Numerical Study of Porosity Formation With Implementation of Laser Multiple Reflection in Selective Laser Melting

Author(s):  
Bo Cheng ◽  
Charles Tuffile

Abstract In selective laser melting (SLM) process, the build part quality is determined by process parameters such as laser scanning speed and power. The presence of porosity, a major printing defect that significantly affects part performance, may arise in laser melting process due to insufficient or excess energy input. The improvement of build quality heavily depends on fundamental understanding of porosity formation in the SLM process. In this study, the discrete element method (DEM) has been utilized to simulate the creation of a newly deposited powder layer. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to simulate the melting and solidification process of Ti-6Al-4V powders in the SLM process. The thermo-fluid model includes effect of surface tension and recoil pressure as well as laser ray multi-reflection in keyhole. The predictability of the developed CFD model has been validated against literature experimental data. It is found that the collapse of an unstable deep keyhole was responsible for the formation of pores. In addition, higher laser scanning speeds tend to form unstable melt pools, e.g., melt pool break-up.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tae Woo Hwang ◽  
Young Yun Woo ◽  
Sang Wook Han ◽  
Young Hoon Moon

The selective laser-melting (SLM) process can be applied to the additive building of complex metal parts using melting metal powder with laser scanning. A metal mesh is a common type of metal screen consisting of parallel rows and intersecting columns. It is widely used in the agricultural, industrial, transportation, and machine protection sectors. This study investigated the fabrication of parts containing a mesh pattern from the SLM of AISI 304 stainless steel powder. The formation of a mesh pattern has a strong potential to increase the functionality and cost-effectiveness of the SLM process. To fabricate a single-layered thin mesh pattern, laser layering has been conducted on a copper base plate. The high thermal conductivity of copper allows heat to pass through it quickly, and prevents the adhesion of a thin laser-melted layer. The effects of the process conditions such as the laser scan speed and scanning path on the size and dimensional accuracy of the fabricated mesh patterns were characterized. As the analysis results indicate, a part with a mesh pattern was successfully obtained, and the application of the proposed method was shown to be feasible with a high degree of reliability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 410 ◽  
pp. 203-208
Author(s):  
I.S. Loginova ◽  
N.A. Popov ◽  
A.N. Solonin

In this work we studied the microstructure and microhardness of standard AA2024 alloy and AA2024 alloy with the addition of 1.5% Y after pulsed laser melting (PLM) and selective laser melting (SLM). The SLM process was carried out with a 300 W power and 0.1 m/s laser scanning speed. A dispersed microstructure without the formation of crystallization cracks and low liquation of alloying elements was obtained in Y-modified AA2024 aluminum alloy. Eutectic Al3Y and Al8Cu4Y phases were detected in Y-modified AA2024 aluminum alloy. It is led to a decrease in the formation of crystallization cracks The uniform distribution of alloying elements in the yttrium-modified alloy had a positive effect on the quality of the laser melting zone (LMZ) and microhardness.


2019 ◽  
Vol 121 ◽  
pp. 01011
Author(s):  
Olga Parmenova ◽  
Svetlana Mushnikova ◽  
Vitaliy Bobyr ◽  
Evgeniy Samodelkin

This paper presents the results of comparative corrosion resistance studies of stainless steels manufactured by selective laser melting (SLM) in the initial state with subsequent heat treatment and machining. Pitting corrosion tests are carried out, according to ASTM G48 method A in 10% FeCl3·6H2O solution at elevated temperature and exposure time for 5h. The studies were performed on the AISI 321 and AISI 316L stainless steels manufactured by SLM. It was obtained that laser scanning speed decrease led to density rise by other SLM parameters being equal. Porosity affected to the stainless steel corrosion behaviour significant. Metal density decrease resulted to corrosion rate rise. Microstructure examination showed that pitting corrosion development depended on surface steel condition.


