Fundamentals of Energy Conversion and Dissipation in Powder Layers during Laser Micro Sintering

Abstract

Under consideration of already published approaches, energy absorption and conversion of a laser beam penetrating into a powder layer is described as a function of grain size, grain density, laser beam intensity, and material properties. The simulations are based on a ray tracing algorithm and show typical results of the early dissipation phase regarding the energy form and the spatial distribution in the irradiated powder. An approach for the estimation of the powder layer thickness is proposed; optimum thicknesses are derived. The findings are applied to interpret observations that have been made during laser micro sintering of molybdenum powder.