties of Inconel 625 coatings obtained by laser

cladding with wire

Xiang Xu, Gaoyang Mi, Lin Chen, Lingda Xiong, Ping Jiang, Xinyu Shoa, Chunming
Wang

PII: S0925-8388(17)31462-7
DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2017.04.252
Reference: JALCOM 41656

To appear in: Journal of Alloys and Compounds

Received Date: 7 February 2017

Revised Date: 19 April 2017
Accepted Date: 23 April 2017

Please cite this article as: X. Xu, G. Mi, L. Chen, L. Xiong, P. Jiang, X. Shoa, C. Wang, Research on
microstructures and properties of Inconel 625 coatings obtained by laser cladding with wire, Journal of
Alloys and Compounds (2017), doi: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2017.04.252.

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Abstract
Laser cladding has been widely applied in surface modification and repairing. In
this study, single bead and multiple beads Inconel 625 coatings were fabricated on the
surface of 316L stainless steel by laser cladding. This investigation was conducted
using an optical microscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction
(XRD) and other methodologies. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model
was applied to predict the temperature evolution in the laser cladding process. The

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results indicated that the defect-free Inconel 625 coating presented an obvious
microstructure transformation while the bonding interface can be divided into three
different areas. An unmixed area was observed near the bonding interface with

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precipitated ferrite of different formations. A decrease of the hardness (H) and reduced
elastic modulus (Er) profile was detected in this area. Cladded area and bonding area
exhibited superior tensile properties at both room temperature and high temperature

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than substrate. The corrosion performance of coating area was also close to bonding
area and superior to substrate in different solutions, indicating an excellent protecting
effect of Inconel 625 coating.

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Key words: Laser cladding; Inconel 625; Bonding area; Microstructure;

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1. Introduction
Surface modification is widely used as a remanufacturing (repair) process,
especially for some special engineering components in aerospace industry. It produces
new properties on the surface of substrate which improves toughness, hardness and
corrosion and thus reduces wear resistance and thermal stress [1, 2]. Among various
coating techniques for surface modification of ferrous metals, laser cladding is a
coating technique that has demonstrated several advantages in the metallurgical field

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such as: controlled shape of the clad within certain limits, localized heating which
reduces thermal distortion and the size of the heat-affected zone, flexibility of the
process, controlled levels of dilution, smooth surface finish, near isotropic mechanical

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properties, fine quench microstructures, good fusion bonding and high deposition rate
[3].
Ni-based superalloy Inconel 625 (IN625) has been one of the most widely used

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nickel-based alloys in aerospace, petrochemical, chemical and marine applications
due to its excellent corrosion and oxidation resistance, as well as its high yield
strength, creep strength and fatigue strength [4, 5]. For surface modification industry,

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Inconel 625 is also utilized extensively as a coating material for marine environments
and also for the hard-facing of tool and die steels [6, 7].
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Most of the previous works on Inconel 625 laser cladding were performed using
powder as the filling material. Cladding parameters, microstructures and mechanical
properties of the deposited coating were studied and compared in order to obtain
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defect-free beads and achieve good process stability in many researches [8-10]. In
these years, wire based laser techniques are also widely applied due to their great
advantages in relation to their deposition speed and efficiency, with the ability to
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produce smooth surfaces with limited porosity, fewer defects and better material
quality at a higher deposition rate [11]. Several researchers focused on the parameters
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optimization, microstructure and property transformation using Inconel 625 wire

