Mesoscopic Computational Fluid Dynamics Modelling for the Laser-Melting Deposition of AISI 304 Stainless Steel Single Tracks with Experimental Correlation: A Novel Study

For laser-melting deposition (LMD), a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed using the volume of fluid and discrete element modeling techniques. A method was developed to track the flow behavior, flow pattern, and driving forces of liquid flow. The developed model was compared with experimental results in the case of AISI 304 stainless steel single-track depositions on AISI 304 stainless steel substrate. A close correlation was found between experiments and modeling, with a deviation of 1–3%. It was found that the LMD involves the simultaneous addition of powder particles that absorb a significant amount of laser energy to transform their phase from solid to liquid, resulting in conduction-mode melt flow. The bubbles within the melt pool float at a specific velocity and escape from the melt pool throughout the deposition process. The pores are generated if the solid front hits the bubble before escaping the melt pool. Based on the simulations, it was discovered that the deposited layer’s counters took the longest time to solidify compared to the overall deposition. The bubbles strived to leave through the contours in an excess quantity, but became stuck during solidification, resulting in a large degree of porosity near the contours. The stream traces showed that the melt flow adopted a clockwise vortex in front of the laser beam and an anti-clockwise vortex behind the laser beam. The difference in the surface tension between the two ends of the melt pool induces “thermocapillary or Benard–Marangoni convection” force, which is insignificant compared to the selective laser melting process. After layer deposition, the melt region, mushy zone, and solidified region were identified. When the laser beam irradiates the substrate and powder particles are added simultaneously, the melt adopts a backwards flow due to the recoil pressure and thermocapillary or Benard–Marangoni convection effect, resulting in a negative mass flow rate. This study provides an in-depth understanding of melt pool dynamics and flow pattern in the case of LMD additive manufacturing technique.