Temperature Profile, Bead Geometry, and Elemental Evaporation in Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing Process

Powder bed fusion processes have been a focus of research in recent years. Computational models of this process have been extensively investigated. In most cases, the distribution of heat intensity over the powder bed during the laser–powder interaction is assumed to follow a Gaussian beam pattern. However, the heat distribution over the surface is a complicated process that depends on several factors such as beam quality factor, laser wavelength, etc. and must be considered to present the laser–material interaction in a way that represents the actual beam. This work presents a process in which a non-Gaussian laser beam model is used to model the temperature profile, bead geometry, and elemental evaporation in the powder bed process. The results are compared against those of a Gaussian beam model and also an experiment using Inconel 718 alloy. The model offers good predictions of the temperature, bead shape, and concentration of alloying elements.