Optik - International Journal for Light and Electron Optics 272 (2023) 170279

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Optik
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijleo

Study on the effect of electromagnetic field on the segregation and

structural property of Ni60 cladding layer
Zeda Wang, Houming Zhou *, Zixin Chen, Yuxu Zhu, Fangjia He, Nanxin Xiang,
Yuhao Wang
School of Mechanical Engineering, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan 411105, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The Ni60 alloy cladding layer is prepared using electromagnetic field assisted laser cladding to
Laser cladding investigate the effect of the variation of current magnitude and direction on its segregation and
The electromagnetic field structure. The macrosegregation and the structural property of the Ni60 cladding layer are
Segregation
analyzed by Optical Microscopy (OM), Back Scattered Electron Imaging (BSE), Energy Disperse
Microhardness
Spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray Diffractometry (XRD), microhardness tester, and electrochemical
Electrochemical corrosion
corrosion. The results indicate that the macrosegregation and microsegregation decrease first and
then increase with rising direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC) under constant magnetic
field intensity.and microhardness tends to increase and then decrease with rising current
magnitude. The increasing current has a prominent effect on the bottom of the cladding layer in
terms of dendrite fragmentation and structural refinement. The reduction of segregated phases
such as CrB and Cr7C3 enhances the solid solution strengthening of Cr and increases the micro­
hardness of the cladding layer. The cladding layer applied with 200 amps AC is characterized by
the lowest microsegregation rate and the highest microhardness of 772 HV0.2. The specimen has a
high self-corrosion potential, the lowest self-corrosion current density, and the lowest passivation
current density.

1. Introduction

Steel, as one of the most used metals in the world, is characterized by its reliable performance, numerous types, and abundant
reserves, and it is indispensable in manufacturing, construction, and daily use [1]. However, the steel industry is often accompanied by
large energy consumption and resource loss, and the environment will be severely polluted by wastewater and flue generated from
steel production [2,3]. Thus, with the development of industrial technology and the requirement of saving energy and reducing
emissions [4], a growing number of iron-based spare parts are modified and remanufactured using alloy power and surface cladding
technique to optimize surface properties, extend service life, or repair damaged products [5,6]. Nickel-based alloy is widely applied in
gas turbines, nuclear reactors, thermal power plants, and petrochemical equipment owing to its excellent oxidation resistance, wear
and corrosion resistance, long-lasting strength, and good creep strength [7]. Hence, nickel-based alloy powders are commonly used in
the surface modification technique [8,9].
Surface cladding technique incorporates tungsten argon arc cladding, plasma spraying, laser cladding, and high-velocity oxygen-
fuel (HVOF) [10]. Among them, laser cladding refers to a technique that clads melted powders on the substrate using high-energy laser

* Corresponding author.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijleo.2022.170279
Received 2 September 2022; Received in revised form 7 November 2022; Accepted 19 November 2022
Available online 21 November 2022
0030-4026/© 2022 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
Z. Wang et al. Optik 272 (2023) 170279