based methods and have already got some results [12-14]. Among which, Abjoye
[15-17] studied the processing parameter combination and corrosion performance of
the Inconel 625 wire cladded coating which showed a good protective effect for
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stainless steel. For comparison, J.C. Heigel [18] concluded the differences and
advantages in the thermal and mechanical response of Inconel 625 substrate cladded
with Inconel 625 powder and wire using a thermo-mechanical FE model. During laser
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cladding and surface treating, bonding interface is the core part of the dissimilar
materials and directly affects its performance [19]. Different alloy solid solutions and
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phases are formed around the composite interface due to the difference in intrinsic
chemical composition, microstructure, physical and chemical properties of two
materials. Hence, researches in laser processing for surface modifying and repairing
are increasingly focused on the bonding effect and intermetallic compound near the
interface. [20-22]
Although the investigation on the laser cladding of Inconel 625 with wire and
powder has been studied by several papers, the microstructure and properties of
cladded bonding interface as well as the performance comparison among cladded
coating, bonding area and substrate have rarely been investigated. In this study, single
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bead and multiple beads samples of Inconel 625 wire were successfully cladded on
the surface of 316L stainless steel under optimized process conditions. The macro
morphologies, microstructures of different areas in selected samples were concluded
and compared. Grain morphology trans-formations and microstructural formation
mechanism of the interface were discussed. Mechanical properties and corrosion
performances were also investigated in detail.

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2. Experimetal procedure
The Inconel 625 cladded samples were fabricated on austenitic stainless steels AISI
316L with dimensions of 200mm×100mm×10mm (length×width×thickness).

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Substrates were ground with a scouring wheel and degreased with acetone before the
cladding process as to improve the laser absorptivity of the surface. The chemical
composition of the 316L stainless steel, as received, is given in Table 1. The Inconel

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625 wire utilized for cladding is 1.14 mm diameter, the chemical composition of
which is also listed in Table 1.
Table 1 Chemical compositions of 316L stainless steel substrate and IN 625 wire in wt%.

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Element Cr Ni Mo Nb Mn Co Si Other Fe
Wire
Substrate
20.0-23.0
16.0-18.0
≥58
10.0-14.0
8.0-10.0
2.0-3.0
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3.15-4.15
-
≤0.5
≤2.0
≤1.0 ≤0.5
≤0.75
≤0.930
≤0.105
≤5.0
Bal.

A 4000W continuous wave (CW) fiber laser with a 1070 nm wavelength and a
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circular beam shape was employed in the cladding work. An arc welding machine was
used as the wire feeder machine. The Inconel 625 wire was “front fed” at an angle of
35◦-45◦ to the horizontal to aim the wire tip at the center of the molten pool. 99.99%
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Argon gas was “back blow” through a gas nozzle at an angle of 45◦ to the horizontal
to protect against oxidation. The laser head, wire feeder and Ar gas nozzle were all
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fixed on an industrial robot (ABB). Fig. 1a illustrates the schematic representation of

the manufacturing process.
A wide range of parameter values were demonstrated to be suitable to process
Inconel 625 by laser cladding [4]. In this work, the influences of the three main
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factors (laser power, wire feed rate and scanning speed) on laser cladded coating were
evaluated performing different single and multiple beads. A total of nine single beads
and two multiple beads (shown in Fig. 1b) were obtained with typical different
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parameter conditions to find an appropriate combination and obtain a thick coating

free of pores and interconnected cracks. The laser cladding conditions and
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geometrical parameters of the resulting single beads are summarized in Table 2. All of
the samples were obtained using a protecting gas at 10 L/min and a spot size of 3 mm.
The heat inputs for each set of parameters were also compared according to the
following equation.
௉(ௐ)
ܳ= (1)
௏(௠/௠௜௡)
where Q is the heat input; P is the laser power; V is the scanning speed.
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Fig. 1 Experimetal setup of laser cladding and typical cladding samples

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(a) schematic of the manufacturing process (b) morphologies of Inconel 625 cladded samples

All of the samples were longitudinally cross-sectioned, ground by sand paper up to

1500 grit and polished using a diamond polishing paste. Later, all the samples were

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further chemically rinsed for 120s in the solution of HCl: HNO3: HF: H2O=9:3:3:5.
The macro morphology, composition and microstructure of each cladded coating and
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bonding area were investigated by means of an optical microscopy and a scanning
electron microscope (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) was also employed to identify
the phases present in the coating and bonding area of selected samples.
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Table 2 Details of the experimetal settings
Scanning Wire Feed Overlap Ratio
Laser Power Heat Input Track Height Track Width
S/N Speed Rate for Multiple
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P(W) Q(J/mm) H(mm) W(mm)

