Computational fluid dynamics models with free surface tracking intended to simulate the melt pool produced by an electric arc usually model the electromagnetic force ignoring the deformation of the free surface. However, with an arc heat source, the electromagnetic force is known to be among the leading-order forces, especially at high currents. In addition, the free surface can undergo significant deformations, especially in the presence of metal transfer. In the present study, a generalization of the electromagnetic force model that accounts for the deformation of the free surface is therefore proposed. Test cases with a pulsed gas-metal arc that transfers one metal drop per pulse were investigated experimentally at three different travel speeds to provide validation data. The cases were simulated with both the proposed and the earlier model to assess the influence of the new developments. The results showed that, in the regions where both models determine the force, the discrepancy between the models’ results can reach up to an order of magnitude. Especially, the earlier model overestimates the electromagnetic force deep into the melt pool. On the other hand, it neglects it in the liquid metal that is located at an elevation above the original upper surface of the workpiece, while the proposed model showed that in this area the intensity of the electromagnetic force is the largest. These significant discrepancies result in non-negligible differences in the predicted melt pool thermal flow and geometry. Especially, the propose dextended model provides an improved prediction of the fingertip-shaped fusion boundary.

In this study, laser metal fusion with feedstock wire is addressed. We investigated how various process parameters affect the fraction of beam energy that is absorbed by the wire and the workpiece and the metal transfer from the feedstock wire to the melt pool. To perform this research, a thermo-fluid dynamic model with tracking of free surface deformation was developed to include the feeding of a solid wire and predict its melting. The fraction of beam energy absorbed by the metal was modeled as a function of local surface curvature and temperature, accounting for multiple Fresnel reflections and absorptions. The model was applied to Titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) with a 1.07 μm laser and a process in conduction mode. Experiments at various wire feeding rates were conducted to evaluate the model’s ability to predict the process and a good agreement was obtained. The different parameters studied were the beam angular position, the wire angular position, the wire feed rate, and the beam-wire offset. The analysis of the simulation results gave a detailed physical understanding of the laser energy use. It highlighted that thermocapillary and Rayleigh-Plateau instabilities can contribute to the transition from continuous to drop metal transfer mode. Damping these instabilities might thus allow using a wider process window.

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) is used to build and repair metal parts with heat input from a high-power beam (laser or electron beam) or electric arc (gas metal, gas tungsten, or gas plasma arc) and metal deposited layer by layer from powder or wire feedstock. This multiscale and multiphysics process is difficult to directly observe. It's modeling thus contributes to gaining process understanding. It can also support process parameter selection, process control, path planning, modeling and analysis of microstructure, distortion, and residual stress formed during metal AM. The sections of this chapter address first the electron beam, laser beam, and electric arc heat sources including their interaction with metal. Next, it covers process modeling with the thermal and thermo-fluid approaches and metal provided in the form of either powder or wire feedstock. Each of these sections includes a description of the physics taking place, the existing modeling approaches, the related assumptions and framework of application, open questions, as well as examples of knowledge the models provide access to.

Additive manufacturing of parts on-site in space requires investigating the feasibility ofadapting to zero-gravity and near-vacuum conditions, a technology applied today on Earthat standard conditions. While a few studies have been conducted for powder bed fusion, afeasibility study remains to be explored for direct energy deposition using a laser beam anda metal wire. This is the purpose of this study, which is conducted using a modelingapproach based on computational fluid dynamics. The simulation model developedincludes melting, re-solidification, vaporization, prediction of beam energy absorptionas a function of the local surface temperature and curvature, ray tracing, tracking of freesurface deformation and metal transfer, and wire-resistive heating. The study is carried outby starting from process parameters suited for stable on-Earth metal deposition. Theseconditions were also studied experimentally to validate the simulation model, leading tosatisfactorily results. A total of three other test cases with ambient pressure lowered downto near-vacuum and/or gravitation down to zero are investigated. It is found that,compared to on-Earth conditions, in-space conditions can induce vaporization of themetal alloy that is large enough to result in a curvature of the melt pool free surface but toosmall to lead to the formation of a keyhole. The in-space conditions can also modify theforce balance at the liquid melt bridge between the wire and the melt pool, leading to smallchanges in the curvature and temperature field at the free surface of the wire tip. Among theobserved consequences are a small increase of the melt pool length and a small elevationof the bead height. More importantly, for process control, changing to in-space conditionsmight also affect the stability of the process, which could be assessed through the width ofthe liquid metal bridge. However, by using appropriate process control to maintain acontinuous liquid metal bridge, it is concluded that direct energy deposition of metal usinga laser and a wire could be used for manufacturing metal parts in-space in a temperedatmosphere.

