Investigating the microstructure and hardness of 17-4PH steel and Stellite cladded by direct laser deposition process on 17-4PH steel substrate

The purpose of this research is to laser cladding of stellite6 and stainless steel 17-4PH powders on the substrate of stainless steel 17-4PH, and investigate its solidification microstructure. The results showed that the microstructure of the stellite6 cladding has a cobalt solid solution ground phase with an FCC structure and Cr7C3 and Cr23C6 carbides. Also, the values ​​of the primary dendrite distance and the distance of the secondary dendrite arm have decreased by moving away from the interface; The reason for this is related to the difference in the cooling rate in different parts of the coating. The microstructure of 17-4PH stainless steel coating includes martensitic, ferritic, and austenitic phases; Due to the same chemical composition of the substrate and the cladding, the weight percentage of elements such as iron, nickel, chromium, and copper did not change from the cladding to the interface. It indicates the uniformity of the chemical composition of the cladding and the substrate. The calculated microhardness for the cladding of stellite6, the substrate and the cladding of stainless steel 7-4PH is about 480, 350, and 350 respectively. The reason for the higher microhardness of the cladding is the presence of chromium carbides (Cr7C3 and Cr23C6) formed in the cobalt field and the cobalt solid solution field of the cladding.