Effect of Substrate Thickness and Preheating on the Distortion of Laser Deposited Ti–6Al–4V

Abstract

The effect of substrate surface preheating on part distortion in laser cladding is investigated through the experimental results of laser deposited Ti–6Al–4V. In situ temperature and distortion measurements were used to monitor the behavior of the substrates before, during, and after deposition. The resulting trends were analyzed, and it was determined that substrate preheating reduces the amount of distortion accumulated in thin substrates but increases the amount of distortion accumulated in thick substrates. Additionally, substrate preheating was found to cause additional distortion of thick substrates during cool-down after processing had finished. The in situ measurements suggest that the stress relaxation of Ti–6Al–4V at elevated temperatures increases the distortion observed in thick substrates, but has minimal effect on distortion in thin substrates.