A comprehensive study on thermal modeling of SLM process under conduction mode using FEM

Selective laser melting (SLM) has emerged as one of the leading additive manufacturing (AM) processes for the fabrication of complex metallic components, due to its capability to achieve high quality at acceptable times. However, due to the complexity of physical phenomena occurring during SLM, such as heat transfer and phase transformations, laser absorption, molten metal flow, and moving interfaces, it is still necessary to conduct research in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the process and improve it. In the present work, a comprehensive simulation model for the study of conduction mode single-track SLM process of 316L stainless steel is presented. This model incorporates temperature and phase-dependent material properties for both powder bed and substrate, detailed calculation of the absorption coefficient, and temperature-dependent boundary conditions. The simulation results are in excellent agreement with experimental findings, regarding the morphology and dimensions of melt pool under various process conditions. Moreover, with the proposed model, analysis of power losses as well as cooling and heating rates is conducted, identifying the characteristics of SLM process and providing valuable insights for its optimization.