A 3-D transient mathematical model for laser cladding by powder feeding wasdeveloped to examine the macroscopic heat and momentum transport during the process, based on whicha novel method for determining the configuration and thickness of cladding layer was presented. Byusing Lambert-Beer theorem and Mie's theory, the interaction between powder stream and laser beamwas treated to evoke their subtle effects on heat transfer and fluid flow in laser molten pool. Thenumerical study was performed in a co-ordinate system moving with the laser at a constant scanningspeed. A fixed grid enthalpy-porosity approach was used, which predicted the evolutionarydevelopment of the laser molten pool. The commercial software PHOENICS, to which several moduleswere appended, was used to accomplish the simulation. The results obtained by the simulation werecoincident with those measured in experiment basically.
