A Review on Discrete Element Method Simulation in Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a popular metal additive manufacturing technique. Generally, the materials employed for LPBF are discrete and particulate metal matters. Thus, the discontinuous behaviors exhibited by the powder materials cannot be simulated solely using conventional continuum-based computational approaches, such as finite-element or finite-difference methods. The discrete element method (DEM) is a proven numerical method to model discrete matter, such as powder particles, by tracking the motion and temperature of individual particles. Recently, DEM simulation has gained popularity in LPBF studies. However, it has not been widely applied. This study reviews the existing applications of DEM in LPBF processing, such as powder spreading and fusion. A review of the existing literature indicates that DEM is a promising approach in the study of the kinetic and thermal fluid behaviors of powder particles in LPBF additive manufacturing.