and allows the substrate surface to be equipped with a cladding layer with compact structure, favorable abrasive and corrosive
resistance [11]. This surface modification technique has advantages such as heat concentration, small processed area, and rapid
cooling speed. It is of great research significance and has broad application prospect in remanufacturing and optimizing the surface of
spare parts [12,13].
However, during laser cladding, problems may occur on the cladding layer owing to the presence of a melt pool, such as porosity,
cracking, segregation, and stress. Massive studies have been conducted on problems during laser cladding. Zhang et al. [14] studied the
effect of the electromagnetic compound field on the pore distribution by cladding 316 L/TiH2 composite powder on the surface of 316
L stainless steel. It was found that the size and distribution of pores can be regulated by the magnitude and direction of the amper­
ometric force. Cameron et al. [15] studied the effect of macrosegregation on solidification cracking in laser cladding steels with
ultra-high strength and found that macrosegregation increases crack susceptibility. Alam et al. [16] conducted laser cladding on
cylindrical and square bars. It was found that the size and number of pores on the top of the cladding layer are crucial to stress intensity.
However, limited research has been conducted on component segregation during laser cladding. Researches currently focus on the
effect of element addition [17,18], process parameters [19], or heat treatment technique [20] on segregation. Moreover, the
magnitude and direction of the magnetic field are often used as variables in studying the effect of the applied electromagnetic field on
segregation. But during the electromagnetic field assisted laser cladding, the Joule heating effect and the Peltier effect can be triggered
by the electric field. Similar to the internal heat source in the melt pool, Joule heat can decrease the cooling rate and reduce the degree
of supercooling, leading to a reduction in the dendrite growth and an increase in growth time. Considering the difference in electrical
conductivity of the solid-liquid phase, the Joule heat generated in the solid phase is greater than that in the liquid phase, which reduces
the temperature gradient at the solid-liquid interface and makes the growth of equiaxed crystals easier [21]. The remelting effect
caused by heat absorption and exotherm can result in the formation of spherical grains and inhibit the growth of dendrites [22]. In
addition, the Lorentz force is changed with the varing magnitude and direction of the current. Thus, it is of vital significance to
investigate the effect of electromagnetic fields on segregation using current as a variable.
In this study, the 45 steel is used as substrate and the nickel-based powder is selected is selected for laser cladding, due to its
outstanding strengthening performance and competitive cost compared to iron-based powder and cobalt-based powder. The Ni60
powder characterized by less element types is good for segregation experiment and is further selected among the nickel-based powders.
Then the laser cladding is carried out under electromagnetic field to study the influence of the electronic magnitude and direction on
segregation of cladding layer and microstructure properties.

2. Experimental material and method

The substrate used in the experiment is 45 steel with an average microhardness of about 200HV0.2. The chemical composition is
shown in Table 1. The composition of Ni60 cladding powder is shown in Table 2. The powder particle size is 100–200 mesh.
The cladding powders are ball-milled in a QM-WX04 ball mill and are dried in a vacuum chamber at 70 ℃ for 8 h after the mixture.
The 45 steel substrate is polished with sandpaper and then cleaned using an ultrasonic cleaner with anhydrous ethanol. It is placed in
an electromagnetic field and subject to a laser cladding with single-layer and multi-pass in a TFL-H6000 coaxial device (Fig. 1(a)). The
processing parameters are as follows. The overlap rate is 30%. The Ar gas is used as the protective gas. The selected power is 1800 W.
The scanning speed is 5 mm/s. The powder feed is 4 g/s. The electromagnetic field device is shown in Fig. 1(b). Power supply 1 and
power supply 2 are simultaneously controlled via the computer. The voltage and current output of power supply 1 are regulated to
produce an 80mT steady-state magnetic field in the downward direction. Meanwhile, a current is applied to both ends of the 45 steel
substrate via power supply 2. Table 3 shows the parameters of applied currents, including DC and AC with 100 A, 200 A, and 300 A.
The AC frequency is 5 Hz. Seven specimens are prepared and labeled as No electromagnetic, DC100A, DC200A, DC300A, AC100A,
AC200A, and AC300A depending on the applied current. After polishing, the samples are subject to metallographic corrosion using a
mixture of anhydrous ethanol, ferric trichloride, and concentrated hydrochloric acid. The metallographic morphology is observed and
analyzed using an OM (JSM-6360LV). The microstructure is observed using a JSM-6510LV scanning electron microscope. The physical
phase of the cladding layer is determined using an X-ray diffractometer (D/MAX-2500PC). The specimen microhardness is determined
using an HV-1000 microhardness tester. As shown in Fig. 1(c), the spacing between adjacent points on the left, right, top, and bottom
side is 0.1 mm. The microhardness distribution is obtained by taking the average microhardness of three points in the same horizontal
direction as the microhardness value. The electrochemical corrosion experiment is conducted in the electrochemical workstation.

