Towards implementation of alloy-specific thermo-fluid modelling for laser powder-bed fusion of Mg alloys

Multi-physics thermo-fluid modeling has been extensively used as an approach to understand melt pool dynamics and defect formation as well as optimizing the process-related parameters of laser powder-bed fusion(L-PBF).However,its capabilities for being implemented as a reliable tool for material design,where minor changes in material-related parameters must be accurately captured,is still in question.In the present research,first,a thermo-fluid computational fluid dynamics(CFD)model is developed and validated against experimental data.Considering the predicted material properties of the pure Mg and commercial ZK60 and WE43 Mg alloys,parametric studies are done attempting to elucidate how the difference in some of the material properties,i.e.,saturated vapor pressure,viscosity,and solidification range,can influence the melt pool dynamics.It is found that a higher saturated vapor pressure,associated with the ZK60 alloy,leads to a deeper unstable keyhole,increasing the keyhole-induced porosity and evaporation mass loss.Higher viscosity and wider solidification range can increase the non-uniformity of temperature and velocity distribution on the keyhole walls,resulting in increased keyhole instability and formation of defects.Finally,the WE43 alloy showed the best behavior in terms of defect formation and evaporation mass loss,providing theoretical support to the extensive use of this alloy in L-PBF.In summary,this study suggests an approach to investigate the effect of materials-related parameters on L-PBF melting and solidification,which can be extremely helpful for future design of new alloys suitable for L-PBF.

Simulation and experimental analysis of melt pool evolution in laser engineered net shaping

In this work,the evolution of melt pool under single-point and single-line printing in the laser engineered net shaping(LENS)process is analyzed.Firstly,the basic structure of the melt pool model of the LENS process is established and the necessary assumptions are made.Then,the establishment process of the multi-physical field model of the melt pool is introduced in detail.It is concluded that the simulation model results are highly consistent with the online measurement experiment results in terms of melt pool profile,space temperature gradient,and time temperature gradient.Meanwhile,some parameters,such as the 3D morphology and surface fluid field of the melt pool,which are not obtained in the online measurement experiment,are analyzed.Finally,the influence of changing the scanning speed on the profile,peak temperature,and temperature gradient of the single-line melt pool is also analyzed,and the following conclusions are obtained:With the increase in scanning speed,the profile of the melt pool gradually becomes slender;The relationship between peak temperature and scanning speed is approximately linear in a certain speed range;The space temperature gradient at the tail of the melt pool under different scanning speeds hardly changes with the scanning speed,and the time temperature gradient at the tail of the melt pool is in direct proportion to the scanning speed.

Effect of Process Parameters on Defects,Melt Pool Shape,Microstructure,and Tensile Behavior of 316L Stainless Steel Produced by Selective Laser Melting

Previous studies have revealed that laser power and energy density are significant factors affecting the quality of parts manufactured by selective laser melting(SLM).The normalized equivalent density E_(0)^(*) and dimensionless laser power q^(*),which can be regarded as a progress on the understanding of the corresponding dimensional quantities,are adopted in this study to examine the defects,melt pool shape,and primary dendrite spacing of the SLM-manufactured 316 L stainless steel,because it reflects the combined effect of process parameters and material features.It is found that the number of large defects decreases with increasing E_(0)^(*) due to enough heat input during the SLM process,but it will show an increasing trend when excessive heat input(i.e.,utilizing a high E_(0)^(*))is imported into the powder bed.The q^(*) plays an important role in controlling maximum temperature rising in the SLM process,and in turn,it affects the number of large defects.A large q^(*) value results in a low value of absolute frequency of large defects,whereas a maximum value of absolute frequency of large defects is achieved at a low q^(*) even if E_(0)^(*) is very high.The density of the built parts is greater at a higher q^(*) when E_(0)^(*)remains constant.Increasing the melt pool depth at relatively low value of E_(0)^(*) enhances the relative density of the parts.A narrow,deep melt pool can be easily generated at a high q^(*) when E_(0)^(*) is sumciently high,but it may increase melt pool instability and cause keyhole defects.It is revealed that a low E_(0)^(*) can lead to a high cooling rate,which results in a refined primary dendrite spacing.Relatively low E_(0)^(*) is emphasized in selecting the process parameters for the tensile test sample fabrication.It shows that excellent tensile properties,namely ultimate tensile strength,yield strength,and elongation to failure of 773 MPa,584 MPa,and 46%,respectively,can be achieved at a relatively low E_(0)^(*) without heat treatment.

Selective laser melting of Al–8.5Fe–1.3V–1.7Si alloy: Investigation on the resultant microstructure and hardness

This article presents the microstructure and hardness variation of an Al 8.5Fe-1.3V 1.7Si （wt%, FVS0812） alloy after selective laser melting （SLM） modification. Three zones were distinguished across the melting pool of the SLM-processed FVS0812 alloy： the laser melted zone （LMZ）, the melting pool border, and the heat affected zone （HAZ） in the previously deposited area around the melting pool. Inside the LMZ, either an extremely fine cellular-dendritic structure or a mixture zone of the α-Al matrix and nanoscale Al12（Fe,V）3Si particles appeared. With a decreased laser beam scanning speed, the cellular-dendritic structure zone within the LMZ shrank significantly while the mixture zone expanded. The α-Al and Al12（Fe,V）3Si mixture zone was also observed in the HAZ, but another phase, submicron θ-Al13Fe4 particles with rectangular or hexagonal shapes, formed along the melting pool border. Microhardness tests indicated that the hardness of the SLM-processed FVS0812 samples far exceeded that of the as-cast FVS0812 alloy.

