| AVS 55th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Nanomanufacturing Focus Topic | Thursday Sessions |
| Session NM-ThP |
| Session: | Nanomanufacturing Poster Session |
| Presenter: | Y. Ioannou, University of Cyprus |
| Authors: | Y. Ioannou, University of Cyprus K. Polychronopoulou, University of Cyprus C.C. Doumanidis, University of Cyprus |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an additive rapid manufacturing technique where high-power laser is used to fuse small particles into a specified 3-dimensional geometry. The goal of this work was to develop an analytical model for the SLS manufacturing processes, in order to control the geometrical characteristics of the sintered areas when iron/copper (Fe/Cu) powder alloy is used on a flat substrate. Powder particles are subject to melting by the laser energy and form a liquid globule, which solidifies as the laser beam spot moves on the substrate. The model is based on a system of lumped energy and mass balances, and the temperature field is computed via Green’s function formulations by convolution of impulsive heat inputs at specific times and locations. The Green’s function is dependent on the material conductive properties, substrate geometry, and boundary conditions. In considering the generated surface tensions due to powder melting, an approximation of the sintered area geometry after solidification of the material is performed via fluid dynamic equilibrium theory. Independent process parameters considered to govern the intensity of energy delivered to the powder material include laser power, beam spot size, beam velocity, hatch spacing and scan line length. Computational simulations are calibrated via and validated against experimentally fabricated SLS samples with simple deposition geometries.