Enhancement of a Quasi-Analytical Solution for Modelling Additive Manufacturing Processes

Numerical modelling methods (e.g. finite element) can provide accurate descriptions of long-range temperature fields in laser or electron-beam melting processes, however the high computational costs at part-scale make them unsuitable for process modelling in additive manufacturing (AM). Alternative methods such as semi-analytical solutions based on a moving heat source reduce the computational expense but at the cost of unrealistic assumptions. Radiation, temperature-dependent physical properties and latent heat are not considered in the semi-analytical approach but can have a significant effect on the thermal history. In this study, the error associated with each of these contributions are assessed against the conduction-only semi-analytical solution for a range of processing parameters for surface melting on solid Ti-6Al-4V. The semi-analytical model is then “enhanced” using results from finite element simulations to better account for the heat transfer in the AM process.