3-D finite element modeling of laser cladding by powder injection: effects of laser pulse shaping on the process

This paper introduces a 3-D transient finite element model of laser cladding by powder injection to investigate the effects of laser pulse shaping on the process. The proposed model can predict the clad geometry as a function of time and process parameters including laser pulse shaping, travel velocity, laser pulse energy, powder jet geometry, and material properties. In the proposed strategy, the interaction between powder and melt pool is assumed to be decoupled and as a result, the melt pool boundary is first obtained in the absence of powder spray. Once the melt pool boundary is obtained, it is assumed that a layer of coating material is deposited on the intersection of the melt pool and powder stream in the absence of the laser beam in which its thickness is calculated based on the powder feedrate and elapsed time. The new melt pool boundary is then calculated by thermal analysis of the deposited powder layer, substrate and laser heat flux. The process is simulated for different laser pulse frequencies and energies. The results are presented and compared with experimental data. The quality of clad bead for different parameter sets is experimentally evaluated and shown as a function of effective powder deposition density and effective energy density. The comparisons show excellent agreement between the modeling and experimental results for cases in which a high quality clad bead is expected.     

Heat transfer modelling and stability analysis of selective laser melting

The process of direct manufacturing by selective laser melting basically consists of laser beam scanning over a thin powder layer deposited on a dense substrate. Complete remelting of the powder in the scanned zone and its good adhesion to the substrate ensure obtaining functional parts with improved mechanical properties. Experiments with single-line scanning indicate, that an interval of scanning velocities exists where the remelted tracks are uniform. The tracks become broken if the scanning velocity is outside this interval. This is extremely undesirable and referred to as the “balling” effect. A numerical model of coupled radiation and heat transfer is proposed to analyse the observed instability. The “balling” effect at high scanning velocities (above ∼20 cm/s for the present conditions) can be explained by the Plateau-Rayleigh capillary instability of the melt pool. Two factors stabilize the process with decreasing the scanning velocity: reducing the length-to-width ratio of the melt pool and increasing the width of its contact with the substrate.     

Heat transfer and diffusion-controlled kinetics of liquid–solid phase in titanium matrix composite during selective laser melting

This study describes a self-consistent theoretical model of simulating diffusion-controlled kinetics on the liquid–solid phase boundary during high-speed solidification in the melt pool after the selective laser melting (SLM) process for titanium matrix composite based on Ti–TiC system. The model includes the heat transfer equation to estimate the temperature distribution in the melt pool and during crystallization process for some deposited layers. The temperature field is used in a micro region next to solid–liquid boundary, where solute micro segregation and dendrite growth are calculated by special approach based on transient liquid phase bonding. The effect of the SLM process parameters (laser power, scanning velocity, layer thickness and substrate size) on the microstructure solidification is being discussed.     

A 3D dynamic numerical approach for temperature and thermal stress distributions in multilayer laser solid freeform fabrication process

This paper presents a 3D transient numerical approach for modeling the multilayer laser solid freeform fabrication (LSFF) process. Using this modeling approach, the geometry of the deposited material as well as temperature and thermal stress fields across the process domain can be predicted in a dynamic fashion. In the proposed method, coupled thermal and stress domains are numerically obtained assuming a decoupled interaction between the laser beam and powder stream. To predict the time-dependent geometry of the deposited material, once the melt pool boundary is obtained, the process domain is discretized in a cross-sectional fashion based on the powder feed rate, elapsed time, and intersection of the melt pool and powder stream area on the workpiece. Layers of additive material are then added onto the non-planar domain. Main process parameters affected by a multilayer deposition due to the formation of non-planar surfaces, such as powder catchment, are incorporated into the modeling approach to enhance the accuracy of the results. To demonstrate the proposed algorithm, fabrication of a four-layer thin wall of AISI 304 L stainless steel on a workpiece with the same material is modeled. The geometry of the wall, temperature, and stress fields across the modeling domain are dynamically predicted throughout the process. The model is used to investigate the effect of preheating and clamping the workpiece to the positioning table. Results show that preheating improves the process by reducing the thermal stresses as well as the settling time for the formation of a steady-state melt pool in the first layer. In addition, clamping the workpiece can also decrease thermal stresses at its critical locations (i.e. deposition region). In terms of geometrical aspects, the results show that the temperature and the thickness of the deposited layers increase at the end-points of layers 2–4. The reliability and the accuracy of the model are experimentally verified.     

Investigation on the direct laser metallic powder deposition process via temperature measurement

The direct laser metallic powder deposition process was investigated with the aid of a radiant thermometer by building thin walls. The measured infrared (IR) temperature signal showed good correlation with the deposition process and the quality of the deposited samples. The influence of the powder particle size and the z-increment on the quality of the deposited samples and the IR-temperature signal was examined. It was found that the particle size of the powders shows no significant influence on the measured IR-temperature signal and the deposition process. However, both the deposition process and the measured temperature signal depended strongly on the z-increment. The variation of the melt pool temperature and cooling rate resulted in an inhomogeneous dimension accuracy, microstructure and hardness of the deposited sample. An abnormal deposition process can be recognized by the IR-temperature signal.     

