Physical and technological aspects of formation of metal matrix composites by laser-powder bed fusion

Abstract

Due to high functional properties such as resistance to mechanical, thermal and other physical and chemical impacts, metal matrix composites (MMCs) are widely used in high-tech industries for instance aerospace, automotive, medical, chemical, etc. Modern additive technologies that produce 3D products from metal powders using lasers are unique in terms of the possibility of obtaining new materials and complex parts with the required functional properties in one manufacturing cycle. Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) technology makes it possible to greatly facilitate and accelerate the production of such products directly from their CAD (computer-aided design) models. The fundamentals of L-PBF technology provide a significant advantage both in the development of new materials and the manufacture of products from them. However, direct formation (in situ) and application of MMCs in the L-PBF process is constrained by insufficient elaboration of the fundamentals of the formation of these materials during laser processing and incomplete knowledge of the influence of the properties and nature of the initial materials and technological parameters of L-PBF on the final properties of MMCs. The investigation of the processes of forming metal matrix composites by laser-powder bed fusion is driven by the need to ensure stable and confident properties of L-PBF MMCs materials and parts regardless of the equipment used. In this research, the fundamentals of the L-PBF process during in-situ manufacturing of MMCs from dissimilar powders having different melting points and granulomorphometric properties are considered. Preliminary numerical simulations of thermal fields for different parameters of the L-PBF process on the powder mixture have been carried out.