Materials and Design 142 (2018) 319–328

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Materials and Design

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matdes

Microstructure prediction of selective laser melting AlSi10Mg using finite

element analysis
Shiwen Liu, Haihong Zhu ⁎, Gangyong Peng, Jie Yin, Xiaoyan Zeng
Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, PR China

H I G H L I G H T S G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T

• The columnar to equiaxed transition cri-

terion of single track has been accu-
rately predicted and verified.
• A finite element model with anisotropic
thermal conductivities has been
established to predict molten pool mor-
phology.
• Thermal variables of molten pool have
been studied.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technology is a complex process controlled by mass and heat transfer. It is very im-
Received 21 November 2017 portant to understand the microstructure of single track. This work predicted the single track's microstructure of
Received in revised form 31 December 2017 SLMed AlSi10Mg by calculating the thermal variables and using columnar to equiaxed transition (CET) criterion.
Accepted 11 January 2018
Firstly, a high accurate transient three-dimensional finite element model was established with anisotropic ther-
Available online 12 January 2018
mal conductivities verified by both molten pool dimensions and track surface feature. Secondly, the finite ele-
Keywords:
ment model was used to accurately predict the thermal variables, such as temperature gradient, cooling rate
Grain structure and solidification rate of the molten pool. Thirdly, a columnar to equiaxed transition criterion was established
Finite element by connecting the predicted thermal variables and experimental microstructure, the experimental results veri-
Selective laser melting fied that it can predict the microstructure of SLMed AlSi10Mg very well.
Additive manufacturing © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction transfer in the molten pool and is time-consuming to do a mass of ex-

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) aluminum alloys have attracted more
and more attentions since it can fabricate complex structure and high
accuracy components with light weight [1–3]. Now, the research inter-
est is extended to investigate the microstructure of the SLMed alumi-
num parts in order to obtain high properties [4–6]. However, the SLM
fabrication process is rather complicated controlled by mass heat
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: zhuhh@hust.edu.cn (H. Zhu).
periments with numerous measurements. Therefore, an optimized fi-
nite element method is highly efficient for the research on SLM process.
Molten pool dimensions, track surface feature and thermal evolution
during SLM process are important for understanding the solidification
behavior and predicting the microstructure. In fact, there were some
numerical models established in the past years [7–9]. The results
showed that the dimensions of the molten pool increased with laser en-
ergy [10,11]. However, the considerations of the models are different.
Loh et al. [12] investigated the molten pool dimensions and tempera-
ture change with consideration of volume shrinkage and evaporation

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2018.01.022
0264-1275/© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
320 S. Liu et al. / Materials and Design 142 (2018) 319–328

