The role of metallurgical solid state phase transformations on the formation of residual stress in laser cladding and heating

There are two major types of solid state phase transformations in metallic materials; the formation of second phase particles during heat treatments, and the transformation of the matrix from one crystalline packing arrangement to another during either heating or cooling. These transformations change the spacing between adjacent atoms and can thus influence the residual stress levels formed. The heating and cooling cycles of materials processing operations using lasers such as cladding and melting/heating, can induce phase transformations depending on the character of the material being processed. This paper compares the effects of the different phase transformations and also the influence of the type of laser processing on the final residual stress formed. The comparisons are made between laser clad AA7075, laser clad Ti-6Al-4V and laser melted nickel-aluminium bronze using neutron diffraction and the contour method of measuring residual stress.