Multi-physics Study of Thermal History Effect on Non-equilibrium Solidification Microstructure of Ti-Nb Alloy During Dual-Track Selective Laser Melting

Abstract:

A multi-physics approach was used to quantify the effect of process parameters (laser power, scanning speed, hatch spacing, and scanning strategy) on the thermal history and corresponding microstructure evolution of Ti-25Nb (at%) alloy during the dual-track selective laser melting (SLM) process. Simulation results reveal that during the dual-track SLM process, increasing laser power results in greater thermal accumulation, leading to a molten pool of larger volume and coarser grains. Reducing scanning speed enhances remelting and promotes cellular growth at the top of molten pool, whereas faster scanning speed leads to rougher melt tracks and finer grains. Notably, hatch spacing significantly influences the molten pool dimensions and microstructures, and smaller hatch spacing promotes remelting. Furthermore, the orientations of grains in the second track during zigzag scanning differ markedly from those in the first track. More importantly, compared with those after the first track, both the temperature gradient and cooling rate at the boundaries of remelting molten pool are reduced after the second track scanning, resulting in slower interface velocity and significant change in solidification microstructure. This research provides a theoretical foundation for controlling non-equilibrium microstructure and offering novel insights into the optimization of SLM process parameters of titanium alloys.