Cellular automata and crystal plasticity modelling for metal additive manufacturing

This paper presents a methodology to establish a process-structure-property (PSP) relationship for the additive manufacturing (AM) of small AISI 316L parts, as might be used in coronary stent applications. The methodology includes a physically based process-structure model based on cellular automata (CA) for microstructure characterization and generation, coupled with crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) structure-property modelling to predict the mechanical response of the AM part under tensile loading. The effect of AM process variables, such as laser power and scanning speed, are reflected in the PSP modelling through the thermal modelling of AM feeding into the CA model. The CA method is shown to be able to capture microstructure texture, which is key to anisotropic behavior of AM parts. The present study aims to (i) establish a practical link between CA and CPFE models and (ii) identify optimal process variables with respect to ductility.