On the importance of heat source model determination for numerical modeling of selective laser melting of IN625

Accurate prediction of temperature distribution and melt pool geometry in metal additive manufacturing is highly dependent on the appropriate selection of heat source models. In the present study, a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) heat transfer model is developed utilizing Abaqus by integrating different heat source models focusing on the surface heat source model and volumetric heat source model for selective laser melting (SLM) of Inconel 625 (IN625). All of the predicted peak temperatures, molten pool width, and depth are evaluated and compared with the experimental results cited from open literature. The relative error in simulated peak temperature and melt pool geometry from the surface heat source model is much higher in comparison to the volumetric heat transfer model. Further, a hybrid heat source model incorporating surface and volumetric heat models is developed to fulfill the numerical modeling of SLM of IN625 with high accuracy, which is highly recommended for the in-depth simulation study.

Automated summary

In this study, a three-dimensional finite element heat transfer model is developed using different heat source models to accurately predict the temperature distribution and melt pool geometry in selective laser melting (SLM). The experimental results show that the hybrid heat source model incorporating both surface and volumetric heat models can accurately simulate the peak temperature and melt pool geometry.