Shielding Gas Model for Annular Laser Metal Deposition of Reactive Materials in an Open Environment

A primary challenge in successfully manufacturing reactive materials for laser metal deposition (LMD) is to prevent oxidization. To address the oxidation susceptibility of titanium alloys in open environments, a local atmosphere protection model was developed. Using Ansys Fluent 2023R1 software, the effective protective atmosphere range provided by the local shielding device under varying shielding gas flow rates was investigated in detail, and a mathematical model for the effective protection area was obtained through quadratic polynomial fitting. A quadratic regression model linking process parameters with the length of high-temperature zones was established using central composite design (CCD). By integrating these two models, a local shielding gas model for LMD titanium alloys in an open environment was formulated. Validation experiments demonstrated excellent morphology of the single layers with shiny silver. The local shielding atmosphere can effectively protect the high-temperature region. These findings provide a basis for the deposition of active materials in an open environment and the selection of appropriate shielding gas flow rates.