3. Experimental result

3.1. Effect of electromagnetic field on the macromorphology and micromorphology of the cladding layer

Fig. 2 shows the longitudinal OM image of the Ni60 alloy cladding layer with different currents applied at the same magnetic field

Table 1
Chemical composition of 45 steel (wt%).
Composition C Si Ni Mo Cr Mn Fe

Percent 0.42 0.17 0.35 0.50 0.25 0.50 The rest

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Table 2
Chemical composition of Ni60 alloy powder (wt%).
Composition Si B Cr Fe C Ni

Percent 4.00 4.00 16.50 8.00 0.80 The rest

Fig. 1. Equipment drawing and schematic diagram: (a) laser cladding device, (b) electromagnetic field device, (c) schematic diagram of micro­
hardness measurement.

Table 3
Parameters of electric field current output.
Current type 100 200 300
Current（A）

Direct current（DC） DC100A DC200A DC300A

Alternating current（AC） AC100A AC200A AC300A

Fig. 2. OM images of the cladding layer:(a) No electromagnetic, (b) DC100A specimen, (c) DC200A specimen, (d) DC300A specimen, (e) AC100A
specimen, (f) AC200A specimen, (g) AC300A specimen.

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intensity. It can be observed that macrosegregation bands are distributed in the longitudinal section of each specimen in varying
degrees under the electromagnetic field, showing a wave-like spread outwards from the center of the cladding layer. The segregation of
samples with electromagnetic field is obviously less than that of samples without electromagnetic field. It is found by comparison that
the number of segregated bands in the longitudinal section of the specimen decreases and then increases with rising current. With the
same magnitude of applied current, the number of segregated bands in the longitudinal section of the specimen with the AC elec­
tromagnetic field is significantly lower than that of the specimen with the DC electromagnetic field. That is due to an agglomeration
phenomenon caused by laser cladding of Ni60 powder. An inductive Lorentz force and a directional Lorentz force are generated in the
melt pool when the electromagnetic field is applied, increasing the solute diffusion in the melt pool，reducing agglomeration. The in-
situ reaction occurs during laser cladding of Ni60 powders, which leads to changes in the phase composition [23,24]. But phases have
different melting points and densities. When the temperature of the melt pool decreases, each phase precipitates in a different
sequence, resulting in varying effects of inductive Lorentz force and directional Lorentz force on each phase. The application of a DC
electromagnetic field will accelerate the solute transfer and diffusion in the melt pool. Thus, with rising DC, the diffusion velocity and
diffusion range in the melt pool increase. The inductive Lorentz force and directional Lorentz force will reduce the composition in­
homogeneity and segregation. However, with the further increase of DC, segregation is intensified, as the same phases are concen­
trated in different positions caused by different effects of the inductive Lorentz force and the directional Lorentz force on each phase
[25]. In the AC specimen, the electromagnetic oscillation occurs in the melt pool due to the periodic change of the current direction. As
the AC increases, the flow velocity in the melt pool becomes faster and the diffusion velocity of solute is accelerated. However, the
diffusion range of solute does not increase with the DC specimen as the DC increases, but generates a reciprocal oscillation within a
certain range [26]. Therefore, the segregated degree of AC specimen is lower than that of DC specimen.
Fig. 3 shows the dendrites at the bottom of the cladding layer. As can be observed from Fig. 3, a smooth layer of plane crystals is
formed between the bottom of the cladding layer and the substrate for each specimen. The presence of plane crystals indicates a good
metallurgical bond between the cladding layer and the substrate. Fig. 3(a) The plane crystals are thinner and the dendrites are larger in
the No electromagnetic specimen. It is found by comparison that there are more coarse dendrites and equiaxed crystals at the bottom of
the AC100A cladding layer in Fig. 3(e). As the current increases, the dendrites at the bottom of the cladding layer of the AC200A
specimen in Fig. 3(f) decrease significantly, the secondary dendrite arm spacing becomes smaller, the size of the equiaxed crystals is
reduced, the grain refinement is obvious, and the dendrite exhibits the same growth direction. Even though there are fewer dendrites in
the cladding layer of the AC300A specimen in Fig. 3(g), the equiaxed crystals and columnar crystals are larger in size. In the DC
specimen, a similar trend is observed on the dendrites at the bottom of the cladding layer. Owing to a larger Lorentz force and an
intensified stirring effect of the melt pool caused by the increase of current, dendrites exhibit the same growth direction. The inten­
sified flow in the melt pool leads to the fragmentation and refinement of the dendrite. In addition, the microstructure of the cladding
layer is determined by the temperature gradient of the melt pool and the solidification growth rate [27]. With the increase of current,
the cooling rate of the melt pool decreases, the degree of supercooling and the temperature gradient are reduced, the growth rate of
dendrites decreases while the growth time increases, and the remelting effect enhances. When the current increases from AC100A to
AC200A, the dendrites are characterized by low growth rate, short growth time, and high nucleation rate, thus making the growth of
equiaxed crystals easier and dendrite refinement prominent. When the current increases from AC200A to AC300A, the temperature
gradient and the degree of supercooling are further reduced, and the coupling of dendrite growth rate and time exceeds the critical
point, leading to dendrite coarsening. Based on the classical thermodynamics [28], the nucleation rate can be derived as:

