Analytical modeling and experimental validation of powder stream distribution during direct energy deposition

As an important factor during direct energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing process, powder stream distribution will not only affect the deposition rate, but also the powder-gas and power-powder interactions, and thus the consequent quality and property of the fabricated part. This paper created an analytical model to illustrate the powder stream distribution under the four-jet nozzles in the DED. To validate the proposed model, weight measurement method was used to track the powder stream distributions at different positions under the nozzle. Additionally, the effects of the input variables, including powder flow rate, gas flow rate and particle size, on the powder stream distribution were also analyzed. The results suggest a relatively good agreement between the modelling and experimental measurements. At the end, the powder deposition efficiency (PDE) was estimated based on the simulation results.