Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Modeling of the Multi-layer Laser Powder Bed Fusion Process

Abstract

The need for materials and process optimization in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) goes hand in hand with its numerical simulation capabilities. This work lays the groundwork for developing an efficient predictive tool that can ultimately capture manufacturing defects in 3D multi-layer LPBF simulations and generate insights into possible ways to avoid or mitigate them. As a first step towards that end, we present a 2D numerical framework based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method featuring a new powder application. SPH simulations with the successive building of ten layers using two different laser powers are performed to show how the unevenness of layers develops during LPBF and how it can be alleviated, e.g., by adjusting the laser power.