Name
Technical Session X - MSEC-155721
Date & Time
Thursday, June 26, 2025, 9:25 AM - 9:50 AM
Description
Thin struts are the building blocks of cellular lattice structures. They have wide applications in various domains including the biomedical and aerospace industry. The extensive design freedom of the laser powder-bed fusion (L-PBF) additive manufacturing process makes it suitable for such intricate part fabrications. However, the thin features fabricated by the L-PBF process have different morphological and mechanical characteristics compared to the bulk-sized parts. This is due to the differences in melt pool behavior at the transient and quasi-static steady states. The scan length is the important parameter that dictates the transient length of the melt pool, along with other process parameters like laser power and scan speed. This study aims to understand the porosity characteristics of thin struts fabricated by L-PBF using Ti6Al4V powder. For experimental evaluation, various sizes (0.25 mm-1.75 mm) of square and circular struts were fabricated under a wide range of input linear energy densities (0.125 J/mm-0.355 J/mm) using an EOS M270 system. A micro-CT scanner was used to characterize the internal porosity. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of porosity was performed from the CT-scan images. The results showed that the number of pores decreases with a decrease in strut size, although there were no noticeable differences in porosity with the strut shape. The porosity percentage was negligible for struts built at LED ≤ 0.16 J/mm. With the increase in energy density, the keyhole porosity rapidly increases, with varying patterns across the higher energy density range. The individual effects of input laser power and scan speed caused these patterns. The evaluation of individual effects of parameters revealed that the keyhole porosity in struts is severe at high laser power and low scan speed.
Location Name
Regency G
Full Address
Hyatt Regency
220 N Main St
Greenville, SC 29601
United States
220 N Main St
Greenville, SC 29601
United States
Session Type
Technical Session
Paper #
MSEC-155721
Author List
Nismath Valiyakath Vadakkan Habeeb, Kevin Chou
Paper Title
Size Effects on Process-Induced Porosity in Laser Powder-Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing
Session Chair
Dong Lin