Flow behavior of powder particles in layering process of selective laser melting: Numerical modeling and experimental verification based on discrete element method

Powder-layering is an essential process of selective laser melting (SLM), but the underlying mechanisms of powder movement and packing at particle scale is unclear. Based on discrete element method (DEM), this study proposed a numerical model to investigate the flowing behavior of powder layered by a blade, where the contact force and cohesion force between individual particles were considered. DEM simulations gave visual morphologies of the flow profiles and velocity fields for powder-layering at particle scale, as well as the relationships between the quality of powder bed and the layering parameters. The model was validated by experiment results in terms of the macroscopic profiles of powder during layering, showing good prediction accuracy. Then, dynamic repose angle (DRA) and mass flow rate (MFR) were defined to make quantitative evaluation on the powder flow. Preliminary research shows that, the powder fluidity increases with the decreasing of particle friction coefficients, resulting in a denser and more uniform powder bed. The decreasing of particle radius R over the range of R > 21.8 mu m can benefit the powder fluidity. However, when the particle radius decreases in the range of R < 21.8 mu m, the weight of cohesion force rises and thus makes the powder fluidity worse. The increase of layering speed enhances the dilation of moving particles, and the decrease of layering height intensifies the local force-arches in particles. These will reduce the continuity and stability of the powder flow and is unfavorable for improving the density or uniformity of the layered powder bed.