of powder layer. Yuan P. et al. [13] compared the differences of the molten (continued)
pool shape with and without consideration of Marangoni effect, and Nomenclature
found that with the presence of Marangoni effect, the molten pool was
σSB Stefan-Boltzmann coefficient, 5.67 × 10−8 W/(m2 °C4)
in a wide and shallow shape, while the molten pool turned into a ε emissivity
narrower but deeper configuration without Marangoni effect. Xia M. η laser penetration depth, m
et al. [14] found that an optimal layer thickness existed because a reason- P laser power, W
able surface tension tended to spread the molten liquid with a steady ve- r radial distance from a point to the center of the laser beam, m
φ porosity
locity, leading to the formation of a flat surface of the component. In Qiu
V scanning speed, m/s
et al.'s [15] study, a melt flow dynamics numerical model was developed Vs solidification rate, m/s
to explain the variation of surface features under different processing con- α angle between the scanning direction and the local maximum heat flow
ditions. It drew a conclusion that the samples had a large processing win- direction
dow with low porosity (b1%), with a high laser power and a low powder G temperature gradient, °C/m
n power index of the temperature gradient
layer thickness. However, these studies did not link the simulated results Cst criterion of CET line
with the microstructure formed in SLM process. Furthermore, these stud- i, j, k unit vectors of the melting direction
ies utilized isotropic physical properties. Among these properties, thermal T_ cooling rate, °C/s
conductivity has the significant effect on the molten pool dimensions. δW molten pool width error, %
Kamara A. M. et al. [16] found that using anisotropic thermal conductivity δD molten pool depth error, %
EW average experimental molten pool width, m
to simulate could effectively improve the precision of molten pool dimen-
ED average experimental molten pool depth, m
sions in the deposition of nickel alloys. NW numerical molten pool width, m
In recent years, predicting the microstructure on the basis of the sim- ND numerical molten pool depth, m
ulated results in SLM process has been obtained attentions. Liu et al. [17] θ included angle of the track surface, °
established a quantitative semi-empirical method by using Rosenthal
model and used it to predict the texture of the epitaxial columnar grains A three-dimensional non-equilibrium model was developed and the
grown from polycrystal metal base plates in the SLM process. López commercial FE software ANSYS was utilized. Fig. 1(a) shows the sche-
et al. [18] used a Cellular Automata-Finite Element for solidification matic diagram process of SLM which depicts melting, solidification,
grain structures to simulate the nucleation and growth of grain structures phase transformation and interactions between the laser beam and
in the SLM process. However, the prediction based on Rosenthal model is powder particles [20,21]. During the process, thermal conduction is
only a rough approximation as the transverse cross-sections of the molten the most influential factor in molten pool. However, the heat losses
pool keep semicircle. The cellular automata model and finite element caused by convention and radiation should also be taken into account,
model are two representative groups of numerical simulation. Running in order to make a correct description of the thermal behavior. Fig. 1
these complex united models well is complicated and time-consuming. (b) shows a three-dimensional FE meshing model of track melting dur-
Columnar to equiaxed transition (CET) is an important microstruc- ing SLM. A single 0.02 mm AlSi10Mg powder layer was evenly distrib-
ture transition prediction in the thermal process [19]. First, this paper uted covering on the metal base plate. The heat input model was
simulated the molten pool dimensions, track surface feature and the founded of a body Gaussion heat source and the distribution of laser in-
thermal evolution of SLMed AlSi10Mg with adopting anisotropic ther- tensity was an exponential decay. A program was written based on
mal conductivity. Then, the prediction microstructure using CET was ANSYS parametric design language to simulate the laser process. As
performed and was validated by an experiment. shown in the Fig. 1(b) the laser scan area on the AlSi10Mg powder
bed has a length of 2.4 mm, a width of 0.72 mm and a thickness of
2. Finite element modeling 0.02 mm. The metal base plate of 2024 aluminum alloy with the dimen-
sions of 3 mm × 1.32 mm × 0.6 mm which was meshed graduated from
2.1. Physical description of the model 0.02 mm to a bigger size. Solid element SOLID 70 and surface element
SURF 152 were adopted in this model.

2.2. Governing equations

Nomenclature

A laser absorptivity of powder The governing equation for heat transfer in this nonlinear transient
c specific heat capacity, J/(kg °C) process can be expressed as follows [10,22]:
H enthalpy, J/m3
hc coefficient of heat convection, W/(m2 °C)



∂T ∂ ∂T ∂ ∂T ∂ ∂T
k thermal conductivity, W/(m °C) ρc ¼ kxx þ kyy þ kzz þQ ð1Þ
kxx thermal conductivity of X direction, W/(m °C) ∂t ∂x ∂x ∂y ∂y ∂z ∂z
kyy thermal conductivity of Y direction, W/(m °C)
kzz thermal conductivity of Z direction, W/(m °C) where ρ and c are the material density (kg/m3) and the specific heat ca-
knn thermal conductivity of different direction, W/(m °C)
kp thermal conductivity of powder bed, W/(m °C)
pacity (J/kg °C), respectively. T is the temperature (°C). kxx, kyy and kzz
ks thermal conductivity of solid phase, W/(m °C) are the thermal conductivity (W/m °C) of X, Y and Z axis direction. Q
λxx enhancement factor of thermal conductivity in the X direction is heat generation per unit volume (W/m3).
λyy enhancement factor of thermal conductivity in the Y direction The ambient temperature (T0) distribution of the environment dur-
λzz enhancement factor of thermal conductivity in the Z direction
ing SLM process was considered as 25 °C.
ρ material density, kg/m3
ρp powder phase of material density, kg/m3
ρs solid phase of material density, kg/m3 Tðx; y; z;Þt¼0 ¼ T0 ð2Þ
T temperature of the powder system, °C
T0 ambient temperature, °C
Tm melting temperature, °C The thermal boundary conditions on the free surface can be de-
Q heat generation per volume, W/m3 scribed as following:
x,y,z coordinates, m
N normal vector
∂T  
q heat flux, W/m3 knn ¼ qðx; y; z; t;Þ þ hc ðT−T0 Þ þ σ SB ε T4 −T0 4 ð3Þ
∂N
 S. Liu et al. / Materials and Design 142 (2018) 319–328 321

2.4. AlSi10Mg physical properties

Two phases of AlSi10Mg in this simulation were considered:

powder phase and solid phase. The density of AlSi10Mg changes
according to different phases and variations in temperature during the
SLM process.

