Phase-field Simulation of Solid-state Selective Laser Sintering

Selective laser sintering/melting (SLS/SLM) is an additive manufacturing technique that uses laser beam energy to sinter/melt powder particles together to construct solid structures. The simulation of microstructure evolution during such processes can be of great significance, especially for process control and optimization. In literature, most modeling efforts have been focused on the microstructure evolution during SLM, while few attempts have been made to study the microstructure evolution as a result of SLS. In this work, a phase-field (PF) based SLS model is developed to predict the evolving of microstructure in the solid-state SLS process. The effects of laser power intensity and scanning speed on microstructure evolution are investigated. The feasibility and capability of modeling in a large scale are demonstrated. The modeling results are validated by experimental findings in terms of the neck size between adjacent particles.