Process monitoring of powder pre-paste laser surface alloying

Instead of the continuous powder delivery method using a powder feeder for thick layer laser cladding, pre-pasting of the alloying powder on the substrate is a widely used method to supply the coating powders into the melt pool for LSA. A method to monitor the process of laser surface alloying based on the infrared emission from the melt pool using infrared photodiodes was developed. The technique is solely aimed at the process of laser surface alloying using pre-paste metal powder on the substrate surface prior to laser melting. This monitoring technique is able to distinguish the existence or the absence of the pre-paste powder and the consistency of the laser surface alloying process. The technique is of low cost and is simple to implement into the process.     

Effect of pulsed laser parameters on in-situ TiC synthesis in laser surface treatment

Commercial titanium sheets pre-coated with 300-μm thick graphite layer were treated by employing a pulsed Nd:YAG laser in order to enhance surface properties such as wear and erosion resistance. Laser in-situ alloying method produced a composite layer by melting the titanium substrate and dissolution of graphite in the melt pool. Correlations between pulsed laser parameters, microstructure and microhardness of the synthesized composite coatings were investigated. Effects of pulse duration and overlapping factor on the microstructure and hardness of the alloyed layer were deduced from Vickers micro-indentation tests, XRD, SEM and metallographic analyses of cross sections of the generated layer. Results show that the composite cladding layer was constituted with TiC intermetallic phase between the titanium matrix in particle and dendrite forms. The dendritic morphology of composite layer was changed to cellular grain structure by increasing laser pulse duration and irradiated energy. High values of the measured hardness indicate that deposited titanium carbide increases in the conditions with more pulse duration and low process speed. This occurs due to more dissolution of carbon into liquid Ti by heat input increasing and positive influence of the Marangoni flow in the melted zone.     

Study on cross-section clad profile in coaxial single-pass cladding with a low-power laser

In this paper, a model of cross-section clad profile on the substrate in coaxial single-pass cladding with a low-power laser was studied. The static model of powder mass concentration distribution at cold-stream conditions was defined as a Gaussian function. In coaxial single-pass cladding with a low-power laser, since the influence of surface tension, gravity and gas flow on the clad bead could be neglected, the cross-section profile of the clad bead deposited by a low-power laser on the substrate was dominated by the powder concentration at each point on the pool and the time when the material was liquid at this point. The height of each point on the cross-section clad profile was defined as a definite integration of a Gaussian function from the moment at which the melt pool was just arriving at the point to the moment at which the point left the melt pool. In the presented experiment, powder of Steel 63 (at 0.63 wt% C) was deposited on a substrate of Steel 20 (at 0.20 wt% C) at the laser power of 135 W. The experimental results testified the model.     

The Nature of Anomalous Particles (Granules) in Rapidly Quenched PREP Powders: I. A Multiscale Study of the Heating Zone of the Rotating Electrode Used to Obtain the Rapidly Quenched PREP Ni-Based Superalloy Powder

The uniformity of composition of rapidly quenched PREP particles of the powder of high temperature Ni-based superalloys and stainless steels is characterized by an important feature—the occurrence of anomalous particles (granules) with a significantly different content, mainly of microalloying interstitial elements, carbon and boron, as well as active carbide- and boride-forming alloying elements. A detailed multi-scale experimental study of the heating zone of the crater of the Ni-based superalloy electrode after its use to obtain rapidly quenched PREP powder was carried out in order to find the nature and mechanisms of the formation of anomalous granules. Direct nuclear physics methods of activation autoradiography on carbon, track autoradiography on boron, metallography, SEM, EDX, OIM were used. In the electrode crater, the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and the partially melted zone (PMZ) were detected. Intense migration of boron to the electrode surface due to the formation of thermal macrocracks was also revealed. The behavior of carbon is determined by the formation of a thin layer of melt on the surface of the crater. The features of the evolution of the terminal solidification region TSR and incipiently melted regions IMR, the main type of heterogeneity of the composition of the dendritic structure of Ni-based superalloys and stainless steels, are revealed. The interrelation of the evolution of these areas is established, which is a consequence of the thermodynamic principle of the reversibility of the processes of solidification and melting, respectively, in the smelting of an ingot electrode and in the process of subsequent atomization. The analysis of the influence of the behavior of boron, carbon, and the characteristics of the crater structure on the nature and mechanism of the formation of anomalous granules using the PREP method for producing rapidly quenched powder of the Ni-based superalloy is performed.

