Review on modeling techniques for powder bed fusion processes based on physical principles

Powder bed fusion is one of the most common types of additive manufacturing processes using granular materials. In this field, improvements in the processing of materials and process repeatability with desired part quality are needed to allow the implementation of powder bed fusion process at full scale across various industrial sectors. The microstructure and the thermo-mechanical properties of the components vary according to the process parameters adopted in the manufacturing process. Physically accurate modeling of the powder bed fusion process can play a vital role in the qualification of components and materials and also can help in predicting the experimental observations. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review on the state of the art referred to numerical simulation of powder bed fusion, by covering both mesh based approaches such as finite element modeling, finite volume modeling and mesh free methods such as the discrete element modeling, the lattice Boltzmann method, the optimal transportation method and the smoothed particle hydrodynamics approach. Combined approaches of different methods are discussed as well. A case study comparing two different types of models for a similar type of problem has been provided. Moreover, means of experimental techniques used to validate the numerical models are briefly discussed.