A unified computer model of the spray forming process of inconel 718 rings

A unified computer model of the process of spray forming Inconel 718 rings has been developed. The target of the model is to optimize the process input parameters to achieve the correct shape, microstructure and minimum porosity. The model is divided in three main parts that correspond to the atomization phase of the material, the flight behaviour of the droplets and the solidification and growth of the ring. Different modelling techniques have been used for each part of the model. For the atomization step, stability analysis for the primary atomization and a tracking model for secondary atomization were used. Computational fluid dynamics calculations for the thermal and mechanical behaviour of the droplets in their travel to the substrate were used for the in-flight behaviour step. Shape and growth models, as well as thermal models, based on finite element calculations were used to predict the final shape and temperature history of the as sprayed ring. Various computer programs have been written to link results between different submodels and to transform the format of intermediate computer files.