Simulation of the Laser Beam Melting Process – Approaches for an Efficient Modelling of the Beam-material Interaction

Abstract

Currently, the main field of application of additive manufacturing processes is shifting from research laboratories to production facilities. Simulation models can foster this transition by providing support in process development and design. This paper introduces approaches to modelling the beam-material interaction in laser beam melting on a level of detail that allows the simulation of the whole build-up process of parts, not only of single laser tracks. Thus both the achievable result accuracy and the needed calculation time are discussed. For this purpose, fundamental correlations to link process characteristics with model parameters are explained. Subsequently, four modelling approaches are analysed. After an introduction of the well-known method of applying a uniform load on a whole layer compound (e. g. [1]), the developed methods are discussed which allow modelling the beam-material interaction on a more detailed level. Thereby, the focus lies on the ability to model load gradients perpendicular to the build direction. This article is completed with a discussion of simulated temperature curves for selected monitoring points using two different modelling approaches.

Pre-compensation of Warpage for Additive Manufacturing

“…The simulation results within this paper were generated with a sequentially coupled finite element simulation model that relies on a simultaneous, uniform heat input into layer compounds, i.e., the combination of multiple real layers, in order to simulate the build-up process of complete parts [15]. The corresponding material data were obtained in specially designed experiments and contain e.g., a kinematic hardening model for the nickel-base superalloy 718 [13].…”

Investigations on Temperature Fields during Laser Beam Melting by Means of Process Monitoring and Multiscale Process Modelling

“…For an acceptable computation time, several simplifications are necessary [4][5][6][7][8]. For a part-based simulation of the LBM process four fields of modelling can be identified [9,10]: geometry, material, heat input, and ambient influences.…”

“…In the sense of this method, the most abstract option is to utilize only one single heat impulse to the total part cross section (solidus temperature constraint on the topmost layer). This was found to be a calculation time efficient modelling technique for the beam material interaction in order to analyze the resulting temperature field of a part to be built, but it is limited to properly model the different thermal cycles within one layer perpendicular to the build direction [8,11].…”

“…Here, the heat input was modelled by accumulating the scan vectors (cf. Figure 2) to 10 scan areas which were applied with a temperature load of 1250 ∘ C for a load time corresponding to the scanning velocity (following [11]). On the one hand, the result accuracy should be increased through this measure because the thermal cycling of the elements due to the hatching of the laser (cf.…”

Modeling of the Product Termomechanical Behavior During 3d Deposition of Wire Materials in Ansys

“…Известны исследования, направленные на моде-лирование процессов послойного синтеза [25][26][27][28] и оптимизацию термического цикла [29], оценку влияния параметров процессов на изменение формы готового изделия [30].…”