| Abstract Scope |
Historically, process parameters for wire arc DED have been found in a heuristic manner for both experimental and computational efforts since process parameters are material- and geometry-dependent. However, finite element (FE) analysis can provide a low-cost, high-throughput method to simulate many process parameters. This worked utilized a sequentially coupled thermo-mechanical framework in Abaqus, using progressive element activation and the Goldak double-ellipsoidal heat source. A full-factorial design of experiments was constructed for the thermal analysis, varying the boundary conditions, material properties, time increment, mesh density and heat input. The results were post-processed to analyze the effects of each parameter on the maximum temperature and weld pool evolution at the start, middle, and end of the single-pass weld. An ANOVA test was conducted to examine relationships between process parameters (or combinations of parameters) and the nodal temperatures (at the start, middle, and end of the weld) as well as the melt-pool dimensions. |