Discrete Element Method (DEM) Model Calibration Techniques for Additive Manufacturing
Open Access
- Author:
- Meihofer, Kristen Nicole
- Area of Honors:
- Industrial Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Sanjay Joshi, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Catherine Mary Harmonosky, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Additive Manufacturing
Powder Bed Fusion
Calibration
Discrete Element Method
DEM
Design of Experiments
Angle of Repose
Shear Modulus
Scaling - Abstract:
- Powder bed fusion is a commonly used Additive Manufacturing technique. This technique uses a layer-by-layer approach to create the desired part in 3D printing, where the layers are created by spreading a thin layer of powder. The ability to simulate this process would give scientists the opportunity to visualize this process before printing the part, allowing them to best utilize the capabilities of powder bed fusion. Spreading of the powder to create the layer to be fused is the first step in the process, and the quality of the layer can impact the building of the part. The overall goal of this research is to investigate the use of simulation models for the spreading of the powder. However, before this simulation is possible, the required simulation inputs must be understood, and the model calibrated. Calibration of the simulation models is the focus of this research. The simulation inputs are based on the powder used in the process. Powder characterization tests are run to understand properties about the powder. One of the most common, due to its simplicity, is the angle of repose test. This paper develops an efficient calibration model for the simulation of the angle of repose test using the discrete element method. The discrete element method (DEM) is the basis to calculate how the particles react when they collide with other particles or equipment. A commercial DEM software, EDEM, is used to simulate the DEM for this experiment. This calibration technique efficiently calibrates the input variables associated with the angle of repose test. Future research can apply this technique to ultimately calibrate a simulation for powder spreading in the powder bed fusion process.