High speed thermal imaging and modeling of laser powder bed fusion manufactured WC–Ni cemented carbides

Abstract

Cemented carbides such as cemented tungsten carbide (WC) are known for their use in resilient wear-resistant applications where hardness and thermal stability are imperative. They are composed of carbide particles embedded in a metal binder. Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) is a favorable method to form cemented carbides into complex geometries, but composites pose unique challenges relative to metals typically processed by L-PBF. Resolving the melt pool temperature distributions in L-PBF is key to understanding the underlying physics of the fusion process. Using a two-color thermal imaging method, melt pool thermal maps of WC_0.83-Ni_0.17 were captured with linear energy densities ranging from 500–1750 J/m with and without powder. WC_0.83-Ni_0.17 melt pools exhibit temperatures above 4000 K, which can lead to the generation of other WC phases. Compared to more common L-PBF materials such as 316L stainless steel (SS), WC_0.83-Ni_0.17 melt pools reach higher temperatures. Our direct measurements find that the thermal conductivity of WC_0.83-Ni_0.17 is 30 W/m-K at 300 K, which is higher than the thermal conductivity of 316L SS and suggests that other heat transfer limitations must cause the elevated melt pool temperatures. A FLOW-3D CFD model based on the composite properties was compared to both the melt pool centerline temperatures and width measurements of the samples fabricated by L-PBF. The simulations indicate that specifying the onset of fluidity is key to reproducing the high temperatures observed experimentally. Although Ni has a melting point of 1728 K, the simulations do not match experiments unless the onset of fluidity is set at the melting point of WC (3143 K). Within FLOW-3D, the onset of fluidity is controlled by the critical solid fraction, which is a uniquely important parameter for simulating composite materials.