V(m·min-1) Vw(m·min-1) Beads (%)
A 2600 0.3 1.4 520 3.05 3.55
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B 2600 0.3 1.7 520 3.09 4.04

C 2600 0.3 2.0 520 3.03 3.89
D 2600 0.36 1.4 433 2.81 3.81
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E 2600 0.36 1.7 433 25 2.88 3.59

F 2600 0.36 2.0 433 25 2.70 3.63
G 2600 0.42 1.4 371 2.82 3.08
H 2600 0.42 1.7 371 2.81 3.42
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I 2600 0.42 2.0 371 2.62 3.63

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A nanoindenter equipment with a resolution of 50nN in force and 5µm /8µm in

displacement was used to measure the hardness and reduced elastic modulus along the
middle of the cross-sections of the bonding areas, with a spacing of 5µm /8µm
between successive points of typical bead samples. Tension testing of 20℃ and 600℃
for multiple bead samples were performed using a tensile test machine to examine the
tensile strength of cladded coating area and bonding area in different thermal
conditions. Three Tensile specimens comprising of three different areas (coating area,
bonding area and substrate) of each multiple beads sample were extracted
perpendicular to cladding direction (the sample designations are shown in Fig. 2).
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Fig. 2 Illustrations of tensile samples (a) location of extracted static tensile specimens (b)
dimensions of tensile samples for room-temperature (20 ) tensile test in mm (c) dimensions

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of tensile samples for high-temperature (600 ) tensile test in mm

The corrosion behavior of Inconel 625 cladded coating, bonding area and 316L
substrate were investigated using electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (EPR).

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6 samples (3mm×3mm surface areas) of the optimum cladded beads from coating area,
bonding area and substrate were prepared and exposed to 2 types of electrolyte (0.6M
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NaCl and 0.5M H2SO4) at 30 ℃ (illustrated in Fig. 3). The polarization tests were
conducted in a conventional three-electrode cell using platinum plate as the auxiliary
electrode, and a Ag/AgCl electrode as the reference electrode. The working electrodes
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were prepared from different selected samples, respectively. The experimetal
procedures were conducted for each of the samples with a scan rate of 0.33 and 1
mV/s from the 1 h open circuit potential (OCP). Polarization curves were plotted in
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the potential range -200 to 1200 mV. The test parameter details are shown in Table. 3.
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Fig. 3 Illustrations of EPR samples(a) location of extracted EPR samples (b) dimension of
surface area in mm
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Table 3 Details of EPR test and representative experiment codes

Electrolyte
Experiment code Scan rate (mV/s)
H2SO4 (M) NaCl (M)
A1
A2 - 0.6 0.33
A3

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B1
B2 0.5 0.01 1
B3

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3. Results and Discussions
3.1 Morphologies and microstructures of cladded single beads

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Fig.4a presents the cross sections of the cladded bead profiles and the results of the
cladded bead geometry measurements are listed in table 2. Almost all of the single
beads were continuous and free of surface defects. Table 2 reveals that an increasing
wire feed rate and heat input causes an increasing track width. Hotter and larger