ρp ¼ ð1−φÞ ρs ð5Þ

where φ is the porosity of AlSi10Mg powders. ρs is the AlSi10Mg density

of solid phase while ρp is the powder phase [23].
The thermal conductivity of AlSi10Mg powder in this model was
considered to be 1% of the solid thermal conductivity, as refer to
Eq. (6) [24].
 
kp ; TbTm 0:01  ks ; TbTm
k¼ ¼ ð6Þ
ks ; T ≥Tm ks ; T≥Tm

where Tm is the melting temperature. kp and ks represent the thermal

conductivity of powder phase and solid phase, respectively. Fig. 2
shows thermal conductivity of the as-used material AlSi10Mg (solid
phase ks and powder phase kp) and the metal base plate material
Al2024 (solid phase ks) [25]. Using anisotropic thermal conductivity to
simulate could effectively improve the precision of molten pool dimen-
sions, as refer to Eq. (7) [16].

kxx ¼ λxx ∙k kyy ¼ λyy ∙k; kzz ¼ λzz ∙k ð7Þ

where λxx, λyy and λzz are the enhancement factors of k, which are
depended on the temperature. The depending temperature and numer-
ical value of λxx, λyy and λzz were obtained by experiment, as refer to
Eq. (8).
(
λxx ¼ λyy ¼ λzz ¼ 1; T1 b750 ° C
Fig. 1. (a) Schematic diagram of thermal behavior of powder bed under laser irradiation ð8Þ
(b) Finite element model. λxx ¼ λyy ¼ 1; λzz ¼ 15; T1 ≥750 ° C

To define the latent heat, the enthalpy was expressed as a function of

temperature [26]:
where N is the normal vector of the surfaces which are attached to im-
Z
pose heat fluxes, convection and radiation. knn is the thermal conductiv- T
H¼ ρcdT ð9Þ
ity of different direction. q is heat flux from high-temperature area T0
conduct to low-temperature area. hc is convective heat transfer coeffi-
cient. σSB and ε are the coefficients of Stefan-Boltzmann and the emis- where c is the specific heat capacity and ρ is the AlSi10Mg density of
sivity of the powder bed. solid phase or the powder phase with change of the temperature.

3. The columnar to equiaxed transition (CET)

2.3. Gaussian heat source mode
As Fig. 3 shows, columnar grains in the molten pool grow
When a porous material has interacted with the laser, the laser pen- epitaxially from the metal base plate and the incremental growth
etration depth (η) of the powder layer should be taken into account. In of grains for every time step modifies the local directions and
this model, the laser penetration depth of AlSi10Mg powder was velocities.
regarded as one thickness of powder layer 0.02 mm. The Gaussian Fig. 3(a) shows the illustration of the orthogonal of X and Z coordi-
heat source was represented as: nates in the calculations. V is the maximum solidification rate which is
equal to the scanning speed, Vs is the local solidification rate, e.g., Vs is
 
