Investigation on numerical simulation method of extreme high-speed laser material deposition process of aluminum bronze powder alloy

Extreme High-Speed Laser Material Deposition (EHLA) is an efficient and low-heat-input surface strengthening technology. In this study, aluminum bronze powder was selected. Its outstanding corrosion resistance, excellent wear resistance, combined with the low dilution rate and low deformation characteristics of this process, can economically and reliably produce high-performance surface protective coatings for large industrial components. It has irreplaceable technical value in extreme environments such as ships, marine, and chemical industries. Based on numerical simulation and experimental analysis, this paper establishes a powder flow gas/solid coupling model for the EHLA process of aluminum bronze powder. The powder jet behavior during the laser-powder interaction was analyzed in detail, and the distribution state of powder flow rate and concentration. Calculations show that airflow dynamics and powder particle size have a significant impact on powder utilization rate and coating wear resistance. Based on this, the mechanism of the laser-powder coupling effect was comprehensively considered in this paper, and a three-dimensional multi-field coupling simulation model of the 45 steel EHLA aluminum bronze powder process was established. Based on the rectangular laser composite heat source model, the instantaneous evolution laws of the cladding temperature field and flow field were calculated and revealed. The results show that the molten pool flows asymmetrically, with the highest temperature reaching 2730 K and the maximum flow velocity reaching 0.236 m s −1 . This study provides an important theoretical basis for the optimization of EHLA processes, the structural innovation design of cladding equipment, and engineering applications, thereby effectively enhancing cladding performance and promoting the wide application of this technology in the field of high-end equipment manufacturing.