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molten pool is formed under a high heat input along with a wider track, resulting in
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the spread of molten pool. A larger wire feed rate can also significantly increases the
amount of wire into the molten pool, forming a larger track. For overlapping beads
cladding, an appropriate track width and height is always required for obtaining a
stable and smooth surface. Both sample E and F were selected for multiple beads
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cladding in this study for further research of mechanical and corrosion properties.
Fig. 4b~d gives the typical microstructures of the cross-section perpendicular to the
clad direction. Different microstructures from different regions were picked in
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cladded area due to different thermal gradient. As shown in Fig. 4b, cellular grains
without secondary dendrites are regional distributed near substrate and bonding area.
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These relatively large size (about 10µm) cellular grains with certain crystal orientation
were only detected in a limited area at the bottom of the cladded coating. During laser
cladding, it is reasonable that the cooling rate of molten pool is relatively large as well
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as the solidification rate due to the large temperature gradient between the molten
pool and the cold substrate, so no secondary dendrites may grow near substrate.
However, with the decreasing of the temperature gradient and solidification rate
above the near-bonding area, the microstructure presents a typical columnar dendrites
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structure with classical secondary dendrites. As shown in Fig. 4c, columnar dendrites
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are observed throughout cladded area with a mean Primary Dendrite Arm Spacing
(PDAS) of 5.5µm and a mean Secondary Dendrite Arm Spacing (SDAS) of 3.6µm.
The transition of microstructure on the top and side region from directional dendrite
to equiaxed grain is observed in Fig. 4d. On the top and side region of cladded area,
the lowest temperature gradient caused the formation of fine equiaxed grain with a
grain size of 5~8µm. The XRD diffractograms of the laser cladded sample is
presented in Fig. 5, it can be seen that the Inconel 625 cladded coating is mainly
consist of the Ni-based austenite (γ) phase. Three peaks of γ(111), γ(200) and γ(220)
were detected when intermetallic phases like γ’, γ’’ and laves phase were not detected
due to the lower volume fraction.
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Fig. 4 Optical microscopy images of typical laser cladded bead sample
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(a) overall topography of the cladded bead sample (b) microstructure in region 1 (c)
microstructure in region 2 (d) microstructure in region 3
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Fig. 5 XRD patterns acquired from cladded coating area

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3.2 Morphologies and microstructures of bonding area

The interface and bonding area between Inconel 625 cladded coating and 316L
substrate of typical laser cladded samples were emphatically studied (displayed in Fig.
6). An obvious layered microstructure and grains of different sizes and formations
were detected around the fusion line. Three different areas of cladded area, bonding
area and substrate can be clearly distinguished in Fig. 6a. Fig 6b~d with different
magnifications of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and back scattered electron
(BSE) images show two distinct regions of different microstructures between Inconel
625 cladded metal and 316L substrate. Based on the fusion line (marked red in Fig.6),
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cellular grain area is identified at the bottom of cladded area and unmixed area is
found at the 316L side near the fusion line. As shown in Fig. 6b~c, cellular grains
without dendrites of Inconel 625 are distributed evenly along the fusion line, similar
as the microstructure at the bottom of cladded area. The thickness of cellular grain
area is about 10~20µm.
Not like the cellular grain area, unmixed area is locally presented at the special
regions with different thicknesses of single beads cladded with different parameters.

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Fig 7a gives the schematic distribution of unmixed area, which was formed at two
sides of the fusion line when seldom found at the center of the fusion line below the
cladded sample. The thicknesses of these areas are not uniform and the largest

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thickness area is always presented on two sides near the center of the fusion line
(mark in Fig. 7a). The thicknesses of unmixed areas of 9 beads cladded with different
parameters are concluded in Fig.7b, the average/ maximum thickness of unmixed area

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of each single bead are also measured and compared. As shown in Fig. 7, the average
and the maximum thickness of unmixed area increases when increasing wire feed rate
or heat input. However, the variation trend tends to be steady when the wire feed rate

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kept increasing, especially for average thickness, which even decreases with a
2.0m/min wire feed rate. The maximum thickness reaches nearly 35µm with the
largest wire feed rate. AN
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Fig.6 SEM micrographs of bonding area of the typical cladded bead sample, a~c is bonding
area of sample E and d is bonding area of sample I
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(a) low magnification image showing microstructure near the fusion line
(b) low magnification BSE image showing the microstructure near the fusion line
(c) high magnification image of bonding area
(d) high magnification BSE image of bonding area

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Fig.7 Distribution and thickness variation of unmixed area

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(a) distribution of unmixed and maximum thickness areas
(b) effect of wire feed rate and heat input on thickness of unmixed area
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3.3 Phase compositions and transformations of bonding area
XRD and EDS analysis was applied to investigate the diffusion effects and
distributions of key elements from cladded area to substrate through bonding area in
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Sample E. As can be seen from Fig. 8 and compared to Fig. 5, the phase compositions
of cladded area and bonding area are significantly different. Several intermetallic
phases like Fe3Ni2, Nb0.1Ni0.9 and Fe-C were detected in the main three peaks,
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indicating a complex phase composition and transformation. EDS results and

corresponding analyzed positions are presented in Fig. 9. The chemical compositions
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of 4 points tested from the cladded are to substrate in sample E were also summarized
in Fig. 9b~e. The line scanning from cladded coating to substrate was conducted to
further investigate the chemical composition profile and diffusion of iron, the result of
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which was given in Fig. 9f.

