A versatile model for the prediction of complex geometry in 3D direct laser deposition

•A recursive model is extended to model height and waviness of multilayer coatings prepared by overlap of linear tracks;•The model predicts geometry, height, waviness and cladding angle for wide range of overlap ratios;•The model is confronted to experiments for the laser cladding process in two different set-ups;•Model could be applied for prediction from shape of single track or also from main processing parameters;

We present a versatile model for the prediction of the geometry of laser clad depositions formed by overlap of individual tracks and layers as a 2D cross-sectional model that can be used for prediction of 3D structures. The main strength of our approach lies in the ability to achieve physically sound predictions of the geometry of deposition based entirely on experimental parameters that can be easily adjusted during the deposition process. As far as applications are concerned, with our model we are able to make predictions for any number of clad tracks and also any number of layers. We present two different ways of validating our model with experimental results, i.e. using a prediction based on the first track geometry and second, also a complete a priori prediction based on combined experimental dependencies in laser deposition process. The model therefore requires some level of prior experimental work to be conducted to calibrate the model for a particular set up which in turns makes the model very computationally simple and easy to apply. Good agreement with experiments in both scenarios is concluded.