Investigation of laser-powder interaction in laser powder bed fusion process in additive manufacturing

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is one of the most promising additive manufacturing (AM) technologies to fabricate metal components using laser beams. To understand the underlying thermal and physical phenomena in LPBF process, discrete element method (DEM) is applied to generate the randomly packed powder, then computational fluid dynamics (CFD) coupled with volume of fluid (VOF) is adopted to simulate the laser-powder interaction. The penetration and multiple reflection of laser rays is traced. The physics of melting and solidification is captured. The temperature profile indicates the laser travel path and the adsorption and transmission of laser rays with the powder. The wetting behaviour of the melt pool driven by the capillary forces leads to the formation of pores at the connection zone. It has been demonstrated that the developed model can capture the laser-powder interaction for further understanding of LPBF process.

Effect of environmental conditions on injury rates at a Colorado ski resort

ObjectiveTo determine the effect of daily environmental conditions on skiing and snowboarding-related injury rates.MethodsInjury information was collected from a mountainside clinic at a large Colorado ski resort for the 2012/2013 through 2016/2017 seasons. Daily environmental conditions including snowfall, snow base depth, temperature, open terrain and participant visits were obtained from historical resort records. Snowpack and visibility information were obtained for the 2013/2014 through 2014/2015 seasons and included in a subanalysis. Negative binomial regression was used to estimate injury rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% CIs.ResultsThe overall injury rate among skiers and snowboarders was 1.37 per 1000 participant visits during 2012/2013 through 2016/2017. After adjustment for other environmental covariates, injury rates were 22% higher (IRR=1.22, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.29) on days with <2.5 compared with ≥2.5 cm of snowfall, and 14% higher on days with average temperature in the highest quartile (≥−3.1°C) compared with the lowest (<−10.6°C; IRR=1.14, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.26). Rates decreased by 8% for every 25 cm increase in snow base depth (IRR=0.92, 95% CI 0.88 to 0.95). In a subanalysis of the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 seasons including the same covariates plus snowpack and visibility, only snowpack remained significantly associated with injury rates. Rates were 71% higher on hardpack compared with powder days (IRR=1.71, 95% CI 1.18 to 2.49) and 36% higher on packed powder compared with powder days (IRR 1.36, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.64).ConclusionsEnvironmental conditions, particularly snowfall and snowpack, have a significant impact on injury rates. Injury prevention efforts should consider environmental factors to decrease injury rates in skiers and snowboarders.

On the role of heat and mass transfer into laser processability during selective laser melting AlSi12 alloy based on a randomly packed powder-bed

A newly transient mesoscopic model with a randomly packed powder-bed has been proposed to investigate the heat and mass transfer and laser process quality between neighboring tracks during selective laser melting (SLM) AlSi12 alloy by finite volume method (FVM), considering the solid/liquid phase transition, variable temperature-dependent properties and interfacial force. The results apparently revealed that both the operating temperature and resultant cooling rate were obviously elevated by increasing the laser power. Accordingly, the resultant viscosity of liquid significantly reduced under a large laser power and was characterized with a large velocity, which was prone to result in a more intensive convection within pool. In this case, the sufficient heat and mass transfer occurred at the interface between the previously fabricated tracks and currently building track, revealing a strongly sufficient spreading between the neighboring tracks and a resultant high-quality surface without obvious porosity. By contrast, the surface quality of SLM-processed components with a relatively low laser power notably weakened due to the limited and insufficient heat and mass transfer at the interface of neighboring tracks. Furthermore, the experimental surface morphologies of the top surface were correspondingly acquired and were in full accordance to the calculated results via simulation.

CO2 sensing properties of La1−xBaxFeO3 thick film and packed powder sensors

We compared the CO2 sensing properties of La1−xBaxFeO3 packed powder and thick film sensors.