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Fig. 8 XRD patterns acquired from bonding area

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As shown in Fig. 9f, an obvious decrease of Ni wt% as well as an increase of Fe wt%
is observed along the scanned line, indicating a smooth diffusion transform from
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cladded area to substrate. The relatively high content of Nb (2.75%) and Mo (3.73%)
at the bottom of cladded area above the cellular grain area demonstrates the laves
phase. Actually, the short bar-like laves phases are precipitated in the grain boundaries
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above the cellular grain area which can be identified in the BSE image in Fig.6d. In
cellular grain area, the Fe concentration is higher than that of cladded area while Ni
concentration becomes higher than that of substrate. Moreover, almost no Nb (0.59%)
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can be found as well as the laves phase. It can be inferred that the transformation of
Fe and Ni between cladded metal and substrate is mainly concentrated in this area.
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Fig. 10a gives the phase diagram of Fe-Ni, not like the nearly all γ phase in cladded
area (shown in Fig. 5), the microstructure of the cellular grain area exhibits the
presence of γ–Ni, Fe and α-Fe solid solution phases with the decreasing Ni wt%.
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Similar as substrate, the Fe concentration is as high as around 60% in unmixed area

when Ni is only about 10%. The precipitations found in unmixed area also exhibit a
high content of Fe wt% and Cr wt%, defining as δ ferrite phase. As can be seen from
the Fe-Cr-Ni ternary diagram (70% Fe) shown in Fig. 10b, the composition of
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unmixed area (correspond to Fig. 9) may be indicated by the red line that passes three
phase regions, including γ + δ phase region, pure γ phase region and metastable γ + δ
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phase region from in the temperature range 400 to 1400 ℃. Hence, these δ ferrite
phases precipitated in unmixed area mainly because of the partial different heat input.
In addition, variation in cooling rate and element composition change due to the iron
diffusion of the melted substrate metal may also change the solidification phase [23].
Shown in Fig. 6, nearly all unmixed area is made up of precipitated ferrite with
different formations. Thus, partial performance variations of mechanical property and
corrosion property may occur in this limited area which should be concerned.
Actually in Fig. 6d, fine pore like structure is observed in the BSE image of unmixed
area of sample I due to the over heat. In conclusion, the thickness and forming
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environment of unmixed area should be controlled carefully through suitable process

parameters selection.

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Fig. 9 EDS analysis of bonding area in typical laser cladded samples

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(a) Typical SEM micrograph of bonding area and EDS analysis positions (b~e) EDS analysis
results for point 1~4 marked in Fig. 9a (f) EDS analysis results for scanned line marked in
Fig. 9a

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Fig. 10 (a) Binary diagram of Fe-Ni
(b) Vertical section of Fe-Cr-Ni ternary diagram (70% Fe)

As shown in Fig.11, laser melted not only the wire but also the substrate during
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laser cladding, forming the molten pool. During the melted wire drop spreading out
on substrate, the heat input of the two sides of the cladded bead was relatively larger
due to the molten pool. Hence, the cross section of the cladded sample exhibits a
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special formation with different temperature distribution along the fusion line due to
different heat input.
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Fig. 11 Schematic of laser cladding process and cross section of cladded bead sample
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A 3D finite element (FE) model was used to predict the temperature evolution and
the distribution of cladded area throughout the cladding process to explain the
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forming of unmixed area and element diffusion.

