Numerical simulation of temperature field distribution for laser sintering graphene reinforced copper composites

Transient temperature field distribution is important for laser sintering graphene reinforced copper matrix composites. It is still difficult to measure the temperature field directly today. Numerical simulation was normally utilized to study the distribution of temperature field. Finite element models were employed to simulate the laser sintering of graphene and copper mixture coatings on 42CrMo base plate. The temperature distribution, the geometrical parameters of the melting pool, the width of metallurgical bonding were investigated. In order to verify simulation results, single-track experiments were performed with the same laser sintering parameters as used in simulation. It was proved that convection and radiation heat transfer, and the latent heat of phase transition play the major roles in the laser sintering process. Simulation results are consistent with experiment results under the same processing parameters. Based on simulation results, the temperature field distribution and the geometrical parameters of the melting pool can be predicted. Thus, according to these guidelines, the optimal laser sintering parameters can be decided. (authors)