{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,6]],"date-time":"2026-03-06T17:36:12Z","timestamp":1772818572607,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]],"date-time":"2026-03-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772409600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Machines"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Wire\u2013Laser Additive Manufacturing (WLAM) is a promising directed energy deposition technique for producing and repairing high-performance components with high material efficiency and strong metallurgical bonding. This study optimizes single-track Inconel 718 claddings deposited by WLAM on AISI 304L stainless steel and S355 structural steel substrates, focusing on the relationships between processing parameters, microstructure, post-deposition heat treatment, and mechanical performance. A systematic parametric assessment evaluated the influence of laser power, laser speed, wire feed rate, and shielding gas pressure on key quality metrics, including dilution, wettability, porosity, and cracking. Distinct optimal processing windows were identified for each substrate, reflecting their different thermal responses: for 304L, 8.5 kW laser power, 0.55 m\/min laser speed, 5 m\/min wire feed rate, and 2 bar argon; for S355, 9.6 kW laser power, 0.6 m\/min laser speed, 4.9 m\/min wire feed rate, and 4 bar argon. Post-deposition heat treatment markedly enhanced performance by dissolving Nb-rich interdendritic Laves phase and promoting \u03b3\u2032\/\u03b3\u2033 precipitation. As a result, clad hardness increased from \u2248225 HV 0.3 (as-built) to \u2248412 H V0.3 after heat treatment (+84%). Tensile testing confirmed substantial strengthening, with yield strength increasing from 447 to 853 MPa (horizontal build) and from 488 to 960 MPa (vertical), while ultimate tensile strength rose from 824 to 1057 MPa (horizontal) and from 836 to 1090 MPa (vertical). Mechanical anisotropy remained significant, linked to columnar grain morphology and build orientation. Overall, the results provide practical process window and heat treatment guidelines for reliable industrial implementation of high-quality Inconel 718 claddings on steel substrates for demanding applications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/machines14030281","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]],"date-time":"2026-03-02T14:55:01Z","timestamp":1772463301000},"page":"281","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Wire\u2013Laser Additive Manufacturing of Inconel 718 Claddings on S355 and 304L Steels: Process Window and Heat Treatment Optimization"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Carlos D.","family":"Mota","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Porto, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Andr\u00e9 A.","family":"Ferreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IREPA LASER\u2014INDUST RECHERCH PROCEDES APPLICAT LASER, Parc d\u2019Innovation, 320 Bd S\u00e9bastien Brant, 67400 Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8615-7612","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aida B.","family":"Moreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Porto, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"LAETA\/INEGI-Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3667-0562","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manuel F.","family":"Vieira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Porto, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"LAETA\/INEGI-Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"112","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pmatsci.2017.10.001","article-title":"Additive Manufacturing of Metallic Components\u2014Process, Structure and Properties","volume":"92","author":"DebRoy","year":"2018","journal-title":"Prog. Mater. Sci."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gibson, I., Rosen, D., Stucker, B., and Khorasani, M. (2021). Additive Manufacturing Technologies, Springer. [3rd ed.].","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-56127-7"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dass, A., and Moridi, A. (2019). State of the Art in Directed Energy Deposition: From Additive Manufacturing to Materials Design. Coatings, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/coatings9070418"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"641","DOI":"10.1179\/1743284715Y.0000000073","article-title":"Wire + Arc Additive Manufacturing","volume":"32","author":"Williams","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mater. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chaturvedi, M., Scutelnicu, E., Rusu, C.C., Mistodie, L.R., Mihailescu, D., and Subbiah, A.V. (2021). Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing: Review on Recent Findings and Challenges in Industrial Applications and Materials Characterization. Metals, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/met11060939"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"315","DOI":"10.1080\/09506608.2015.1116649","article-title":"The Metallurgy and Processing Science of Metal Additive Manufacturing","volume":"61","author":"Sames","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int. Mater. Rev."