CFD Simulation of Fluid Flow During Laser Metal Wire Deposition using OpenFOAM : 3D printing

Sammanfattning: The focus of this work was to simulate the fluid flow within a melt pool geometry, during an additive manufacturing process, implementing the CFD software OpenFOAM version 1806. Two separate models were created and run during this work, the first using a temperature mapping from a finite element (FE) model and the second being a free-standing model with Gaussian distributed laser beam striking down on the top surface. Both models were run with the standard solver icoReactingMultiphaseInterFoam, being a multiphase solver, with phase transition possibilities. Addition of gas particles was carried out during post-processing and these were to visualise the imperfections caused by melting metal alloys in a 3D printing case. During comparison of the movement of the free-standing model, using a moving laser beam, to the mapped temperature FE model, it was revealed that the fluid flow in the molten pool was heavily influenced by the pressure introduced by the laser beam. No streamlines were found that would indicate entrapment of gas particles during solidification.