FEM-Based Simulative Study for Multi-Response Optimization of Powder Bed Fusion Process

Anoop Kumar Sood, Azhar Equbal, Zahid A. Khan, Irfan Anjum Badruddin and Mohamed Hussien
Additional contact information
Anoop Kumar Sood: Department of Manufacturing Engineering, National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology, Hatia, Ranchi 834003, India
Azhar Equbal: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University, New Delhi 110025, India
Zahid A. Khan: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University, New Delhi 110025, India
Irfan Anjum Badruddin: Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Hussien: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia

Mathematics, 2022, vol. 10, issue 14, 1-22

Abstract: Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is an additive manufacturing technology which uses a heat source (laser) to sinter or fuse atomized powder particles together. A new layer of powder is spread over the previous layer using a roller, and then the laser power fuses them. This mechanism is repeated until the part model is completed. To reduce the time, effort, and cost, the present study incorporated the design of an experimental approach conjoined with finite element analysis (FEA) to simulate the LPBF process. A three-dimensional (3D) bi-material model was subjected to FEA with variations in temporal and spatial material characteristics. A Gaussian moving heat source model for the multi-scanning of a single layer was developed to understand the effect of process parameters, namely laser power, scan speed, and scan pattern on melt pool dimensions. Although, similar simulation models have been reported in the literature, the majority of these did not consider parametric variations. A few studies adopted multiple parameters which varied simultaneously, but the major limitation of these studies was that most of them did not consider multiple characteristics under a constrained environment. In the present research, the multi-parameter multi-level simulation study was performed to understand the process mechanism with fewer simulations. Results showed that the studied dimensions were sensitive to parameter setting, and that temperature variation within the melt pool was dependant on the material phase in the vicinity of the melt pool. This research proposed that melt pool dimensions must be accurately controlled for optimum process performance to achieve proper overlap between the adjacent scan lines and sufficient depth to complete bonding with the bottom layer. Since the involved criteria were of a conflicting nature, the problem of determining a single factor setting to obtain the desired results was solved using grey relational analysis (GRA). It was found that, among all the considered process parameters, scan velocity was the most significant one. This research recommended a maximum scan velocity i.e., v = 1.5 m/s, with a minimum laser power i.e., P = 80 W. In addition, it was also suggested that low energy density be used to melt the powder layer properly.

Keywords: numerical analysis; heat transfer; additive manufacturing; powder bed fusion; melt pool; FEA; Taguchi’s design of experiment; grey relational analysis; multi-objective optimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/10/14/2505/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/10/14/2505/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jmathe:v:10:y:2022:i:14:p:2505-:d:865967

Access Statistics for this article

Mathematics is currently edited by Ms. Emma He

More articles in Mathematics from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().