Czekanski, Alex2018-11-212018-11-212018-08-142018-11-21http://hdl.handle.net/10315/35580We investigated the thermal behavior of the powder bed fusion (PBF) manufacturing process. Specifically, a finite element thermal analysis procedure was developed to simulate selective laser melting, one of several PBF processes available on the market. The primary objective was to study how selected parameters of the PBF process affect temperature distributions, since a high temperature gradient and cooling rate are associated with residual stress and deformation in the built part. Since it was difficult to devise an analytical solution for this transient thermal problem, commercially available finite element analysis software, Abaqus, was employed. Sensitivity analysis was undertaken to analyze the impact of powder diameter, packing density, and substrate temperature on the overall temperature distributions. Finally, verification and validation were performed via experimental setup and data from the literature. The samples built were characterized by residual stress measurements, porosity, and relative density to further validate the model.enAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.Mechanical engineeringElectronic Thesis or Dissertation2018-11-21Additive manufacturingSelective laser meltingDirect metal laser sinteringFinite element analysisTemperature distributionsResidual stressesEffective thermal conductivity of powdersParameter sensitivity