On the Efficacy of Linear Energy Density in Predicting Morphology and Deposition Efficiency in Laser Metal Deposition

Laser Metal Deposition (LMD), as an advanced additive manufacturing technology, enables the production of fully dense metal parts with favorable mechanical properties and the capability to fabricate complex geometries. This study presents a systematic evaluation of the efficacy of Linear Energy Density (LED) in predicting the morphology and deposition efficiency of the LMD process applied to ۳۱۶L stainless steel. Experiments were designed with systematic variation of process parameters across four levels of laser power (۴۰۰-۱۰۰۰ W) and three levels of linear energy density (۵۰-۲۰۰ J/mm). The results revealed that under constant LED conditions, the independent effects of its constituent parameters are not fully separable. The observed increase in track width with increasing laser power, even at correspondingly higher speeds, indicates the dominance of power density effects. The convergence of dimensional data at low LED values demonstrates the system's approach to the critical threshold of process stability. The significant scatter in the deposition efficiency data demonstrates that LED is an inadequate metric for its prediction. This study underscores the necessity for developing more advanced models capable of simultaneously accounting for multiple parameters and complex physical interactions.

کلیدواژه ها:

Laser Metal Deposition ، Linear Energy Density ، Deposition Morphology ، Deposition Efficiency ، ۳۱۶L Stainless Steel