Abstract
This article deals with the theoretical issues of the formation of a melt pool during the process of direct laser deposition. The shape and size of the pool depends on many parameters, such as the speed and power of the process, the optical and physical properties of the material, and the powder consumption. On the other hand, the influence of the physical processes occurring in the material on one another is significant: for instance, the heating of the powder and the substrate by laser radiation, or the formation of the free surface of the melt, taking into account the Marangoni effect. This paper proposes a model for determining the size of the melt bath, developed in a one-dimensional approximation of the boundary layer flow. The dimensions and profile of the surface and bottom of the melt pool are obtained by solving the problem of convective heat transfer. The influence of the residual temperature from the previous track, as well as the heat from the heated powder of the gas-powder jet, taking into account its spatial distribution, is considered. The simulation of the size and shape of the melt pool, as well as its free surface profile for different alloys, is performed with 316 L steel, Inconel 718 nickel alloy, and VT6 titanium alloy.