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.

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.

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.