 the speed along the normal direction of solid/liquid interface on the
2AP x2 þ y2 jz j trailing side of the molten pool moving at steady state. α is the angle be-
qðx; y; zÞ ¼ exp −2 exp − ð4Þ
πr2 η r2 η tween V and Vs.
The cooling rate T_ determines the grain size during the
where P is the laser power, r is laser beam radius corresponding to the solidification and the grain shape is determined by the value of
_ the temperature gradient G and
Gn /Vs. Hence, the cooling rate T,
distance between the beam center and the point. A is laser energy ab-
sorptivity (0.60) of a material affected by the wavelength of the laser the solidification rate Vs are the main factors that influence the
and it was measured by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (the method microstructure during solidification. Where Vs can be calculated by
was shown in Section 4.1). η is the laser penetration depth of AlSi10Mg Eq. (10):
powder. The laser energy density reduced to both horizontal direction
_
Vs ¼ T=G ð10Þ
and depth direction at the center of the laser spot [20].
322 S. Liu et al. / Materials and Design 142 (2018) 319–328
Fig. 2. Thermal physical properties of AlSi10Mg (the as-used material) and Al2024 (the material of metal base plate): thermal conductivity of AlSi10Mg (solid phase ks and powder phase
kp) and Al2024 (solid phase ks) (a); specific heat capacity of AlSi10Mg and Al2024 (b).
The CET model considers the competition between the columnar
and equiaxed, and Fig. 3 shows the CET line between the two types of
grains. The Gn/Vs ratio proposes a simpler criterion for the transition,
which is calculated by;
Gn =Vs ¼ Cst
where Cst is the criterion of CET line and n is the power index of the
temperature gradient. For Gn/Vs = Cst, the CET transition will happen.
4. Experimental procedures
4.1. Powder materials
The powder used in this study was the gas atomized AlSi10Mg pow-
der with a particle size of 15–53 μm and an average diameter of 41.1 μm
produced by Hengji Powder Technology China. The particle size was
measured using Malvern UK 3000. The scanning electron microscopy
(SEM) image of AlSi10Mg powder (Fig. 4) shows that it is almost spher-
ical in shape, and contains significant numbers of satellites.
The laser absorptivity of AlSi10Mg powders was measured using a
diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). DRS was carried out in the
800–2500 nm wavelength range using a Fourier Transform Infrared
Spectrometer (FT-IR, Vertex 70). KBr powders were used to measure
the 0% reflectance and internal attenuators were used to remove back-
ground and noise [1]. The AlSi10Mg powders were placed in a metal
container (maximum depth was 13 mm, the diameter was 14 mm) for
the DRS measurement. Fig. 5 shows the result of DRS measurement,
the intersection of the red dashed line and the blue solid line is the
laser absorptivity of AlSi10Mg powder (0.60).
4.2. Processing and characterization
The experiments were carried out on a self-developed SLM machine.
A continuous wave IPG YLR-200 fiber laser (λ = 1.07 μm) with a maxi-
mum laser power of 200 W, a chamber with atmosphere control and a
powder delivery system makes up the system. The diameter of laser
Fig. 3. The beginning of the solidification on longitudinal cross-section (a) and transverse
cross-section (b).
spot size is about 100 μm. The process was carried out under the
argon atmosphere with the concentrations of H2O and O2 both con-
trolled below 50 ppm. A 2024 aluminum alloy base plate with dimen-
sions 140 mm × 140 mm × 35 mm was used as the building platform
that was grit-blasted with alumina.
ð11Þ The influence of laser power and scanning speed on a single track
was investigated in both simulation and experimental trials in this
paper with keeping the layer thickness constant. The process parame-
ters are shown in Table 1.
The SLMed samples used for metallographic inspection were
grinded and polished according to standard procedures and etched
using Keller's reagent (the solution consisting of 95 ml distilled water,
2.5 ml HNO3, 1.5 ml HCl, 1 ml HF). The microstructure was character-
ized using a Nikon EPIPHOT 300 optical microscope (OM). The crystallo-
graphic morphology of samples was investigated using electron
backscattered diffraction (EBSD). The molten pool morphology was
evaluated as Fig. 6 by image processing of 4 cross-sectional optical mi-
crographs using the Image-Pro Plus 6.0 software. The average experi-
mental molten pool width (EW, μm) and depth (ED, μm) were
calculated. Meanwhile, the melting temperature line of numerical sim-
ulation thermal field was regarded as the molten pool boundary so that
the numerical molten pool width (NW, μm) and depth (ND, μm) could
be obtained. The molten pool width error (δW, %) and depth error (δD,
%) between experimental results and numerical results were expressed
Fig. 4. SEM image of the starting powders.
 S. Liu et al. / Materials and Design 142 (2018) 319–328 323

Fig. 6. Schematic diagram to illustrate the sizes of molten pool.

