Implementation of a Thermomechanical Model in Diablo for the Simulation of Selective Laser Melting

Modeling of selective laser melting requires consideration of both heat transfer and solid mechanics. The present work describes continuum modeling of SLM as envisioned for eventually supporting part-scale modeling of this fabrication process to determine end-state information such as residual stress and distortion. The determination of the evolving temperatures is dependent on the state of the material (powder or solid), the specified heating, the value of each of the constitutive parameters, and the configuration. Similarly, the current mechanical configuration is dependent on the temperatures, the powder-solid state, and the values of the constitutive parameters. A multi-mechanics formulation is required to properly describe such problems. The current report describes the problem formulation, numerical method, and constitutive parameters necessary to solve such a problem. Additionally, various verification and example problems are presented to illustrate the Diablo implementation.