Plasma Cladding of Copper on Cylindrical SS 316L Surface

Abstract

Plasma cladding is one of the methods which is widely applied in surface modification, reconstruction, and repair. Plasma arc welding produces high-quality weld deposit without spatter and minimal porosity, and it is a desirable process for cladding. Copper coating on stainless steel is in demand for the applications like fusion reactors and nuclear storage bins where fast dissipation of heat is required. In this study, copper deposition was made on a stainless steel 316L cylindrical surface by utilizing the full advantage of plasma. The relation between optimum parameters and geometrical characteristics was analyzed. This prefatory study establishes the feasibility and influence of processing parameters for pure copper cladding deposition on a cylindrical stainless steel 316L, using plasma arc welding. The results show successful deposition of thick cladding of copper over stainless steel 316L. The geometrical and structural integrity of plasma cladded copper presented with mean micro-hardness of the SS316L part was 198 HV, while the mean micro-hardness of the copper part cladding was 106 HV.