Overlapped wire-fed laser cladding on inclined surfaces: An analytical model considering gravity and a model application

The controllable wire-fed laser cladding (WLC) on inclined surfaces is one of the most challenging issues to repair free-form surfaces of high-valued parts because of the gravity effect, and therefore has attracted substantial attentions. Numerical methods need large computational efforts and can only achieve indirect inter-relationship between processing parameters and cladding geometries. In this concern, analytical models can be a promising solution but the models of overlapped profiles on non-horizontal surfaces are still absent from the literature. To fill this gap, this paper investigates the overlapped wire-fed laser cladding on inclined surfaces by proposing an analytical model with the considerations of substantial physical phenomena (gravity, interfacial tension) and thermal behaviors (Marangoni flow, wetting). The model is then validated by experimental trials, followed by a real cladding application on non-horizontal surfaces to show the model ability. The findings in this paper are expected to be meaningful and helpful to not only academic research but also engineering applications.