SIMULATION OF 3D VOLUME FILLING WITH NON-SPHERICAL AND SPHERICAL TITANIUM ALLOY POWDER PARTICLES FOR ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

Abstract

The authors developed an approach to modeling the layer-by-layer filling of a particular 3D volume with a combination of non-spherical and spherical powder particles of different fractional composition. A mathematical model of the problem of packing regular and irregular freely moving objects is provided using the phi-function technique. A heuristic algorithm that uses nonlinear optimization is proposed for calculating packing density factor/porosity. The results of numerical modeling are compared with experimental data obtained for a mixture of spherical and polyhedral powders of titanium alloys. It is established that the relative frequencies obtained by the developed algorithm correspond to the experimental results with high accuracy. This indicates the possibility of using numerical modeling results instead of costly experimental studies. The use of mathematical modeling and optimization techniques in additive manufacturing makes it possible to improve the efficiency of each stage of the technological process, reduce the number of defective products, and rationally plan the consumption of energy and material resources. Keywords: packing, spherical and non-spherical particles, 3D volume, mathematical modeling, nonlinear optimization, additive manufacturing.