Fig. 5. The laser absorptivity of AlSi10Mg powder.
value of θ, which is the average of four measurements, is 34.965°. The
as: experimental θ is in the range of 30.87° to 37.99° (Fig. 9(a)). As such,
 
   the simulated value agrees with the experimental value very well.
NW−EW  
δW ¼  % δD ¼ ND−ED% ð12Þ Fig. 10 is the comparison of θ between the experimental and simu-
EW   ED 
lated results at different scanning speed with a constant laser power
of 200 W (Fig. 10(a)) and at different laser powers with constant scan-
ning speed of 600 mm/s (Fig. 10(b)). There is a good agreement be-
5. Results and discussions tween the simulated and measured values. Maximum error between
the experimental and simulated results is only 4.83% which was ob-
5.1. The molten pool dimensions tained from 2# sample, e.g., fabricated with scanning speed of 400
mm/s and laser power of 200 W. The same tendency of θ versus process
Fig. 7 shows the experimental and numerical cross-section morphol- parameters can be found from the experimental and simulated results,
ogies of the molten pool of 3# sample. Fig. 7(b) depicts the isotherm e.g., θ increases with the scanning speed and decreases with the laser
curves of numerical simulation and the bold black line presents the mol- power. This is considerably attributed to the fact that various thermal
ten pool boundary which is the AlSi10Mg melting temperature (600 environment of temperature gradient around the point that laser irradi-
°C). From Fig. 7, the experimental molten pool and numerical molten ated. With the lower scanning speed or higher laser power, the temper-
pool are obviously in a quite similar shape. ature gradient is larger and isotherm curves are intensive with a smaller
The molten pool sizes of experimental and numerical results are θ.
shown in Fig. 8. The experimental result and simulated result show
the same tendency with different process parameters, e.g., the width
(EW and NW) and depth (ED and ND) of the molten pool decrease 5.3. Thermal variables
with the increase of the scanning speed when the laser power is fixed
at 200 W (Fig. 8(a)), and increase with the laser power when the scan- _ the temper-
The numerical thermal variables, e.g., the cooling rate T,
ning speed is fixed at 600 mm/s (Fig. 8(b)). The maximum molten pool ature gradient G and the solidification rate Vs of D1–D7, W1–W6, M1–
width error (δW, %) and molten pool depth error (δD, %) which are both M4 and B1–B2 points in the molten pool were studied. W1–W6, M1–
b10%, are respectively 8.6% and 7.8%. M4 and B1–B2 are along the width direction and D1–D7 are along the
depth direction of molten pool, as shown in Fig. 11. The numerical
5.2. The track surface feature value of thermal variables of 2# sample, 3# sample and 6# sample are
shown in Figs. 12, 13, and 14 respectively.
Fig. 9(a) shows the surface feature of 3# experimental sample. The It can be seen from Figs. 12, 13 and 14, along Y direction, the cooling
ripple is almost in semicircle shape and it represents the shape of the rate of the central point which coincides with the blue point is the
isotherm curves. In order to compare with the shape of the ripple and highest, and the farther away from the blue point, the lower the cooling
isotherm curves of experimental and simulated results, an angle θ is de- rate. Along Z direction, the cooling rates of central points are the lower
fined, as shown in Fig. 9(b). θ is ripple angle which is the included angle than those of the top and bottom points due to the heat diffusion in the
of line AB and AC. Line AC is the maximum half-width of melting point central molten pool is smaller than the top and bottom points. However,
isotherm on the base plate. Line BC is perpendicular to line AC. For 3# the simulated results that the highest cooling rate is in the bottom of the
sample, the simulated θ is 34.75°. For the experimental results, the molten pool is different from the result that Gan et al. [27] and Zhang
et al. [28] indicated the highest cooling rate is in the top of the molten
Table 1 pool. This phenomenon is caused by the different materials and
Process parameters used in this study. manufacturing methods. Aluminum alloy has much larger conductivity
than NiCoCr, iron [27] and steel [28] in their solid state, which may in-
Sample no. Scanning speed (mm/s) Laser power (W)
duce large heat diffusion and cooling rate near the bottom of the molten
1# 200 200
pool. And Cheng B et al. [29] observed the highest cooling rate is in the
2# 400 200
3# 600 200 bottom region of molten pool, too. Moreover, the input energy of selec-
4# 800 200 tive laser melting is much lower than that of the laser powder blown
5# 1000 200 [27] and laser cladding [28], inducing the smaller convection and radia-
6# 600 180 tion in the top of the molten pool, as well as the smaller molten pool,
7# 600 160
which decreases the cooling rate in the top of the molten pool. In fact,
324 S. Liu et al. / Materials and Design 142 (2018) 319–328
Fig. 7. The cross-section morphology of 3# sample molten pool of experimental model (a) and numerical model (b).
Fig. 8. Comparison of molten pools dimensions' experimental result and numerical data with different scanning speeds and fixed laser power of 200 W (a) and different laser powers and
fixed scanning speed of 600 mm/s (b).
the difference between the cooling rate in the top and the bottom of the
molten pool in this paper is b17.4%.
The temperature gradient of Y direction is much higher than that of Z
direction. Along the center of symmetry of Y direction, the farther away
from the central point, the temperature gradient increases first and then
decreases. The temperature gradient of the central point is the lowest,
while the adjacent points have the highest temperature gradients. For
the Z direction, temperature gradient shows a different distribution.
The temperature gradient increases with the decreases of the depth
first and then increases. From all above, the temperature gradient of Y
direction is much higher than that of Z direction caused by the different
Fig. 9. Comparison of track surface feature of 3# sample of experimental sample (a) and
numerical data (b).
laser Gaussian attenuations (the defocusing distance is negative).
Meanwhile, the temperature gradient of point D2 is higher than that
of point D1, because D2 is the point on the interface of powder-solid
and there is heat dissipation effect of D1. In the bottom of the molten
pool, the temperature changes sharply in the vicinity of the molten
pool, leading the temperature gradient is the highest in the Z direction
[27,28].
The solidification rate Vs in the Z direction is higher than that of Y di-
rection due to the defocusing distance of the laser is negative and the
laser beam imposes higher power density along Z direction than Y di-
rection [6] while the points (blue points) in the middle of the molten
pool show the highest values in the Y direction.
It can be seen from #2 sample (Fig. 12) and #3 sample (Fig. 13), the
cooling rate increases, the temperature gradient decreases and the so-
lidification rate increases with the increase of scanning speed when
the laser power fixed at 200 W due to the input laser energy decreased
in the molten pool. While Figs. 13 and 14 are comparison of #3 sample
and #6 sample at different laser powers with a constant scanning speed
of 600 mm/s. The cooling rate and the temperature gradient decreases,
while the solidification rate almost the decreases with decrease of laser
power when the scanning speed fixed at 600 mm/s due to the decrease
of laser power decreases the laser energy input in the molten pool. The
variation tendencies of thermal variables are similar to the results which
Li. et al. [10] had presented.
5.4. Fabricating the CET criterion
The grain shape maps of 4#, 3# and 2# sample are shown in Fig. 15.
The molten pool zones are surrounded by yellow dash dot line and the
 S. Liu et al. / Materials and Design 142 (2018) 319–328 325

