Research status of laser cladding on titanium and its alloys: A review

Titanium and its alloys are restricted in the field of application. Laser cladding, as a kind of surface modification technique, is employed to fabricate coatings with improved wear resistance, high temperature oxidation resistance and good biocompatibility on titanium and its alloys. Apart from laser cladding process parameters, material selection is vital to obtain the improved properties mentioned above. In this paper, recent developments of different material system are summarized and the developments in laser cladding for functional coatings with high wear resistance, good corrosion and oxidation resistance, and better medical biocompatibility are reviewed. Besides, the existing problems and the corresponding solutions are discussed. Finally, the trend of development in the future is forecasted. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.