ΔG − 14 AJ2
Ie = I0 exp{ − } (1)
K[T + J2 tB− 1 ]

Fig. 3. Dendrites at the bottom of cladding layer:（a）No electromagnetic specimen （b）DC100A specimen，（c）DC200A specimen，（d）
DC300A specimen (e) AC100A specimen, (f) AC200A specimen, (g) AC300A specimen.

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Where, I0 is the nucleation rate factor, ΔG is the Gibbs free energy, J is the current density, k is the Boltzmann constant, T is the
absolute temperature, A and B are material-related parameters, and t is the conduction time. By analyzing the Eq. (1), it is found that
the nucleation rate is Ie>I0. The nucleation rate can only be increased and the grains refined when the current magnitude is kept
within a certain range [28,29]. Therefore, By comparing the dendrites at the bottom of cladding layer in Fig. 3, it is found that the
nucleation rate can be increased and the grains refined at 200A current under 80 mt magnetic field coupling. However, the optimum
values need to be further verified.

3.2. XRD and structural analysis of the cladding layer

Fig. 4 shows the XRD pattern of the cladding layer of each specimen. It can be observed that the intensity of the diffraction peaks
gradually decreases at an angle of about 37◦ with increasing current in the DC specimen, and decreases with increasing current and
finally disappears in the AC specimen. The diffraction peak is mainly composed of CrB, Ni2B, and M23C6. The diffraction peak is mainly
composed of γ-Ni, FeNi3, and M23C6 at a diffraction angle of 44◦ . Among them, γ-Ni and FeNi3 are equipped with good plastic per­
formance. The increase of these element can effectively reduce the stress concentration on the cladding layer [30]. Moreover, the
intensity of the diffraction peaks of DC200A and AC200A specimens is significantly higher than that of other specimens at a diffraction
angle of 44◦ . When the diffraction angle is between 45◦ and 55◦ ，there are Ni2B diffraction peak, CrB diffraction peak, and other three
diffraction peaks which are FeNi3, M23C6, andγ-Ni with prominent phase constituents.The intensity of these diffraction peaks in­
creases first and then decreases with the increase of DC. However, with the increase of AC, two diffraction peaks, CrB and Ni2B, are
reduced on the cladding layer. Diffraction peaks are mainly composed ofγ-Ni and Cr7C3 at the angle of about 76◦ . It is found by
comparison that with changing magnitude and direction of current in the electromagnetic field, the intensity of some diffraction peaks
decreases or eventually disappears and the content of phases such as Ni2B and CrB in the cladding layer decreases. Meanwhile, the
main diffraction peaks of the DC200A specimen and AC200A specimen exhibit increasing intensity and are broadened, which shows a
good crystallinity of γ-Ni in the cladding layer.
Fig. 5 shows the structure and EDS analysis of the cladding layer of the AC 100A specimen. Fig. 5(b) is obtained by locating the area
with obvious features (i.e. the red dashed box) in Fig. 5(a) for enlargement. Fig. 5(c) is obtained by enlarging the dashed box area in
Fig.b. It is observed that the segregated band consists of the black particles in Fig. 5(c). The BSE in Fig. 5(c) shows that microstructures
with three different contrast exist in the cladding layer. By analyzing the EDS image, it is found that the microstructures of the black
particles at point 1 and point 2 are mainly composed of Cr, C, and B elements, with low Ni and Fe elements. The Cr content in the grey-
black phase at point 3 and point 4 decreases, while the Fe and Ni elements increase. The light-grey phases at points 5 and 6 are mainly
composed of Ni and Fe elements, with Cr significantly decreased. Based on the XRD pattern and literature analysis, the dark structures
are mainly composed of CrB and Cr7C3. The composition of grey-black structure is similar to that of the black structure. The color
change is due to the reduction of the Cr content [31]. The light-grey material mainly consists of γ-Ni solid solution [32,33]. The black
and grey-black phases are granular-like structures with particle sizes ranging from 0.1 to 15 µm. In addition, the EDS of Fig. 6 AC100
specimen shows that significant segregation occurs in the solute Cr element and that negative segregations of Ni and Fe elements are
generated on where the Cr significantly segregates. The changes of macrosegregation in the cladding layer can be further explained in
Fig. 2 after understanding the material composition. Substances such as Ni and Fe are characterized by low melting point. Cr element is
significantly precipitated owing to rapid cooling of laser cladding and insufficient solute diffusion during solidification. When the
current in the electromagnetic field increases to a certain extent, the Joule heat effect is enhanced. It demonstrates that with increasing
Joule heat, the solidification speed the melt pool decreases, stirring time increases, and the solute exhibits a better diffusion. As a
result, the macrosegregation of DC200A and AC200A specimens is reduced.

