Modelling and simulation of metal additive manufacturing processes with particle methods: A review

Abstract

The critical role that numerical simulation plays in additive manufacturing has stimulated research on the effectiveness and potential applications of mesh-free, particle-based discretisation techniques. These methods excel at handling fluid flows and are viable alternatives to the mesh-based techniques typically used in commercial simulation software. In this paper, we review recent advances in developing computational models for metal additive manufacturing (MAM) processes using particle methods, in the theoretical understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that control such processes at the powder (or melt pool) scale, and in the predictability of physics-based modelling approaches. The paper explores the applicability and performance of particle-based methods in simulating powder bed fusion, directed energy deposition, and binder jetting processes. Since the progress of MAM relies on systematic material-process-structure realisations which are often impossible to sense or observe experimentally, developing efficient particle-based and multiscale simulation tools can be essential to achieving this objective through in-situ process control and optimisation.