Numerical study of thermal history in laser aided direct metal deposition process

Temperature evolution in the laser aided direct metal deposition (LADMD) process has considerable influence on the micro-structure and properties of the final part. A 3D transient finite element model was developed to study the temperature evolution during the multilayer LADMD process. To make the property analysis from thermal history easier, a critical temperature specific to thermal history was defined and the distribution of it in the part was also discussed. The simulation results indicated that the critical temperature can make the property analysis from thermal history easier. Thermal history of all the deposited materials was similar. It was also concluded that process parameters needed to be time-varying according to the real-time temperature field during the process.