The main thermal processes in the technology of layerwise laser surface coating of metal powders
Energy balance of the powder laser surface coating process has been analyzed. Comparison of the analysis results with a legacy experimental data shows that a considerable portion of absorbed laser beam power is spent for evaporation of the powder. Technique of the selection and optimization of technological parameters for powder laser surfacing process is offered. The powder heat conduction and thermal diffusivity values are found can be increased significantly under the melting due to consecutive formation of a thermal contact between the melt and underlying powder particles. The range of Peclet numbers corresponding to efficient laser surfacing of powders has been determined.