Fig. 4. XRD pattern of the cladding layer of the specimen.

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Fig. 5. Structure and EDS analysis of the cladding layer of the AC100 specimen: (a) OM image, (b) OM image, (c) BSE image, (d) EDS analysis of
point 1 in Fig. c, (e) EDS analysis of point 2 in Fig. c, (f) EDS analysis of point 3 in Fig. c, (g) EDS analysis of point 4 in Fig. c, (h) EDS analysis of point
5 in Fig. c, (i) EDS analysis of point 6 in Fig. c.

3.3. Influence of electromagnetic fields on the microsegregation of cladding layers

Fig. 7 shows the BSE image of the microstructure of the cladding layer. It can be observed that the cladding layer is not only
distributed with large particles between 1 and 15 µm, but also distributed with a large number of grain-level microsegregation phases
with sizes less than 1 µm such as point 1. The segregation phases of black particles are composed of CrB and Cr7C3, which are closely
related to the property of the nickel-based cladding layer [34]. On the one hand, the size, morphological characteristics, volume
fraction, and distribution of the segregation phases have a prominent effect on the mechanical properties of the cladding layer [35].
For example, the segregation particles such as point 3 will decrease the plasticity of the cladding layer and reduce the intensity owing
to their irregular shape, large size, and random distribution. In addition, the brittleness of particles will lead to an increased sus­
ceptibility to the cracking of the cladding layer. However, the intensity may be enhanced by the refined intergranular segregation [36].
On the other hand, the low Cr area is formed due to the generation and precipitation of hard phases such as CrB and Cr23C6. The
formation of a low Cr area will adversely affect the overall strength and resistance to intergranular corrosion of the nickel-based
cladding layer [37], because the Cr element can generate solid solution strengthening with γ-Ni in the nickel-based cladding layer
and reduce stacking fault energy. Moreover, the Cr element exhibits great affinity to oxygen and is superior to other elements in the
oxidation process. The Cr dissolved inγ-Ni will oxidize under certain conditions to form a Cr2O3 protective film on the alloy surface,
thus preventing harmful elements from leaching into the alloy matrix and inhibiting elements inside the alloy from diffusing to the
outside. However, when the Cr element is massively precipitated in the form of other substances, it is less likely to produce the
protective film. Correspondingly, the solid solution strengthening of Cr, overall strength, resistance to high temperature and oxidation,
and corrosion resistance will be reduced in the cladding layer. Therefore, it is vital to analyze the influence of current direction and
magnitude on microsegregation.
The contrast of the BSE images is caused by different atomic numbers. Different phases can be distinguished by BSE images.