Single track and single layer formation in selective laser melting of niobium solid solution alloy

Selective laser melting（SLM） was employed to fabricate Nb-37 Ti-13 Cr-2 Al-1 Si（at%）alloy, using pre-alloyed powders prepared by plasma rotating electrode processing（PREP）. A series of single tracks and single layers under different processing parameters was manufactured to evaluate the processing feasibility by SLM, including laser power, scanning speed, and hatch distance.Results showed that continuous single tracks could be fabricated using proper laser powers and scanning velocities. Both the width of a single track and its penetration depth into a substrate increased with an increase of the linear laser beam energy density（LED）, i.e., an increase of the laser power and a decrease of the scanning speed. Nb, Ti, Si, Cr, and Al elements distributed heterogeneously over the melt pool in the form of swirl-like patterns. An excess of the hatch distance was not able to interconnect neighboring tracks. Under improper processing parameters, a balling phenomenon occurred, but could be eliminated with an increased LED. This work testified the SLMprocessing feasibility of Nb-based alloy and promoted the application of SLM to the manufacture of niobium-based alloys.

Achieving Superior Strength and Ductility of AlSi10Mg Alloy Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting with Large Laser Power and High Scanning Speed

AlSi10Mg alloy was prepared by selected laser melting(SLM)in a high laser power range 300–400 W.The effects of energy density on the relative density,microstructure and mechanical properties of the SLMed AlSi10Mg alloy were studied.The results showed that the SLMed AlSi10Mg alloy fabricated at a laser power of 400 W and a scanning speed of 1800 mm/s had a relative density of 99.4%,a hardness of 147.8 HV,a tensile strength of 471.3 MPa,a yield strength of 307.1 MPa,and an elongation of 9.6%,exhibiting excellent comprehensive mechanical properties.The unique combination of the melt pool structure and microstructure caused by the large laser power and fast scanning was responsible for the excellent performance.The wide and shallow melt pool structure with few defects and proper overlapping between the continuous melt pools were obtained.The growth of columnar crystals was inhibited by a large proportion of equiaxed grains formed at the border of melt pools,and numerous sub-structures were observed within theα-Al grains.This study provided a more efficient process parameters for the preparation of the SLMed AlSi10Mg alloy.The enhanced mechanical property will help to broaden the application of the AlSi10Mg alloy in industry.

Additive manufacturing of metals:Microstructure evolution and multistage control

As a revolutionary industrial technology,additive manufacturing creates objects by adding materials layer by layer and hence can fabricate customized components with an unprecedented degree of freedom.For metallic materials,unique hierarchical microstructures are constructed during additive manufacturing,which endow them with numerous excellent properties.To take full advantage of additive manufacturing,an in-depth understanding of the microstructure evolution mechanism is required.To this end,this review explores the fundamental procedures of additive manufacturing,that is,the formation and binding of melt pools.A comprehensive processing map is proposed that integrates melt pool energy-and geometry-related process parameters together.Based on it,additively manufactured microstructures are developed during and after the solidification of constituent melt pool.The solidification structures are composed of primary columnar grains and fine secondary phases that form along the grain boundaries.The post-solidification structures include submicron scale dislocation cells stemming from internal residual stress and nanoscale precipitates induced by intrinsic heat treatment during cyclic heating of adjacent melt pool.Based on solidification and dislocation theories,the formation mechanisms of the multistage microstructures are thoroughly analyzed,and accordingly,multistage control methods are proposed.In addition,the underlying atomic scale structural features are briefly discussed.Furthermore,microstructure design for additive manufacturing through adjustment of process parameters and alloy composition is addressed to fulfill the great potential of the technique.This review not only builds a solid microstructural framework for metallic materials produced by additive manufacturing but also provides a promising guideline to adjust their mechanical properties.

Comparison of microstructure and mechanical behavior of Ti-35Nb manufactured by laser powder bed fusion from elemental powder mixture and prealloyed powder

Although different types of powder feedstock are used for additive manufacturing via laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF),limited work has attempted to directly compare the microstructure and mechanical behavior of components manufactured from those powder feedstock.This work investigated the microstructure,phase composition,melt pool morphology,and mechanical properties of a prealloyed Ti-35Nb alloy manufactured using L-PBF and compared these to their counterparts produced from elemental powder mixture.The samples manufactured from the powder mixture are composed of randomly distributed undissolved Nb in theα/βmatrix,resulting from the unstable melt pool during the melting of the powder mixture.By contrast,parts produced from prealloyed powder display a homogeneous microstructure withβandαphases,owing to the full melting of prealloyed powder,therefore,a more stable melt pool to achieve a homogeneous microstructure.The Ti-35Nb manufactured from prealloyed powder exhibits large tensile ductility(about 10 times that of the counterparts using mixed powder),attributed to the high homogeneity in microstructure and chemical composition,strong interface bonding,relatively low oxygen content,and the existence of a large amount ofβphase.This work sheds insights into understanding the effect of powder feedstock on the melt pool stability therefore the microstructure and mechanical behavior of the resultant parts.

