Mesoscopic Simulation of Core-Shell Composite Powder Materials by Selective Laser Melting

Area of Science:

• Additive Manufacturing
• Materials Science
• Computational Modeling

Background:

• Selective Laser Melting (SLM) faces challenges with multi-material powders due to particle segregation, impacting printed part properties.
• Core-shell composite powders offer a solution to segregation issues in SLM.
• Understanding the complex physics of core-shell composite powder SLM (CS-SLM) is crucial for process optimization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a mesoscopic melt-pool dynamics model for simulating single-track CS-SLM.
• To investigate the melting characteristics of nickel-coated tungsten carbide (WC@Ni) composite powder.
• To analyze the influence of process parameters on melt pool dynamics and particle distribution.

Main Methods:

• Development of a mesoscopic melt-pool dynamics model.
• Simulation of the single-track CS-SLM process using WC@Ni powder.
• Investigation of the effects of laser power and scanning speed on melt pool characteristics.

Main Results:

• Smaller particle sizes promote melt pool formation and increase local temperature.
• Laser power has a greater impact on melt pool size than scanning speed.
• Optimized laser power and scanning speed can mitigate particle aggregation.

Conclusions:

• The developed model accurately simulates CS-SLM, providing insights into physical mechanisms.
• The study highlights the importance of process parameter control for achieving desired material properties in CS-SLM.
• This modeling approach can be extended to multi-layer CS-SLM simulations for broader applications.