The present work concerns the electromagnetic force models in computational fluid dynamics simulations of melt pools produced with electric arcs. These are commonly applied to gas metal arcs with metal transfer, in welding and additive manufacturing. Metal drop impact on the melt pool is thus included in this study. The electromagnetic force models applied in literature use either numerical solutions of Poisson equations or one of the two analytical models developed by Kou and Sun, or Tsao and Wu. These models rely on assumptions for which the effect on the melt pool predictions remains to be understood. The present work thoroughly investigates those assumptions and their effects. It has been supported by dedicated experimental tests that did provide estimates of unknown model parameters and validation data. The obtained results show that the assumptions that fundamentally distinguish these three models change the electromagnetic force, including the relation between its components. These changes, which can also be spatially non-uniform, are large. As a result, these models lead to significantly different recirculation flow pattern, thermal convection, melt pool morphology, bead dimensions, and free surface response to the metal transfer. We conclude by proposing conditions in which each of these models is suited or questionable.

This study explores the possibility of tailoring the fusion zone in conduction mode laser welding using a deformable mirror for beam shaping of multi-kilowatt continuous wave laser sources. Three power density distributions were shaped and used in bead on plate welding of Ti64 plates in conduction mode at three travel speeds. The effect on melt pool free surface geometry, cross section, microstructure and hardness profiles was measured and studied. It is shown that the geometry of the melt pool can be modified using a deformable mirror. A narrower and longer melt pool or a wider, shorter and shallower one were indeed obtained forming Gaussian-elliptical power density distributions oriented along and transverse to the travel direction, respectively. The latter distribution could be a favourable option for laser beam additive manufacturing as it could improve process efficiency while reducing remelting of the previous layer. This system has also a promising potential for adaptive process control since it could change fundamentally the beam shape at a rate faster than 10 ms. 

A computational fluid dynamics approach is used to analyse the influence of beam shaping in fusion welding on melt thermal flow. Three beam shapes are studied at several welding travel speeds: a reference Gaussian profile and its elliptic elongations along and transverse to the welding travel direction. It is found that these beam shapes change not only the intensity and direction of the melt thermocapillary flow but also the flow pattern. For instance, and contrary to the other profiles, the beam shape elongated along the welding travel direction generates melt front vortices that assist metal pre-heating. It can result in deeper penetration, larger melt volume, and lower amount of thermal energy diffused into the heat affected zone. The simple elongation of a beam profile has thus a non-linear effect on the melt flow and in turn on the seam geometry as well as the temperature gradients in the heat affected zone.

Thermo-fluid dynamic and experimental approaches are used to investigate the influence of 20° uphill, downhill and sideway substrate orientation during metal deposition over a previously deposited bead in a V-groove. The computational fluid dynamic model with free surface deformation and metal transfer gives insight into the melt pool flow and causes of defect formation observed on the solidified beads. The experimental metallographs, high-speed images and computational results show good agreement. It is found that the deposition of a second layer on a smooth first layer cooled down to room temperature leads to large changes in melt pool flow patternat 20° substrate inclination compared to flat condition. It results in undercut and humps with the uphill orientation and undercut with the side inclination. Therefore, lower angle range is necessary for multilayer gas metal arc deposition for these two last configurations.

Fluid dynamics models for laser material processing with metal fusion in conduction mode generally assume a constant absorptivity. This parameter is known to govern the process. However, it used to be pre-set by extrapolating absorptance measurements made at different conditions or adjusted to reproduce experimental bead shapes. In this study a new approach isd eveloped. It consists in predicting the absorptance as a function of local surface conditions, including the surface temperature. The proposed absorptance model is applied to the metal alloyTi-6Al-4V. It is found that the absorptance of this alloy changes with surface temperature over awide range of beam incidence angles. Thermo-fluid simulations with tracking of the free-surface deformation are performed for conduction mode beam welding test cases with a Yb fibre laser and different travel speeds. It is found that the absorptivity coefficient commonly used for this process clearly underestimates the absorptance and the melt pool geometry predicted for the process conditions of this study. The computational results are also compared against experimental results and good quantitative agreement of the melt pool depth, width, length, free surface contour geometry, and the curvature of the end depression left afterre-solidification at the laser switch-off location is obtained. The results show that the absorptance field predicted depends on the melt pool development stage, on the spatial location within the beam spot, and on the process conditions.

The effect of different shapes of laser beam power density distribution was investigated numerically with respect to the thermo-hydrodynamics of the melt pool during welding. The process addressed is conduction mode bead on plate welding of the Titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V. A new solver based on the volume of fluid method to track the deformation of the melt free surface was developed in the OpenFOAM software. Experiments were conducted for the purpose of validating the model. In addition to the traditional cross-cut images of the weld bead, top view images of the melt pool were analysed to perform the validation along the 3-space dimensions. A good agreement between numerical predictions and experimental measurements was obtained, thus promising aconfident utilization of this simulation model when investigating the influence of beam shapes on the resulting weld seam. The effectof three different beam shapes on the melt pool velocity flow, temperature fields, and melt geometry were studied. It was found that the melt pool size was largest for an elliptical power density distribution with the major axis along the welding direction. The results also showed that the laser beam with Gaussian power density distribution resulted in the deepest penetration.