In order to reasonably simplify the finite element thermal analysis of laser cladding
process, some basic assumptions have been applied as follows: (1) The fluid flow in
the molten pool is ignored. (2) A new heat source model was applied for simulation
due to the physical process and characteristic of laser cladding, including a liquid
Inconel 625 drop of about 1750K and a rotary Gaussian volume distribution. The
1.2mm diameter (same as the wire diameter) liquid Inconel 625 drop was set as an
extra heat input instead of the middle part of a rotary Gaussian volume distribution.
Corresponding to the actual experiment, the liquid drop was dropped onto the
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substrate with a 0.36m/min scanning speed along with the Gaussian heat source
during laser cladding. The other heat input from laser irradiation obeys the rotary
Gaussian volume distribution. The heat source model was shown in Fig. 12 and the
equation applied was displayed as follows:
− 3r 2 − 3r 2
q r = q m exp =
3r 2
Q exp (r > r0 ) (2)
R2 πR 2 R2

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where Q is the nominal power of the laser beam, R is the effective radius of the
volumetric heat source, r is the distance to the center, ro is the diameter of the wire.
The quasi-steady state temperature field during laser cladding is governed by the

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following equation:
∂ (c pT ) ∂  ∂T  ∂  ∂T  ∂  ∂T 
ρ =  k  +  k  + k  + Q m (3)
∂x  ∂x  ∂y  ∂y  ∂z  ∂z 

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∂t

− 3r 2 3r 2 − 3r 2
q r = q m exp = Q exp (4)
πR 2

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R2 R2
where q is density, cp is the specific heat, T is temperature, t is time, k is thermal
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conductivity, and x, y, z, are Cartesian coordinates; Qm is the heat input. The boundary
conditions for thermal analyses are as follows:
∂T
= h(T − Tα ) 5
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∂y
where T1 is the ambient temperature (25℃), h is the heat transfer coefficient.
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Fig. 12 Schematic of applied heat source model

The dimension of the model consists of Inconel 625 cladded part and 316L stainless
substrate part is illustrated in Fig. 13. Only halves of the cladded material and
substrate plate were selected to be modeled by using the symmetry of the geometry.
The width and the depth of cladded part were 4.3mm and 2.1mm respectively which
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referred from the actual experiment results. The model shown in Fig. 13 was meshed
with an 8-node hexahedral element (SOLID70). A dense mesh was applied in bonding
area which ensured a good numerical accuracy when a relative coarser mesh was used
in cladded area and substrate. The temperature distribution in the whole FE model and
the partial highest temperature distribution of the cross-section acquired from the
simulation results are shown in Fig. 14.

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Fig. 13 Schematic view of the dimensions of the meshed model

Compared to Fig. 10b, both the maximum temperatures of p1~p3 are over 1400K
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and the δ phase transfer temperature (marked P1 in Fig. 10b), so obvious δ
precipitated ferrites are found in these regions. However, the maximum temperature
of p4 is only 1271K and no δ ferrite is precipitated in this temperature scale, resulting
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in the all γ phase microstructure. The all γ phase microstructure in the middle of the
fusion line also verify the absence of unmixed area due to the lower maximum
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temperature. More δ ferrite phases are precipitated when increasing the maximum
temperature at the 316L side near the fusion line, influencing the thickness of
unmixed area. As shown in Fig. 14a, the maximum thickness region is presented at
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two sides near the center of the fusion line, corresponding to the maximum
temperature p2 region of the 4 regions displayed in Fig. 14. Furtherly, the thickness of
the high temperature area near the fusion line is limited due to the rapid cooling
process, along with the thickness of unmixed area.
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Fig. 14 (a) numerically predicted maximum heat transfer distribution at the cross section

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(b) temperature contours evolution in the cladding process (c) temperature evolution at 4
characteristic locations marked in Fig. 14a

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3.4 Mechanical properties
3.4.1 Hardness profiles
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In situ nano indentation was applied to measure the variation of mechanical
properties through bonding area. Two scanning lines were tested, starting from
substrate, perpendicular to the fusion line through the bonding area of typical cladded
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sample E with a spacing of 5µm (line 1) and 8µm (line 2) between successive points.
Each value of hardness (H) and reduced elastic modulus (Er) was measured, one for
each load-unload cycle. The values of hardness and reduced elastic modulus
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determined by nano indentation are presented in Fig. 15. It is noticed that the nano
hardness values exhibit the similar trend as the reduced elastic modulus. Compared
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with substrate and cellular grain area, unmixed area showed a decreased hardness
(3.2GPa) and reduced elastic modulus (168.4GPa). The limited 15~20 µm unmixed
area with precipitated ferrite increases the tendency of cracking and pore, resulting in
the low hardness and reduced elastic modulus.
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Fig. 15 (a) The hardness and (b) reduced elastic modulus profiles of typical cladded sample.

