Prognostication of microstructure evolution during laser powder bed fusion of aluminum alloy using phase-field method

In the present study, a phase-field method-based microstructure model is developed to predict the microstructure of the AlSi10Mg alloy in the laser powder bed fusion process. For this purpose, the FORTRAN code is developed and used to solve the phase-field equations by considering different cases, i.e., without thermal fluctuation, with thermal fluctuation, and with a planar interface. From the simulation results, it is found that during rapid solidification of the AlSi10Mg alloy in the laser powder bed fusion process, a columnar equiaxed structure is formed with primary and secondary dendrites. Also, the dendritic growth velocity decreases with an increase in solidification time. The developed microstructure model will help the researchers to understand the microstructure evolution based on solidification conditions, i.e., temperature gradient, cooling rate, nuclei formation, etc. Also, the models give a fundamental understanding of the simulation procedure for the development of the new model for different alloy systems at different processing conditions. Published under an exclusive license by Laser Institute of America.