Numerical Simulation of the Impact of Selective Laser Melting Process Parameters on the Formation Temperature Field in 316L Stainless Steel

ZHANG Heng; YU Xiaolu

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2025.08.016

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Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering ›› 2025, Vol. 17 ›› Issue (8) : 150-160. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2025.08.016

Additive Manufacturing

Numerical Simulation of the Impact of Selective Laser Melting Process Parameters on the Formation Temperature Field in 316L Stainless Steel

ZHANG Heng^a, YU Xiaolu^a,b,*

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Abstract

The work aims to solve the problems of long time, high cost and low accuracy of traditional methods that rely on experience to obtain the optimal printing parameters for selective laser melting parts of 316L stainless steel. By using the finite element analysis method, a model including heat transfer equation, boundary conditions, latent heat treatment of phase change and other elements was constructed to study the temperature field in the selective laser melting process of 316L stainless steel under different process parameters. Single-layer single-track, single-layer multi-track and single-track multi-layer powder bed models were adopted to deeply analyze the impact of laser power, scanning speed and scanning spacing on the molten pool temperature. When the laser power was too high or the scanning speed was low, the maximum temperature of the molten pool exceeded the boiling point of the material. The absolute value of the cooling rate increased with the increase of laser power and scanning speed. The preheating range of the molten pool expanded with laser scanning, and a scanning spacing of 100 μm was ideal. The increase in the number of layers made the maximum temperature rise. The simulation results showed that the laser power of 200 W and the scanning speed of 900 mm/s were the optimal parameter combinations for the selective laser melting of 316L stainless steel with a layer thickness of 30 μm, which were basically consistent with the current printing parameters of the enterprise. This study clarifies the impact law of process parameters on the temperature field of selective laser melting forming of 316L stainless steel through finite element analysis. The simulation results are close to the actual parameters of the enterprise, which verifies the effectiveness of the model and the feasibility of the research method, achieves the research goal, and provides theoretical support for the optimization of printing parameters.

Key words

316L stainless steel / selective laser melting / process parameters / numerical simulation / temperature field

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ZHANG Heng, YU Xiaolu. Numerical Simulation of the Impact of Selective Laser Melting Process Parameters on the Formation Temperature Field in 316L Stainless Steel[J]. Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering. 2025, 17(8): 150-160 https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2025.08.016

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Funding

Key Laboratory Fund of Anhui Science and Technology Plan (1106C0805011); Key Fund for Natural Science Research of Colleges and Universities in Anhui Province (KJ2015A239)