Cracking susceptibility of a laser-clad layer as related to the melting properties of the cladding alloy

An investigation is reported of the laser surface cladding of self-fluxing Fe–Cr–Ni–B––Si alloys on a medium carbon steel substrate using the preplaced powder method. The cracking susceptibility of the laser-clad layer has been studied in terms of the melting properties of the cladded alloy. The smaller the fusion temperature zone and fusion-end temperature of the cladded alloy, the lower the cracking susceptibility of the laser-clad layer. The effect of the latent heat of fusion of the cladded alloy on cracking susceptibility is not apparent.