Microstructural and electrochemical characterization of laser deposited 18-10 austenitic stainless steel clad layers

The present work reports on 18-10 stainless steel coatings produced by laser powder cladding technique on a mild steel. Uniform clad layers - about 600 µm thick - have been produced through partially overlapping single cladding tracks. The clad layers thus obtained show excellent adherence, no cracks, few porosities and good chemical homogeneity. The microstructure is dendritic or cellular. Dentrites or cells have an austenitic structure and a small amount of δ-ferrite is detected in the interdendritic areas. The corrosion resistance of the clad layers is tested by electrochemical techniques in various neutral or acidified aqueous saline media, deaerated or naturally aerated. In every case, the coatings show an excellent uniform corrosion resistance