Metal solidification micro-structure simulation of direct laser deposition based on cellular automation

In recent years, by combining laser cladding, direct laser deposition (DLD) forming as a additive manufacturing (AM) technology has been developed to fabricate high-performance metal components directly. Since the non-equilibrium solidification process involves the thermal and fluidic phenomena inherent which impact the micro-structure, and thus determine the final properties of parts. The mechanism about thermodynamics and dynamics of micro-structure evolution is still not clear during the DLD process. Based on the situation, the article provides an overview of a more mainstream cellular automation (CA) method in the simulation of micro-structure evolution of DLD, briefly describes the basic principle and thought of CA, gives classical and modified models and applications of CA in micro-structure simulation in current research. Meanwhile, several major challenges are also analyzed and the future directions are forecasted.