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Fig. 6. EDS mapping of the cladding layer of AC100 specimen.

Fig. 7. BSE image of the microstructure of the cladding layer.

Therefore, the BSE image of the cladding layer can be binarized using the MATLAB image processing technique to obtain a grey-free
picture and to quantitatively analyze segregated phases of black particles with high Cr content. The BSE imaging is conducted on
segregated phases of grain-level black particles with size of less than 1 µm selected from the cladding layer (as shown in Fig. 8(a)). After

Fig. 8. Binarization of the microsegregation of the cladding layer: (a) microstructure of the cladding layer, (b) matlab binarization image, (c)
microsegregation of the cladding layer.

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binarization, the black microsegregation phases are turned into the white dots in Fig. 8(b). The microsegregation rate in Fig. 8(a) is
obtained by calculating the proportion of the white dots in 8(b). Then the overall microsegregation rate is obtained by calculating the
microsegregation rate of multiple BSE images of the same cladding layer and obtaining the average value. The overall micro­
segregation rate is shown in Fig. 8(c). It can be found in Fig. 8(c) that the microsegregation rate decreases and then increases in both DC
and AC specimen groups, with the increase of current. The microsegregation rate of AC specimen is lower than that of the DC specimen
under the same current magnitude.

3.4. Effect of electromagnetic fields on the microhardness of the cladding layer

Fig. 9 shows the microhardness distribution diagram and average microhardness diagram of cladding layer. Fig. 9(b) is plotted by
calculating the average value of microhardness from 0 mm to 3.1 mm in CZ zone of each specimen based on Fig. 9(a). As can be seen
from Fig. 9, the microhardness of each cladding layer is significantly higher than that of the 45 steel substrate. During the DC elec­
tromagnetic field assisted laser cladding, the microhardness of the cladding layer increases and then decreases as the current increases.
The average microhardness of the cladding layer of the DC200A specimen reaches 723 HV0.2, which is 20.9% and 6.6% higher than
that of the cladding layer of the DC100A and DC300A specimens, respectively,and 22.1% higher than that of the cladding layer of the
No electromagnetic specimen. During the AC electromagnetic field assisted laser cladding, the microhardness of the cladding layer also
increases and then decreases with increasing current. In this case, the cladding layer of the AC200A specimen has the highest
microhardness among the six groups and reaches 772 HV0.2, which is 15.92% and 17.14% higher than the average microhardness of
the cladding layer of the AC100A and AC300A specimens,and 27.1% higher than that of the cladding layer of the No electromagnetic
specimen. It represents 6.78% higher than the average microhardness of the cladding layer of the DC200A specimen. That is due to an
agglomeration phenomenon generated when Ni60 powders are melted initially. And the inductive Lorentz force and the directional
Lorentz force generated by compound electromagnetic field will stir the melt pool and increase the solute diffusion, resulting in broken
dendrites, reduced agglomeration, and less segregation. Meanwhile, based on the analysis of Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, it is found that
segregated particles are composed of hard phases such as CrB and Cr7C3. The reducing segregation of hard phases allows more Cr
elements to be dissolved in γ-Ni so as to generated solid solution strengthening in the cladding layer and increase the overall
microhardness.However, when the applied current reaches 300 A, the inductive Lorentz force and the directional Lorentz force vary on
different phases, resulting in an increase of laminar flow and phase agglomeration. Therefore, the segregation in the cladding layer
tends to decrease and then increase with rising current. The average microhardness of the cladding layer tends to increase and then
decrease with the application of the same current. By analyzing the effect of electromagnetic field on the macroscopic morphology of
the cladding layer, it can be observed that the degree of segregation in the AC specimen is lower than that in the DC specimen with the
same current magnitude. Thus, the average hardness of the AC100A and AC200A cladding layers is 10.21% and 6.34% higher than that
of the DC100A and DC200A cladding layers, respectively, at the same current magnitude. However, the average hardness of the
AC300A cladding layer is 2.88% lower than that of the DC300A cladding layer. The average hardness of AC300A cladding is 2.88%
lower than that of DC300A cladding owing to large oscillation under AC300A electromagnetic field, decreasing cooling rate, large
dendrite size, and tissue density and grain refinement of AC300A specimen lower than those of DC300A specimen.
In addition, the aforementioned microsegregation can enhance the strength and microhardness of the cladding layer. By analyzing
the microhardness variation of the cladding layer, it is found that the microsegregation rate required to improve the strength and
microhardness of the cladding layer should not be higher than 0.9% in the case of Ni60 alloy laser cladding.

