Laser based directed energy deposition system for operando synchrotron x-ray experiments

Abstract

The adoption of metal additive manufacturing (AM) has tremendously increased over the years; however, it is still challenging to explain the fundamental physical phenomena occurring during these stochastic processes. To tackle this problem, we have constructed a custom metal AM system to simulate powder fed directed energy deposition. This instrument is integrated at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source to conduct operando studies of the metal AM process. These operando experiments provide valuable data that can be used for various applications, such as (a) to study the response of the material to non-equilibrium solidification and intrinsic heat treatment and (b) to characterize changes in lattice plane spacing, which helps us calculate the thermo-mechanical history and resulting microstructural features. Such high-fidelity data are made possible by state-of-the-art direct-detection x-ray area detectors, which aid in the observation of solidification pathways of different metallic alloys. Furthermore, we discuss the various possibilities of analyzing the synchrotron dataset with examples across different measurement modes.

Operando systems for synchrotron studies of additive manufacturing processes

“…The article contributed by Dass et al reports the development of blown-powder DED system for operando synchrotron x-ray diffraction experiments. 10 In this system, the powder nozzle and the heating laser are decoupled and controlled independently. This design allows the operator to control the powder feeding and laser melting with flexible separation in space and time.…”