     

The influence of laser and powder defocusing characteristics on the surface quality in laser direct metal deposition

To investigate the influencing rules of the variations of powder and laser defocusing distance on surface quality and obtain the smooth surface of parts in laser direct metal deposition, the thin-walled metal parts were fabricated under three different powder defocusing distances and three different laser defocusing distances conditions. The experimental results show that a high surface quality can be obtained with the powder focussed below the substrate and laser focussed above the substrate process, and the variation in which the powder focus moves from above to below the melt pool plays a leading role and the variation in which the laser focus moves from above to below the melt pool plays a supplementary role in the influence on the surface quality. To explain the experimental results, a simple model of the track height is established.     

CO2 laser heating of surfaces: Melt pool formation at surface

The melt pool formation during the heating of titanium and steel surfaces by a moving CO₂ laser beam is examined. The repetitive pulses are introduced in the simulations and the Marangoni effect in the melt pool is incorporated in the model study. The influence of laser scanning speed and the laser intensity parameter on the melt pool size is also considered. The enthalpy–porosity method is adopted to account for the phase change in the irradiated spot. It is found that the influence of laser scanning speed on the melt pool size is considerable, which is more pronounced for laser beam parameter β=1. The melt pool size is smaller for stainless steel as compared to that corresponding to titanium.     

Effects of process variables on laser direct formation of thin wall

In this paper, effects of process variables on wall thickness, powder primary efficiency and speed of forming a thin metallic wall in single-pass coaxial laser cladding are investigated, and some resolution models are established and testified experimentally. With some assumptions, each of wall thickness, powder primary efficiency and formation speed can be defined as a function of the process variables. Wall thickness is equal to width of the molten pool created in single-pass laser cladding and determined by laser absorptivity, laser power, initial temperature, scanning speed and thermo-physical properties of clad material. Powder primary efficiency and formation speed are both dependent on an exponential function involving the ratio of melt pool width, which is decided by the process variables, to powder flow diameter. In addition, formation speed is influenced by powder feed rate. In present experiment, a 500 W continual-wave (CW) CO₂ laser is used to produce thin-wall samples by single-pass coaxial laser cladding. The experimental results agree well with the calculation values despite some errors.     

Combining wire and coaxial powder feeding in laser direct metal deposition for rapid prototyping

Powder and wire deposition have been used separately in many laser-cladding, rapid prototyping and other additive manufacturing applications. In this paper, a new approach is investigated by simultaneously feeding powder from a coaxial nozzle and wire from an off-axis nozzle into the deposition melt pool. Multilayer parts are built from 316L steel using a 1.5 kW diode laser and different configurations of the powder and wire nozzles are compared in terms of surface roughness, deposition rate, porosity and microstructure. The parts are analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical microscopy techniques. Results show that deposition efficiency increased and surface roughness decreased with the combined process; some porosity was present in samples produced by this method, but it was 20-30% less than in samples produced by powder alone. Wire injection angles into the melt pool in both horizontal and vertical planes were found to be significant for attaining high deposition efficiency and good surface quality. Reasons for the final sample characteristics and differences between the combined process and the separate powder and wire feeding techniques are discussed.     

The surface modified composite layer formation with boron carbide particles on magnesium alloy surfaces through pulse gas tungsten arc treatment

A novel fabrication process of surface modified composite layer by pulse current gas tungsten arc (GTA) surface modification process was used to deposit B₄C particles on the surface of magnesium alloy AZ31. This method is an effective technique in producing a high performance surface modified composite layer. During the pulse current GTA surface modification process, considerable convection can exist in the molten pool due to various driving forces and the pulse current could cause violent stirring in the molten pool, and the large temperature gradient across the boundary between the GTA modified surface and matrix metal resulted in rapid resolidification with high cooling rates in the molten pool, so that the process result notable grain refinement in the GTA surface modified composite layer. The hardness and wear resistance of the GTA surface modified composite layer are superior to that of as-received magnesium alloy AZ31. The hardness values and wear resistance of GTA surface modified composite layer depend on the GTA process parameters and the B₄C particles powder concentration and distribution. The optimum processing parameters for the formation of a homogeneous crack/defect-free and grain refinement microstructure were established.     

Optical focus control system for laser welding and direct casting

A non-intrusive optical sensor system has been developed for focus control of laser welding. This detects the light generated by the process through the laser delivery optics, and exploits the chromatic aberrations of these optics to detect any laser focal error at the workpiece. This system works for a wide range of materials and welding parameters, and example results are presented. The sensor has also been applied to laser ‘direct casting’, a process in which 3-D structures are built by flowing metal powder into a focused laser beam. In this case, melt pool temperature is also important, and so additional optics are incorporated into the sensor to provide a pyrometric temperature measurement which is used to control the laser power.     

