scholarly journals The Thermo-Mechanical Coupling Effect in Selective Laser Melting of Aluminum Alloy Powder

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1673
Author(s):  
Xianyin Duan ◽  
Xinyue Chen ◽  
Kunpeng Zhu ◽  
Tao Long ◽  
Shiyang Huang ◽  
...  

In the selective laser melting process, metal powder melted by the laser heat source generates large instantaneous energy, resulting in transient high temperature and complex stress distribution. Different temperature gradients and anisotropy finally determine the microstructure after melting and affect the build quality and mechanical properties as a result. It is important to monitor and investigate the temperature and stress distribution evolution. Due to the difficulties in online monitoring, finite element methods (FEM) are used to simulate and predict the building process in real time. In this paper, a thermo-mechanical coupled FEM model is developed to predict the thermal behaviors of the melt pool by using Gaussian moving heat source. The model could simulate the shapes of the melt pool, distributions of temperature and stress under different process parameters through FEM. The influences of scanning speed, laser power, and spot diameter on the distribution of the melt pool temperature and stress are investigated in the SLM process of Al6063, which is widely applied in aerospace, transportation, construction and other fields due to its good corrosion resistance, sufficient strength and excellent process performance. Based on transient analysis, the relationships are identified among these process parameters and the melt pool morphology, distribution of temperature and thermal stress. It is shown that the maximum temperature at the center point of the scanning tracks will gradually increase with the increment of laser power under the effect of thermal accumulation and heat conduction, as the preceded scanning will preheat the subsequent scanning tracks. It is recommended that the parameters with optimized laser power (P = 175–200 W), scanning speed (v = 200–300 mm/s) and spot diameter (D = 0.1–0.15 mm) of aluminum alloy powder can produce a high building quality of the SLM parts under the pre-set conditions.

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (23) ◽  
pp. 7486
Author(s):  
Stanislav V. Chernyshikhin ◽  
Denis G. Firsov ◽  
Igor V. Shishkovsky

Unique functional properties such as the low stiffness, superelasticity, and biocompatibility of nickel–titanium shape-memory alloys provide many applications for such materials. Selective laser melting of NiTi enables low-cost customization of devices and the manufacturing of highly complex geometries without subsequent machining. However, the technology requires optimization of process parameters in order to guarantee high mass density and to avoid deterioration of functional properties. In this work, the melt pool geometry, surface morphology, formation mode, and thermal behavior were studied. Multiple combinations of laser power and scanning speed were used for single-track preparation from pre-alloyed NiTi powder on a nitinol substrate. The experimental results show the influence of laser power and scanning speed on the depth, width, and depth-to-width aspect ratio. Additionally, a transient 3D FE model was employed to predict thermal behavior in the melt pool for different regimes. In this paper, the coefficients for a volumetric double-ellipsoid heat source were calibrated with bound optimization by a quadratic approximation algorithm, the design of experiments technique, and experimentally obtained data. The results of the simulation reveal the necessary conditions of transition from conduction to keyhole mode welding. Finally, by combining experimental and FE modeling results, the optimal SLM process parameters were evaluated as P = 77 W, V = 400 mm/s, h = 70 μm, and t = 50 μm, without printing of 3D samples.


2019 ◽  
Vol 224 ◽  
pp. 05006
Author(s):  
Tong Ye ◽  
Xiaohui Jiang ◽  
Miaoxian Guo ◽  
Vladimir Kuptsov ◽  
Sergey Fedorov

In this paper, the selective laser melting (SLM) simulation analysis of components is carried out. The residual stress distribution of the formed part was predicted, and the influence of process parameters such as exposure time, laser power and laser scanning speed on the residual stress of the SLM formed part was analyzed. It was found that the residual stress concentration of the formed part was in the middle of the upper surface or the bottom surface. In addition, the laser power and the laser scanning speed have a great influence on the residual stress of the formed part. The results of this study lay a theoretical and experimental basis for the optimization of residual stress and quality control of SLM components.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gheorghe Matache ◽  
Mihai Vladut ◽  
Alexandru Paraschiv ◽  
Raluca Mihaela Condruz

Experimental investigations on top surface of prismatic specimens, manufactured by Selective Laser Melting of IN 625 alloy, were carried out in order to assess the influence of laser power and scanning speed on edge and corner effects. Since the melt-pool behaviour is strongly influenced by the process parameters, all specimens were manufactured with no contour using the same layer thickness, hatch distance and scanning strategy at different levels of laser powers and scanning speeds. 3D laser surface scanning was performed in order to measure surface changes. The experimental results have revealed that melt-pool behaviour during solidification generates elevated ridges on both specimen sides and corners that are strongly influenced by the energy input. The edge ridges width increases with increasing the laser power and decrease with increasing the scanning speed, the rising of corners being much more pronounced. On the contrary, at constant laser power and variable scanning speeds the edge and corner ridges decrease.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sapam Ningthemba Singh ◽  
Sohini Chowdhury ◽  
Yadaiah Nirsanametla ◽  
Anil Kumar Deepati ◽  
Chander Prakash ◽  
...  

Investigation of the selective laser melting (SLM) process, using finite element method, to understand the influences of laser power and scanning speed on the heat flow and melt-pool dimensions is a challenging task. Most of the existing studies are focused on the study of thin layer thickness and comparative study of same materials under different manufacturing conditions. The present work is focused on comparative analysis of thermal cycles and complex melt-pool behavior of a high layer thickness multi-layer laser additive manufacturing (LAM) of pure Titanium (Ti) and Inconel 718. A transient 3D finite-element model is developed to perform a quantitative comparative study on two materials to examine the temperature distribution and disparities in melt-pool behaviours under similar processing conditions. It is observed that the layers are properly melted and sintered for the considered process parameters. The temperature and melt-pool increases as laser power move in the same layer and when new layers are added. The same is observed when the laser power increases, and opposite is observed for increasing scanning speed while keeping other parameters constant. It is also found that Inconel 718 alloy has a higher maximum temperature than Ti material for the same process parameter and hence higher melt-pool dimensions.


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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Arnold Mauduit ◽  
Hervé Gransac ◽  
Sébastien Pillot

Various selective laser melting (SLM) configurations (8 in all) were tested on aluminum alloy AlSi7Mg0.6 by making single tracks on parallelepipeds specimens. We used an energy balance as a means of connecting the machine parameters (power, speed, etc.) of the 8 configurations to the morphology (geometry) of the single tracks. On this basis, we correlated the width, depth and especially the section area of the melt pool (single track) to the linear energy density. We were also able to assess the absorption coefficient of the aluminum alloy AlSi7Mg0.6 as a function of the temperature. The study was then focused on the microstructure and the possible impacts on the material properties including on the mechanical characteristics and the anisotropy observed in literature based on the build direction. Evidence suggests that the Hall-Petch relation can be used to explain this anisotropy. The thermal analysis highlighted two laser operating modes: the keyhole mode and the conduction mode. These modes have also been described via the morphology of the single tracks. Finally, a comparison between Rosenthal’s theoretical model (in the case of the conduction mode) and actual conditions was proposed by the obtained geometry of the single tracks as well as the cooling speeds calculated and measured using the dendrite arm spacing (DAS). The maximum temperatures achieved were also assessed by Rosenthal’s theoretical model which made it possible to explain the evaporation of some chemical elements during the manufacturing of the aluminum alloy through SLM.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document