The Use of Thermomechanical Simulation in Additive Manufacturing

The use of thermomechanical simulation has been applied in additive manufacturing studies in a number of ways. The main applications include study of phase transformations, simulation of thermal cycles during each material deposition pass, simulation of post-deposition heat treatments, high temperature mechanical testing on finalized parts and materials, among other possibilities. Simulations can be performed in virtually all metallic materials such as steels, stainless steels, aluminum alloys, titanium alloys as well as in superalloys such as the Inconel family and others. This paper shows a compilation of examples where a Gleeble thermomechanical simulator can strongly support additive manufacturing studies in order to reduce development cost and time, optimize production schedules, and improve properties and quality of additive manufactured parts.