镍基合金激光熔覆数值模拟及凝固参数预测

本文采用有限体积法对激光熔覆过程的温度场分布和熔体流动进行了数值模拟.基于CALPHAD相图法计算了基体和粉末的热物理性质,采用三维热源精确预测了凝固过程和温度分布,研究了Marangoni对流对熔池尺寸的影响.在熔池凝固过程中模拟所得出的温度梯度和凝固速度,预测了熔覆层凝固组织的演变趋势,相应的显微组织与实验结果吻合...     

Investigation into the direct laser forming process of steam turbine blade

In order to achieve high precision and unidirectional solidification microstructure of steam turbine blade fabricated by direct laser forming (DLF), this study is focused on the influence of the laser scanning speed, specific energy and powder feeding rate on the forming characteristics of single cladding pass, which is elementary units in DLF, and a new method of columnar crystal preparation is investigated. Results show that both the metal powder stream and the laser specific energy are the most important factors, that control the high temperature behavior of molten pool so as to determine the micro-morphology of laser scanning track. Based on the optimum processing conditions, high definition steam turbine blade of 316L is fabricated (surface roughness Ra of 10.08 to 26.51 μm or so). The microstructure is of fish scale type by natural cooling after DLF, but it is first found that columnar crystals can be formed on the non-columnar crystal substrate of 316L by intermittent cooling with liquid argon. Therefore, the above investigations will benefit the rapid development of steam turbine blade.     

Numerical simulation of the transient multiphase field during plasma deposition manufacturing composite materials

A solid/liquid/gas unified model has been developed to investigate the gradient composition formation during the plasma deposition manufacturing (PDM) composite materials process. In this model, an enthalpy porosity model was applied to deal with the melting and solidification of the deposited layer, and a level-set approach was introduced to track the evolution of the free surface of the molten pool and the deposited layer. Moreover, complicated physical phenomena occurring at the liquid/gas interface, including forced convection heat loss, heat emission and plasma heat source, have been incorporated into the governing equations by source terms. In this study, the numerical experiment of nickel base alloy powder deposited on the medium steel substrate by PDM technique was implemented based on the staggered grid and SIMPLEC algorithm. Concentration gradient distribution of the solute material at the composite material interface, fluid flow and temperature distribution in the molten pool and the deposited layer have been investigated in detail. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50474053) and the High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2007AA04Z142)     

粉末状态对激光立体成形Zr55Cu30Al10Ni5块体非晶合金晶化行为的影响

基于金属熔体结构的遗传性, 激光熔池的快速熔凝导致粉末的晶化状态可能会对最终成形件的晶化产生重要影响, 理清其影响规律对于制备大块非晶合金具有重要意义. 本文选取等离子旋转电极法所制粉末和1000 K退火态粉末为沉积材料, 采用激光立体成形技术沉积Zr₅₅Cu₃₀Al₁₀Ni₅块体非晶合金, 考察了粉末中已有晶化相对熔池及热影响区晶化行为的影响. 结果发现, 原始粉末组织由非晶相及粗大的Al₅Ni₃Zr₂相组成; 当激光线能量较低时, 相应熔覆层的熔池和热影响区皆含有Al₅Ni₃Zr₂相; 随着线能量的提高, 熔池中Al₅Ni₃Zr₂相消失, 保持了非晶态, 但热影响区晶化加重, 并有大量Al₅Ni₃Zr₂相析出; 当采用退火态粉末时, 即使线能量较小, 相应熔覆层仍主要由非晶构成, 几乎无Al₅Ni₃Zr₂相析出. 这是由于原始粉末在退火时其微观结构发生重排, 与Al₅Ni₃Zr₂相关的原子短程/中程有序结构减少, 导致已沉积层非晶区的热稳定性提高, 不利于Al₅Ni₃Zr₂相析出. 可见, 提高线能量将会加剧非晶沉积体的晶化, 而粉末中的Al₅Ni₃Zr₂团簇相状态对Zr₅₅Cu₃₀Al₁₀Ni₅合金沉积层的晶化有重要影响.     

Experiment study of powder flow feed behavior of laser solid forming

A photographic system for the powder feed process of laser solid forming (LSF) was developed using a high speed camera, and the powder feed behaviors (the particle speed and the powder flow concentration) were described based on the powder flow images. The influences of the powder feed parameters and the distance below the nozzle exit plane on the powder feed behaviors were discussed, and the influences of the powder feed behaviors on the deposited layer quality were also investigated. It can be seen that the smooth finish of the deposited layer surface was improved remarkably by increasing the particle speed, and the deposited layer height decreases with the increase of the particle speed. It can also be found that the variation of the deposited layer height with the increase of the distance between the deposited surface and the nozzle exit plane is similar to that of the powder mass concentrations on the vertical symmetry axis.