Fig. 10. Comparison of ripple angles (θ) of experimental result and numerical data with different scanning speeds and fixed laser power of 200 W (a) and different laser powers and fixed
scanning speed of 600 mm/s (b).

middle of the molten pool of 3# sample (Fig. 15(b)) is much smaller

than that of 2# sample (Fig. 15(c)). Actually, the grain distributions of
4#–7# samples are similar to the 4# sample which does not form a typ-
ical transition of columnar to equiaxed. Hence, columnar to equiaxed
transition maybe related to laser energy density while with low laser
energy density (4#–7# samples) CET will not happen.
From Fig. 13, CET occurred in the upper-middle of the molten pool of
3# sample. The thermal variables in Fig. 13 shows of D3 has the lowest
the temperature gradient and maximum solidification rate in the mol-
ten pool of 3# sample, hence, the CET is easy to happen. While, the
CET happens in the middle of the molten pool of 2# sample. There are
reasons to explain this phenomenon. Firstly, molten pool center was a
relatively closed area which was surrounded by high temperature, and
the thermal conductivity of liquid aluminum alloy was relatively low
which created a poor cooling condition, so the temperature gradient
was low. Then, due to the low temperature gradient and high solidifica-
tion rate, it was easy to form equiaxed grains zone.
The solidification of columnar and equiaxed, depending on the Gn/Vs
ratio values at the solid-liquid interface [30].