Metals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 877
Author(s):  
Cong Ma ◽  
Xianshun Wei ◽  
Biao Yan ◽  
Pengfei Yan

A single-layer three-dimensional model was created to simulate multi-channel scanning of AlSi25 powder in selective laser melting (SLM) by the finite element method. Thermal behaviors of laser power and scanning speed in the procedure of SLM AlSi25 powder were studied. With the increase of laser power, the maximum temperature, size and cooling rate of the molten pool increase, while the scanning speed decreases. For an expected SLM process, a perfect molten pool can be generated using process parameters of laser power of 180 W and a scanning speed of 200 mm/s. The pool is greater than the width of the scanning interval, the depth of the molten pool is close to scan powder layer thickness, the temperature of the molten pool is higher than the melting point temperature of the powder and the parameters of the width and depth are the highest. To confirm the accuracy of the simulation results of forecasting excellent process parameters, the SLM experiment of forming AlSi25 powder was carried out. The surface morphology of the printed sample is intact without holes and defects, and a satisfactory metallurgical bond between adjacent scanning channels and adjacent scanning layers was achieved. Therefore, the development of numerical simulation in this paper provides an effective method to obtain the best process parameters, which can be used as a choice to further improve SLM process parameters. In the future, metallographic technology can also be implemented to obtain the width-to-depth ratio of the SLM sample molten pool, enhancing the connection between experiment and theory.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 871-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haihua Wu ◽  
Junfeng Li ◽  
Zhengying Wei ◽  
Pei Wei

Purpose To fabricate a selective laser melting (SLM)-processed AlSi10Mg part with almost full density and free of any apparent pores, this study aims to investigate the effect of ambient argon pressure and laser scanning speed on the particles splash during the AlSi10Mg powder bed laser melting. Design/methodology/approach Based on the discrete element method (DEM), a 3D model of random distribution of powder particles was established, and the 3D free surface of SLM forming process was dynamically tracked by the volume of fluid, where a Gaussian laser beam acts as the energy source melting the powder bed. Through the numerical simulation and process experimental research, the effect of the applied laser power and scanning speed on the operating laser melting temperature was studied. Findings The process stability has a fundamental role in the porosity formation, which is process-dependent. The effect of the processing conditions on the process stability and the resultant forming defects were clarified. Research limitations/implications The results shows that the pores were the main defects present in the SLM-processed AlSi10Mg sample, which decreases the densification level of the sample. Practical implications The optimal processing parameters (argon pressure of 1,000 Pa, laser power of 180 W, scan speed of 1,000 mm/s, powder layer thickness of 35 µm and hatch spacing of 50 µm ) applied during laser melting can improve the quality of selective laser melting of AlSi10Mg, Social implications It can provide a technological support for 3D printing. Originality/value Based on the analysis of the pore and balling formation mechanisms, the optimal processing parameters have been obtained, which were argon pressure of 1,000 Pa, laser power of 180 W, scan speed of 1,000 mm/s, powder layer thickness of 35 µm and hatch spacing of 50 µm. Then, a near-fully dense sample free of any apparent pores on the cross-sectional microstructure was produced by SLM, wherein the relative density of the as-built samples is larger than 97.5%.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 3720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatevik Minasyan ◽  
Sofiya Aydinyan ◽  
Ehsan Toyserkani ◽  
Irina Hussainova

The laser power bed fusion approach has been successfully employed to manufacture Mo(Si,Al)2-based composites through the selective laser melting of a MoSi2-30 wt.% AlSi10Mg mixture for high-temperature structural applications. Composites were manufactured by leveraging the in situ reaction of the components during printing at 150–300 W laser power, 500–1000 mm·s−1 laser scanning speed, and 100–134 J·mm−3 volumetric energy density. Microcomputed tomography scans indicated a negligible induced porosity throughout the specimens. The fully dense Mo(Si1-x,Alx)2-based composites, with hardness exceeding 545 HV1 and low roughness for both the top (horizontal) and side (vertical) surfaces, demonstrated that laser-based additive manufacturing can be exploited to create unique structures containing hexagonal Mo(Si0.67Al0.33)2.


2011 ◽  
Vol 189-193 ◽  
pp. 3668-3671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Song Wei ◽  
Xiao Zhao ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Rui Di Li ◽  
Jie Liu ◽  
...  

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) can produce high-performance metal parts with complex structures. However, it’s difficult to control the processing parameters, because many factors involves. From the perspective of the molten pool, the study focuses on the effects of processing parameters, including scanning speed, laser power, scanning space, layer thickness, and scanning strategies, on the surface quality, the balling effect, the density of SLM parts, by conducting experiments of single track, single layer and block forming. The results show that the quality of the molten pool is affected by laser power and scanning speed. Scanning drove in the strategy of “jumping and turning”,a smooth surface and a less balling effect will be obtained. The thicker the powder layer is, the lower density will be obtained. The optimal parameters from series of experiments are: laser power of 98W; scanning speed of 90mm/s; scanning space of 0.07mm; layer thickness of 0.1mm; and scanning strategy of “jumping and turning”.


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