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Application of laser technology for the spheroidisation of titanium metal powder.
Baloyi, Pincuss
Baloyi, Pincuss
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the appropriate laser power to melt and change the shape of titanium powders to a spherical one, as well as what powder range can withstand the predicted laser power. The laser was used as the heat source in this work; inert gases such as argon were not used. The research was carried out to aid in the development of a spheroidisation system. The simulation result was validated through analytical analysis for accuracy purposes. In this study, both experiments and simulations were carried out using the software packages Abaqus and OpenFOAM. Abaqus was used to handle heat transfer analyses without taking phase change into account, whereas OpenFOAM was used to simulate the deformation of the molten powders using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) multiphase flow analyses with air as the second medium since inert gases such as argon were not considered for this study. The experiment was carried out in-house using a 1 kW laser power direct energy deposition system and raw titanium powder (Ti-6Al-4V) produced by one of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) units called the Material Science and Manufacturing (MSM). The experimental results were compared to the simulation results to determine whether the laser power met the requirement. Analytical analysis was used to validate the temperature of the simulation result versus the time and capillary pressure of the molten powder droplets. Nonetheless, the study discovered that the magnitude of the laser power of the current system used for experiments is less than that determined by simulation. This is due to the limitations of the system in terms of the laser power capability. However, due to the low laser power, this resulted in a 20 percent production rate of spherical powders. The production rate can be improved only if a higher laser power were to be used. The CFD results showed that molten powder does change to a spherical shape during flight, which occurs within milliseconds after reaching the melting point. However, the geometry and porosity of this molten particle influence its deformation rate. Due to the measuring equipment's limitations, the experiment could not be finished, therefore, analytical analysis was used to fully validate the simulation result.
Description
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics and Industrial Design within the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at the Tshwane University of Technology.
Date
2023-06-01
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Tshwane University of Technology
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Pincuss Baloyi.pdf
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Keywords
Spheroidisation, OpenFoam, Laser powder
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CC0 1.0 Universal