In this study, a titanium alloy substrate was cladded with TC17 titanium alloy powder using the pulsed-current (PC)-assisted laser cladding technique. The primary objective of this research was to assess the impact of varying pulsed current intensities on the morphology, microstructure, and properties of samples. It is observed that the utilization of pulsed currents significantly enhances the metallurgical adhesion between the samples, concurrently diminishing the occurrence of porosity within the cladding layer. The incorporation of a pulsed current also has a positive impact on the microhardness and corrosion resistance of the samples. Furthermore, the synergistic influence of laser energy and a pulsed electrical current is found to promote a structural evolution in materials towards a state with lower electrical resistance. The introduction of a pulsed current leads to preferential growth of β grains with <100>// cladding direction in the cladding zone and obtains the typical {100} < 001 > cube texture, while the substrate zone exhibits a distinctive stripe-like configuration formed by the primary α-phase constituents. The outcomes of this study show the pivotal role of pulsed currents as an auxiliary technique for enhancing the properties and effecting microstructural modifications in titanium alloys during the laser cladding process.
Keywords: corrosion; laser cladding; microstructure; preferential growth; pulsed current; titanium alloy.