Thermal Numerical Analysis of Bulk Parts by Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

This study deals with an investigation of bulk parts created by an additive manufacturing (AM) process. Numerical simulation of the AM process was used for describing thermal behaviour of bulk parts during the production process. Industrial metal 3D printer InssTek MX-600 was chosen as the experimental AM device because it belongs to Directed Energy Deposition (DED) technology according to ASTM. 316L austenitic stainless steel was chosen because no phase transformations occur in this material during heating. The objectives of this study are twofold: a numerical model of the DED process was created and calibrated to attain high accuracy, and residual stress was determined by the contour method. The numerical model for the method was created using Simufact Welding software. The purpose was describe the thermal behaviour of each layer during the process. Using numerical simulation, the sensitivity of the process parameters to thermal behaviour in the printed part was analysed and compared with experimental results. The contour method was used to evaluate the residual stress in the DED part. The part was cut and measured, and the residual stress was evaluated using FE inverse analysis. Results of this study can help build complex components such as turbine blades for energy facilities, and medical implants.