Saturation pressure of nonequilibrium titanium evaporation during additive manufacturing by electron powder bed fusion

Abstract

Electron beam powder bed fusion (E-PBF) is an attractive technology for the additive manufacturing of metal parts. However, process improvements require precise control of the energy transferred to the powder by the electron beam. Here, we used tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TD-LAS) to measure the velocity distribution functions of titanium atoms evaporated during E-PBF. The narrow spectral ranges emitted by laser diodes allow for high-resolution absorption profiles of the evaporated atoms and thus accurate determinations of their Doppler broadening, density, and temperature during melting. The obtained vapor temperature reveals overheating at the surface of the melt pool relative to the low-pressure (0.1 Pa) boiling point of titanium, indicating that evaporation occurs under nonequilibrium conditions. We characterized the influence of the linear energy density on titanium evaporation and found it to be consistent with the saturation vapor pressure. Our characterization of the vapor properties provides reliable inputs for melt pool simulations. Furthermore, TD-LAS may be further exploited to prevent the evaporation of low-concentration alloy elements, which can induce defects in the printed part.