Thermo-Mechanical Analysis of Laser Additive Manufacturing for Metals

The aim of this study is to develop a finite element analysis technique to characterize the distributions of temperature and stress in the process of multilayer deposition of metallic powders by laser additive manufacturing (LAM). Simulation results indicate the residual normal stress in the laser moving direction is greater than that in other directions due to a larger temperature gradient, and it increases with number of deposited layers. Highly residual stresses are present in the LAM build and at the base nearby the interface between the build and base.