Developing a DEM-Coupled OpenFOAM solver for multiphysics simulation of additive manufacturing process

Powder-based additive manufacturing technologies, specifically selective laser melting, are
challenging to model due to the complex, interrelated physical phenomena that are present
on multiple spatial scales, during the process. A key element of such models will be the
detailed simulation of flow and heat transfer throughout the melt pool that is formed
when the powder particles melt. Due to the high temperature gradients that are rised
inside the melt pool, Marangoni force plays a key role in governing the flows inside the
melt pool and deciding its shape and dimensions[1]. On the other hand the mass and
heat transfer between the melt and the powder also has a signifacnt role in shaping the
melt pool at the edges.
In this study we modified an OpenFOAM solver(icoReactingMultiphaseInterFoam) cou-
pled with an in-house developed DEM code known as eXtended Discrete Element Method
or XDEM which models the dynamics and thermodynamics of the particles[2]. By adding
the Marangoni force to the momentum equation and also defining a laser model as a
boundary Condition for Liquid-Gas Interface, the solver is capable of modeling selective
laser melting process from the moment of particle melting to the completion of the so-
solidified track. The coupled solver was validated with an ice-packed bed melting case and
was used to simulate a multi-track selective laser melting process.