Wear in industrial components is often a life limiting process. In an effort to combat wear a hard Stellite layer is traditionally brazed onto these areas. To prolong service life laser repair cladding of Stellite to worn surfaces has been proposed.
Three stainless steel coupons were surfaced with Stellite using laser cladding techniques. Variations in welding conditions including raster speed, bead width, laser power, and pulse frequency are expected to result in differing biaxial residual stress levels in the substrate parent metal. In this work approximations of the residual stresses expected by this type of welding were estimated using the finite element method. To confirm and optimise the ability to model this type of clad the residual stresses were measured at varying depths in the parent metal using neutron diffraction techniques. From these results it should be possible to determine the residual stress levels in more complex components surfaced under similar conditions.