3.4.2 Tensile properties

The tensile properties of typical multiple beads samples cladded at appropriate
parameters (2600W laser power, 0.36m/min scanning speed and 1.7m/min wire feed
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rate) at room temperature (20 °C) and high temperature (600 °C) are summarized in
Fig. 16a~b, respectively. The yield strength, tensile strength, and elongation are
measured from these curves, and the results are summarized in Table 4. As shown in
Fig. 16a, the tensile strength of cladded area is the highest (722MPa) and the tensile
strength of bonding area (706MPa) is also 13% higher than that of substrate
(624MPa). Whereas the elongation of substrate (18.7%) is obviously higher than that
of cladded area (14.5%). The yield strength of bonding area and cladded area are

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almost the same (456~457MPa), indicating a similar yield property. Both yield,
tensile strengths and elongation of all the samples at 600 °C are much lower than
those at 20℃, especially the 316L substrate samples. An obvious decrease of 42%

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tensile strength is detected in substrate when only 26%/31% decrease is found in
cladded area/bonding area respectively. Particularly in cladded area, the tensile
strength reaches 536MPa, indicating an excellent high-temperature mechanical

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property. The typical higher tensile strength of bonding area (similar as cladded area)
also proves the satisfied bonding between substrate and cladded beads. The limited
unmixed area with low hardness and reduced elastic modulus does not influence the

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total mechanical property of bonding area at different temperature condition. As a
result, the cladded beads significantly increases the tensile properties of ASIS 316L
stainless steel. AN
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Fig. 16 Stress-strain curves of the samples tested at (a) room temperature and (b) high
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temperature.

Table 4 Room- and high-temperature tensile properties of the tested samples.

Room temperature (20℃) High temperature (600℃)
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Sample Tensile Yeild Elongation Tensile Yeild Elongation

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Strength Strength % Strength Strength %

(MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa)
1 722 457 14.5 536 374 8.0
2 706 456 17.4 484 327 7.6
3 624 412 18.7 363 249 11.3

3.5 Corrosion performances

The corrosion performances of typical multiple beads samples cladded at
appropriate parameters (2600W laser power, 0.36m/min scanning speed and 1.7m/min
wire feed rate) were evaluated in two types of solutions at room temperature. 6
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samples selected from different regions of multiple beads were prepared (presented in
Fig. 3). Both 0.6M NaCl solution and 0.5M H2SO4 solution were prepared to measure
the corrosion performance of samples in environments of Cl- and acid. Table 5
summarises the corrosion parameters and results for each coating/substrate in terms of
corrosion potential (Ecorr), corrosion current density (Icorr) and pitting potential (Eb).
Fig. 17 shows the potential polarization behavior of the Inconel 625 coatings, bonding
areas and 316 stainless steel substrates in different solutions.

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Table 5 Variation of EPR test parameters and representative experiment results
Experiment Ecorr Icorr Eb
Electrolyte

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code (mV) (mA/cm2) (V)
A1 -244.5 1.294 -
A2 0.6M NaCl -204.3 2.981 0.518

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A3 -144.9 0.728 0.507
B1 166.9 0.971 0.968
B2 0.5M H2SO4 -125.7 1.028 0.981