Real-time porosity reduction during metal directed energy deposition using a pulse laser

Porosity is a challenging issue in additive manufacturing and is detrimental to the quality of the additively manufactured products.In this study,a real-time porosity reduction technique was developed by incorporating a pulse laser into a laser metal powder directed energy deposition(DED)system.The incorporated pulse laser can accelerate fluid flow within the melt pool and facilitate the escape of pores before complete solidification.It achieves this real-time porosity reduction by inducing accelerated and turbulent Marangoni flow,ultrasonic waves,and shock waves into the melt pool.The uniqueness and advantages of the proposed technique include the following:(1)For a laser metal powder DED process,this study proposed a noncontact,nondestructive,and real-time porosity reduction technique at the melt pool level.(2)It was experimentally and numerically validated that the developed technique did not alter the geometry and the grain structure of the manufactured Ti-6Al-4V samples.(3)Because the porosity reduction is accomplished at the melt pool level,its application is not limited by the size,shape,or complexity of the printing target.(4)The developed technique can be readily incorporated into the existing DED systems without any modification of the original tool-path design.The experimental results showed that the pore volume fraction decreased from 0.132%to 0.005%,no pores larger than 6×10^(4)μm^(3) were observed,and a 91%reduction in the total pore number was achieved when the pulse laser energy reached 11.5 mJ.

A novel paradigm for feedback control in LPBF:layer-wise correction for overhang structures

In laser powder bed fusion(LPBF),it is common practice to select process parameters to achieve high density parts starting from simple geometries such as cubes or cylinders.However,additive manufacturing is usually adopted to producevery complex geometries,where parameters should be tuned locally,depending on the local features to be processed.In fact,geometrical features,such as overhangs,acute corners,and thin walls may lead to over-or under-heating conditions,which may result in geometrical inaccuracy,high roughness,volumetric errors(i.e.,porosity)oreven job failure due to surfacecollapse.This work proposes a layer-wise control strategy to improve the geometrical precision of overhanging regions using a coaxial melt pool monitoring system.The meltpool images acquired at each layer are used in a controlloop toadapt theprocess parameters locally at the next layer in order to minimize surface defects.In particular,the laser duty cycle is used as a controllable parameterto correct the energy density.This work presents the main architecture of the proposed approach,the control strategy and the experimental procedure that need to be applied to design the control parameters.The layer-wise control strategy was tested on AISI 316L stainless steel using an open LPFB platform.The results showed that the proposed layer-wise control solution results in a constant melt pool observed via the laser heated area size starting from the second layer onward,leading to a significant improvement in the geometrical accuracy of 5 mm-long bridge geometries.

Effect of Processing Parameters on Thermal Phenomena in Direct Laser Metallic Powder Deposition

Direct laser metallic powder deposition technique is widely used in manufacturing, part repairing, and metallic rapid prototyping. The ability to predict geometrical accuracy and residual stress requires an understanding of temperature distribution during the deposition process. This study presents a numerical model of three-dimensional transient heat transfer in a finite model heated by a moving laser beam. Thermal phenomena in the process were investigated. The complex solid-liquid problem and latent heat of fusion were treated by means of equivalent thermal conductivity and modified specific heat, respectively. Using method of birth and death of elements, the growth of additive layers and the shape of melt pool were obtained. The effect of processing parameters such as absorbed power, travel speed, and preheated temperature on melt pool sizes and cross-section of deposited layer profile was studied. The results show that the melt pool sizes increase with absorbed power and decrease with travel velocity. In addition, the preheated temperature contributes less to the melt pool size. The results are generally in a good agreement with experiments in published literature.

The development of a high-performance Ni-superalloy additively manufactured heat pipe

Additively manufacturing(AM)has been used to manufacture fine structures with structured/engineered porosity in heat management devices.In this study,laser powder bed fusion(LPBF)was used to manufacture a high-performance Ni-superalloy heat pipe,through tailoring LPBF process parameters to fabricate thin wall and micro-channel.By using novel laser scanning strategies,wick structure heat pipes with maximised surface-area-to-volume ratio,fine features size around 100µm,and controlled porosity were successfully fabricated.Microscopy and X-ray microtomography(micro-CT)were used to investigate the 3D structure of the void space within the pipe.Wick test results showed that most of the heat pipes made by LPBF had better performance than the conventionally manufactured pipes.This study also investigated the influences of the process parameters on the porosity volume fraction and the feature size.The results showed that LPBF process could fabricate thin structure due to the change of melt pool contact angle.The relationship between process parameters and bead size reported in this study could help design and manufacture heat pipe with complex fine structure.