8 n
< G =Vs bCst; Equiaxed grains
Gn =V ¼ Cst; CET takes place ð13Þ
: n s
G =Vs NCst; Columnar grains
Fig. 11. The definition of various points under study in molten pool.

where Cst is the criterion of CET line and n is the power index of the
equiaxed grains zones are surrounded by the white dot line. There is no temperature gradient. For Gn/Vs = Cst, the CET transition will happen.
obvious columnar to equiaxed transition in the molten pool 4# sample It can be calculated by fitting the curve and it shows the n is 4.7986,
(Fig. 15(a)), and the area of the equiaxed grains zone in the upper- Cst is 3.41 × 103.

Fig. 12. The thermal variables of 2# sample of different points of cooling rate (106 °C/S) (a), temperature gradients (°C/μm) (b) and solidification rate (106 μm/S) (c).
326 S. Liu et al. / Materials and Design 142 (2018) 319–328

Fig. 13. The thermal variables of 3# sample of different points of cooling rate (106 °C/S) (a), temperature gradients (°C/μm) (b) and solidification rate (106 μm/S) (c).

Fig. 14. The thermal variables of 6# sample of different points of cooling rate (106 °C/S) (a), temperature gradients (°C/μm) (b) and solidification rate (106 μm/S) (c).

The relationship of simulated G and Vs of the points at equiaxed grains If the Gn/Vs ratio values agree with the Eq. (14), the CET will take
area boundary (Fig. 15(b) and (c)) is shown in Fig. 16. Rewriting the place.
Eq. (13):

8 5.5. Verification
< Gb5:43VS 0:1945 ; Equiaxed grains
G ¼ 5:43VS 0:1945 ; CET takes place ð14Þ In order to verify the feasibility of CET criterion, the thermal vari-
:
GN5:43VS 0:1945 ; Columnar grains ables of #1 sample were extracted in Fig. 17. The change trends of

Fig. 15. The grain maps of 4# sample (a), 3# sample (b) and 2# sample (c) measured by EBSD technology.
 S. Liu et al. / Materials and Design 142 (2018) 319–328
Fig. 16. The fitting curve between temperature gradient and solidification rate.
thermal variables of different points in the molten pool are similar to
that of #2 sample, #3 sample and #6 sample. Through Eq. (14), it can
be calculated that D3, D4, D5 and D6 were in the equiaxed grains zone
while the other points were in the columnar grains zone (Fig. 18). The
experimental grain map of #1 sample measured by EBSD technology
is shown in Fig. 18 and it makes good agreement with the prediction.
6. Conclusions
According to the investigations, conclusions can be summarized
below:
(1) A columnar to equiaxed transition criterion was established by
connecting the predicted thermal variables and experimental
microstructure. The experimental results can predict the micro-
structure of SLMed AlSi10Mg very well.
(2) A high accurate transient three-dimensional finite element
model of single track was established with anisotropic thermal
conductivities. The maximum errors of molten pool dimensions
and ripple angles of simulated results and experimental data
are 8.6% and 4.83%, respectively.
(3) The cooling rate and the solidification rate increase, the temper-
ature gradient decreases with the increase of the scanning speed.
The cooling rate, temperature gradient and solidification rate de-
crease with the decrease of laser power.
(4) The cooling rate and solidification rate of central point along the
Y direction are the highest, and the farther away from the central
Fig. 17. The thermal variables of 1# sample of different points of cooling rate (106 °C/S) (a), temperature gradients (°C/μm) (b) and solidification rate (106 μm/S) (c).
327
Fig. 18. The grain map of 1# sample measured by EBSD technology.
point, the lower the cooling rate and solidification rate. While,
the temperature gradient of the central point along Y direction
is the lowest, while the adjacent points have the highest temper-
ature gradients. Along the center of symmetry of Y direction, the
farther from the central point, the temperature gradient in-
creases first and then decreases. Along the Z direction, the
cooling rates and temperature gradients of the central points
are lower than the top and bottom points while solidification
rates are opposite.
Acknowledgments
This research is supported by the National Natural Science Founda-
tion of China (61475056, 61575074), the National Program on Key Basic
Research Project of China (613281), and the Shanghai Foundation for
Aerospace Science and Technology Innovation (No. pb (JS)-F-2016-
072). The Authors also thank the Analytical and Testing Center of
HUST for the SEM and EBSD analysis.
328 S. Liu et al. / Materials and Design 142 (2018) 319–328
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