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B3 -242.4 8.212 0.986

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Fig. 17. Potentiodynamic polarization curves of the cladded samples in different solutions
(a) in 0.6M NaCl solution (b) in 0.5M H2SO4 solution
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Corrosion potential is a static indicator of electrochemical corrosion resistance,

revealing the susceptibility of materials to corrosion. In general, materials that exhibit
a high corrosion potential offer higher corrosion resistance [24]. From the results
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presented in Fig 17 and Table 5, it is clear that the corrosion potential of these three
different areas of cladded sample are similar in the 0.6M NaCl solution. Compared
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with cladded area and bonding area, the corrosion potential of 316L is a little higher
and the corrosion potential difference among cladded area, bonding area and substrate
is only about 50mV. However, in the Cl- rich environment, pitting corrosion is always
presented in a constant pitting potential. According to Fig. 17a, both the samples of
substrate and bonding area present a breakdown potential of about 0.5V when no
obvious pitting corrosion is found in the sample of cladded area. Besides, a rapid
increase in current density with a little or no change in potential is observed after a
narrow passive density. Thus, in the Cl- solutions, the results indicate that bonding
area and substrate are less resistant to pitting/crevice corrosion than cladded area
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though the corrosion potentials are almost the same. In the H2SO4 solution, it can be
observed that the corrosion potential of cladded area (166.9mV) is much higher than
that of bonding area (-125.7mV) and substrate (-242.4mV), indicating an excellent
corrosion resistance in the acid environment. The corrosion potential difference
among cladded area, bonding area and substrate is more than 200mV while the
breakdown potentials of the three samples are almost the same (1.0V). According to
Table 1, the higher content of chromium and molybdenum in the Fe-Ni based alloys

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increases the corrosion resistance. As a result, cladded area exhibits the best corrosion
performance in both NaCl and H2SO4 solutions. The smooth transformation of
corrosion potential from substrate to cladded area also presents a good metallurgical

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bonding and relatively good corrosion performance of bonding area.

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4. Conclusions
In this research work, defect-free laser cladded Inconel 625 wire coatings were
fabricated on the surface of 316L stainless steel with a 4000W fiber laser. The
morphologies, compositions, phases formed, mechanical properties and corrosion

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performances of cladded area and bonding area after laser cladding were investigated.
The results obtained in this research are summarized as follows:
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(1) During laser cladding, satisfactory bead and multiple beads samples with
smooth surfaces and modest track width/height were cladded using appropriate
parameters (a heat input of 433 J/mm and a 1.4~1.7 m/min wire feed rate).
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(2) The cladded Inconel 625 bead sample exhibited an obvious partitioned
microstructure. Uniform structures involving cellular grains, typical columnar
dendrites and equiaxed grains were detected in cladded area. Three different areas of
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cellular grain area, unmixed area and substrate area were found around the fusion line
in bonding area due to different phases and thicknesses.
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(3) Different formations and sizes of δ ferrite were densely precipitated in unmixed
area, a smooth diffusion transform from cladded area to substrate was found with a
decreasing Ni wt% and an increasing Fe wt%. Pore like microstructure was observed
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in unmixed area.
(4) The unmixed area exhibited a lower hardness and reduced elastic modulus due
to the presence of precipitated ferrite. The tensile property of cladded area was
relatively the best when the tensile strength of bonding area was also 13% higher than
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substrate and at room temperature. The tensile profiles at 600 °C are much lower than
those at room temperature, especially the substrate sample. Among which, the tensile
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strength of cladded area reached 536MPa, indicating an excellent high-temperature

property.
(5) The bonding area and substrate were less resistant to pitting/crevice corrosion
than cladded area in the 0.6M NaCl solution. Cladded area also showed the highest
corrosion potential in the 0.5M H2SO4. The 316L stainless steel can be fully protected
by the Inconel 625 coating in these two solutions.

Acknowledges
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This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
(Grant No. 51375191), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.
51323009) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.
51421062). We would like to express our deep gratitude to the Analysis and Test
Center of HUST (Huazhong University of Science and Technology), for their friendly
cooperation.

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Highlights:

Defect-free cladded bead/beads are obtained with an Inconel 625

wire.

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Microstructure, phase transformation and element distribution are

studied.

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Phase transformation is discussed using a 3D finite element model.

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Coatings with excellent mechanical and corrosion performances are

obtained.

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