Fig. 1. Laser cladding equipments. (a) YSL-4000 fiber laser; (b) KR-60HA six-axis robot; (c) DPSF-2 powder feeder

Fig. 2. Morphologies of 304 stainless steel powder. (a) Low magnification; (b) high magnification

Fig. 3. Typical morphologies of 304 stainless steel by laser cladding under laser power of 2200 W, scanning speed of 0.8 m /min, and powder feeding rate of 13 g/min.(a) Physical image of single-pass cladding layer; (b) cross-sectional metallographic image of cladding layer; microstructural metallographic images of cladding layer at (c) bottom region, (d) middle region, and (e) top region

Fig. 4. Microstructural morphologies and main element distributions of cladding layer. (a) Secondary electron map; (b) backscattered electron map; (c)-(h) EDS scanning maps

Fig. 5. Morphologies of banded microstructure. (a) (b) SEM maps; (c) (d) STEM maps

Fig. 6. XRD spectrum of cladding layer

Fig. 7. Microstructural EDS analysis of cladding layer in TEM environment

Fig. 8. Schematic of solidification of 304 stainless steel cladding layer

Fig. 9. Selected area electron diffraction analysis of typical phase in cladding layer

Table 1. Chemical compositions of 304 stainless steel powder