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Reed, R.C. (2006). The Superalloys: Fundamentals and Applications, Cambridge University Press.","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511541285"},{"key":"ref_8","first-page":"100877","article-title":"A Review of Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Inconel 718","volume":"30","author":"Hosseini","year":"2019","journal-title":"Addit. Manuf."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liu, Y., Zhu, L., Li, Z., Yu, M., Gao, Y., and Liang, H. (2023). Microstructure and Properties of Inconel 718 Coatings with Different Laser Powers on the Surface of 316L Stainless Steel Substrate. Coatings, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/coatings13111947"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"035943","DOI":"10.1088\/1402-4896\/adb34f","article-title":"Laser Cladding of Inconel 718 Coating on Stainless Steel Surface","volume":"100","author":"Du","year":"2025","journal-title":"Phys. Scr."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhang, G., Zhang, C., Shi, Y., and Fan, D. (2025). Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Inconel 718 Alloy Fabricated Using Wire Feeding Oscillated Double-Pulsed GTA-AM. Metals, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/met15030248"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yan, C., Zhang, S., Zhou, L., Tian, Z., Shen, M., and Liu, X. (2025). Effect of Quenching Temperature on Microstructure and Hydrogen-Induced Cracking Susceptibility in S355 Steel. Materials, 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/ma18051161"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ferreira, A.A., Darabi, R., Sousa, J.P., Cruz, J.M., Reis, A.R., and Vieira, M.F. (2021). Optimization of Direct Laser Deposition of a Martensitic Steel Powder (Metco 42C) on 42CrMo4 Steel. Metals, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/met11040672"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1016\/j.matchar.2004.07.004","article-title":"Delta Phase Precipitation in Inconel 718","volume":"53","author":"Azadian","year":"2004","journal-title":"Mater. Charact."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9753","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmrt.2020.06.061","article-title":"Laves Phase Control of Inconel 718 Superalloy Fabricated by Laser Direct Energy Deposition via \u03b4 Aging and Solution Treatment","volume":"9","author":"Liu","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Mater. Res. Technol."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"138327","DOI":"10.1016\/j.msea.2019.138327","article-title":"Effect of \u03b4 Phase on High Temperature Mechanical Performances of Inconel 718 Fabricated with SLM Process","volume":"767","author":"Gao","year":"2019","journal-title":"Mater. Sci. Eng. A"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108157","DOI":"10.1016\/j.matdes.2019.108157","article-title":"Wire + Arc Additively Manufactured Inconel 718: Effect of Post-Deposition Heat Treatments on Microstructure and Tensile Properties","volume":"183","author":"Seow","year":"2019","journal-title":"Mater. Des."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1134","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jmapro.2022.01.067","article-title":"Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing of Inconel 718: Constitutive Modelling and Its Microstructure Basis","volume":"75","author":"Xi","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Manuf. Process."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"(2018). Standard Specification for Precipitation-Hardening and Cold-Worked Nickel Alloy Rod, Bar, Forgings, and Forging Stock for High-Temperature Service (Standard No. ASTM B637-18)."},{"key":"ref_20","unstructured":"(2022). Standard Specification for Chromium and Chromium-Nickel Stainless Steel Plate, Sheet, and Strip for Pressure Vessels and for General Applications (Standard No. ASTM A240\/A240M-22a)."},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"(2019). Hot Rolled Products of Structural Steels\u2014Part 2: Technical Delivery Conditions for Non-Alloy Structural Steels (Standard No. EN 10025-2:2019)."},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"(2022). Standard Test Methods for Tension Testing of Metallic Materials (Standard No. ASTM E8\/E8M-22)."}],"container-title":["Machines"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2075-1702\/14\/3\/281\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,6]],"date-time":"2026-03-06T11:28:08Z","timestamp":1772796488000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2075-1702\/14\/3\/281"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]]},"references-count":22,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]}},"alternative-id":["machines14030281"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/machines14030281","relation":{},"ISSN":["2075-1702"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2075-1702","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]]}}}