Comparison of Powder Flow Analysis by Particle Image Velocimetry with Discrete Element Method Simulation

Abstract

To obtain an optimal powder bed condition for laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), it is essential to clarify powder flow behaviors during the recoating process. In this work, the flow behaviors of Ti-6Al-4V powders were experimentally analyzed using a simple slope model by Particle image velocimetry (PIV) and were subsequently compared with the behaviors simulated using the similar model by discrete element method (DEM). The velocity of particles and the distribution were able to be obtained experimentally using PIV. In the DEM simulation, when the coefficient of restitution was increased, the angle between restituted particles and the slope and the average particle velocity were increased. Comparing those obtained by the DEM simulation, it was found that the velocity and distribution obtained by PIV analyses were close to those obtained by the DEM simulation at the coefficient of restitution of 0.3. These results suggest that the powder flow velocity analysis on the slope using PIV analyses is an effective method to validate the parameter of powder properties in DEM simulations.