Advanced
search

To read this content please select one of the options below:

Numerical and experimental investigation on the heat transfer and mass transport in LPBF in-situ alloying of Al/Cu alloy

Yang Zhou (School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China and Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China)
Zhong Li (Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China)
Yuhe Huang (Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China)
Xiaohan Chen (Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China)
Xinggang Li (Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China)
Xiaogang Hu (Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China)
Qiang Zhu (Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Additive Manufacturing of High-Performance, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China and Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China)

Rapid Prototyping Journal

ISSN: 1355-2546

Article publication date: 8 November 2023

Issue publication date: 2 January 2024

105

Abstract

Purpose

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) in-situ alloying is a recently developed technology that provides a facile approach to optimizing the microstructural and compositional characteristics of the components for high performance goals. However, the complex mass and heat transfer behavior of the molten pool results in an inhomogeneous composition distribution within the samples fabricated by LPBF in-situ alloying. The study aims to investigate the heat and mass transfer behavior of an in-situ alloyed molten pool by developing a three-dimensional transient thermal-flow model that couples the metallurgical behavior of the alloy, thereby revealing the formation mechanism of composition inhomogeneity.

Design/methodology/approach

A multispecies multiphase computational fluid dynamic model was developed with thermodynamic factors derived from the phase diagram of the selected alloy system. The characteristics of the Al/Cu powder bed in-situ alloying process were investigated as a benchmark. The metallurgical behaviors including powder melting, thermal-flow, element transfer and solidification were investigated.

Findings

The Peclet number indicates that the mass transfer in the molten pool is dominated by convection. The large variation in material properties and temperature results in the presence of partially melted Cu-powder and pre-solidified particles in the molten pool, which further hinder the convection mixing. The study of simulation and experiment indicates that optimizing the laser energy input is beneficial for element homogenization. The effective time and driving force of the convection stirring can be improved by increasing the volume energy density.

Originality/value

This study provides an in-depth understanding of the formation mechanism of composition inhomogeneity in alloy fabricated by LPBF in-situ alloying.

Keywords

Citation

Zhou, Y., Li, Z., Huang, Y., Chen, X., Li, X., Hu, X. and Zhu, Q. (2024), "Numerical and experimental investigation on the heat transfer and mass transport in LPBF in-situ alloying of Al/Cu alloy", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 177-191. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-01-2023-0015

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles

Manage cookies

We’re listening — tell us what you think

Join us on our journey