Layer-by-layer thermal modelling for wire-arc additive manufacturing of Aluminum alloy wall

Abstract

Wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is capable of producing medium to large-size engineering components because of its high rate of deposition. However, while producing large-size components, they can be subject to thermal cycles and the problem of heat accumulation which affects their mechanical and microstructural properties. In order to understand the behaviour of the heat cycle layer by layer of Aluminium 6063 alloy fabricated using WAAM, thermal modelling and simulation were carried out in this work. Layer-by-layer surface temperatures were obtained to understand the temperature field in a linear wall fabricated using WAAM. The result of the simulation revealed that the temperature in the advancing layers increases and the surface temperature in the lower layer decreases with time. The surface temperature near the moving heat source reached a maximum temperature of 4050 °C in the 6th layer. The surface temperature in the 1st layer decreased to 574 °C after the completion of the 6th layer.