3.5. Effect of electromagnetic fields on the electrochemical properties of the cladding layer

Fig. 10 shows the Tafel curves obtained after electrochemical corrosion of cladding layer of each specimen in a 3.5% NaCl solution.
It is found that the passivation phenomenon exists in the interval of − 0.1–0.2, that is, the corrosion current almost does not change
with the change of voltage, suggesting that the oxide film protects the cladding layer and prevents it from dissolution. Table 4 shows
the self-corrosion potential and self-corrosion current density of the cladding layer. The self-corrosion potential is a characteristic of
the thermodynamic corrosion tendency of the material, Higher self-corrosion potential often indicates greater difficulty in triggering
corrosive reaction, while higher self-corrosion current density can lead to easier corrosive reaction. The AC200A specimen exhibits the
highest self-corrosive potential of − 185mv and the lowest self-corrosion current density of 6.01 μA cm-2. Whereas the lowest self-
corrosion potential of No specimen is − 472 mV, the highest self-corrosion current density is 8.26μA cm− 2, which indicates that
the cladding layer prepared under the assistance of AC200A electromagnetic field can provide the best corrosion protection for the
substrate.

4. Conclusion

(1) The generation of macrosegregation and microsegregation in cladding layer is significantly affected by changing the magnitude
and direction of the current. Under the 80mt magnetic field coupling, the macrsegregation and microsegregation exhibit a parabolic
variation with unchanged current direction, when the current magnitude is changed. Under the same current magnitude, the segre­
gation of the cladding layer of the AC specimen is lower than that of the cladding layer of the DC specimen.
(2) The Joule heat effect and the Peltier effect exert a significant impact on the dendrite growth morphology at the bottom of the
cladding layer. The Joule heat effect can reduce the temperature gradient and prolong the dendrite growth time. The Peltier effect
facilitates the generation of spherical equiaxial crystals. The cladding layer of the AC200A specimen has a prominent dendrite

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Fig. 9. Microhardness drawing: (a) Microhardness distribution of the cladding layer, (b) average microhardness.

Fig. 10. Tafel curve of the cladding layer.

Table 4
Self-corrosion potential and self-corrosion current density of the coating.
No electromagnetic DC 100 A DC 200 A DC 300 A AC 100 A AC 200 A AC 300 A

Ecorr (V) -0.472 -0.384 -0.267 -0.356 -0.380 -0.185 -0.318

Icorr (μA cm− 2) 8.26 7.49 6.22 7.69 9.64 6.01 6.63

refinement, decreasing number of dendrites, and smaller size of the equiaxial crystals at the bottom.
(3) The reduction of segregated phases such as CrB and Cr7C3 facilitates the solid solution strengthening effect of Cr in the cladding
layer and improves the overall layer hardness. The AC200A specimen is characterized by the highest microhardness reaching 772
HV0.2, the highest self-corrosion potential, lowest self-corrosion current density, and lowest passivation current density.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.

Data Availability

Data will be made available on request.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2020JJ45 85), the Foundation of Education
Department of Hunan Province (21A0117), and the Science and Technology Department of Guangdong Province (2020B12120 600

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67).

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.

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