Melt pool dynamics on different substrate materials in high-speed laser directed energy deposition process

High-speed laser directed energy deposition (HSL-DED) is a variant of the laser directed energy deposition process where a defocused metal powder stream is used, and it typically involves processing speeds exceeding 5 m/min. However, the interactions between the laser beam, powder stream, and substrate surface in HSL-DED have not been extensively studied. This study used a specialized XIRIS XVC-1000 welding camera with a narrow bandpass filter to record the interaction phenomenon. These observations were first carried out without powder delivery, using laser surface melting techniques, and involved processing speeds of up to 20 m/min and laser powers of up to 3 kW. HSL-DED with powder delivery was then conducted with the same parameter combinations for comparative analysis. The in situ observations in laser surface melting and HSL-DED identified a physical separation between the laser spot and the melt pool boundary, referred to as melt pool lag. Different substrates’ chemical compositions and the resulting thermophysical properties significantly impact melt pool dynamics during the high-speed laser-material interactions for a given process condition. The findings from this work have enabled a better understanding and control of melt pool dynamics in HSL-DED.