Modeling of Thermo-Mechanical Behavior of Laser Powder Bed Fusion of Nickel-Based Super Alloy Parts Used in Oil and Gas Industry

Abstract

Nickel-based alloys are used for a broad range of applications in oil and gas (O&G) production and marine engineering because of their good corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. The future of laser AM in the O&G industries is highly promising due to the ability to deliver cheaper and better parts quickly. As it is in the initial stages, rigorous research needs to be done to enhance the fabrication speed and parametric optimization to improve the thermo-mechanical properties of the fabricated components by laser powder bed fusion AM. Simulation methods provide financially viable and the least resource-consuming approach for the qualification of produced parts, enabling metallurgical and mechanical characterization in a short time. In this research study, a three-dimensional finite element model is developed to predict the temperature, residual stress, and distortion in nickel-based super alloy parts fabricated by a multi-layer laser powder-bed fusion (LPBF) process, to analyze the thermal and residual stress distributions. For this purpose, a FEM model of LPBF was applied that includes a thermal model representing the scanning laser thermal input, a material model to define the temperature-dependent material property in the cyclic heating and cooling environment, and a physics-based method to describe the layer build-up process. For validation of the results, the experimental results were used, and the validation results were presented.