Finite element analysis of melt pool thermal characteristics with passing laser in SLM process

The selective laser melting (SLM) continues to be a challenge due to an extremely high heating and cooling rates. A three-dimensional finite element model is therefore proposed to consider the effects of processing parameters in a layer on different underlying surfaces. The moving gaussian heat source was made to scan the model with temperature dependent material properties to predict the temperature distribution inside a finite solid model. The effects of processing parameters such as laser power and scan rate were analyzed in the measurement of thermal variables such as cooling rate, thermal gradient and solidification rate in a layer with a solid, support and powder bases in the multi-layer finite model. The model also takes into account the behavior of thermal variables in a moving melt pool within a solidification range.