Impact of Laser Beam Shaping on As-Solidified Microstructure in 316L Stainless Steel: Coupling CFD and Phase-Field Simulations

  • Alphonso, Wayne Edgar (DTU)
  • Hattel, Jesper Henri (DTU)
  • Bayat, Mohamad (DTU)

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Spatial laser beam shaping in Powder Bed Fusion Laser-Based (PBF-LB) allows for enhanced control over microstructure, melt pool dynamics, and process stability, surface roughness, to enable the production of parts with customizable properties [1]. Based on our prior work, it was shown that by implementing spatial beam shaping, it is possible to control the melt pool size and shape and as a result, the solidification front, cooling rate, and thermal gradients that affect microstructure [2]. Controlling the solidification thermodynamics impacts the as-solidified microstructure, including Primary Dendrite Arm Spacing (PDAS), segregation networks, morphology, and size of subgrain features. Experimental studies [3] show laser beam shaping effects on microstructure, but simulations help tailor it and predict outcomes within acceptable computational time, unlike costly trial-and-error experimental methods. In this work, coupling an accurate computational fluid dynamics solver, sequentially, to a phase-field model enables precise microstructural prediction, while overcoming inaccuracies from low-fidelity FEM conduction models [4], [5] that neglect melt pool dynamics. From CFD, the temperature field and melt pool depth (guiding the phase-field domain height) are mapped onto the phase field model. Thermo-Calc is used for obtaining accurate thermodynamic data (dataset, solute diffusion coefficients) which are used during the solution procedure. Gaussian (GBP), Ring-spot (RSBP), and Ring (RBP) beams are used to investigate their impact on the microstructure. The results show cyclic remelting of solidified melt pool regions in the RBP and RSBP cases due to the ring component, with the extent of remelting varying with the ring diameter. During solidification, the initial microstructure is the same for all beam shapes, but in the cases with RBP and RSBP beams, secondary and tertiary arms start growing because the cooling rate varies with time and melt pool depth. SEM micrographs are used to measure PDAS, and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) is used to examine elemental distributions, which are then compared with the simulation results for validation.