Advanced Thermal Management Strategy for Arc-Based Directed Energy Deposition Assisted by Numerical Modelling

Arc-based Directed Energy Deposition (DED-Arc) offers major industrial potential due to its versatile application possibilities and attractive advantages, such as the flexible, time-efficient near-net-shape manufacturing of large-volume components. However, there are obstacles to overcome, such as the complex thermal history, which limits process stability, component quality, and process efficiency. Therefore, establishing this technology in industry requires solutions capable of monitoring and managing temperature fields. In this context, the focus is increasingly shifting toward real-time-capable, physically based digital solution frameworks. Current efforts primarily emphasize monitoring, simulation, or trial-and-error methods. There is a lack of direct coupling between energy-temperature metrics, standardized analyses and classifications, and effective process optimizations, including adaptive control strategies and design foundations for advanced thermal management. This work aims to strategically analyze and classify the coupled data from an industrial-grade digital shadow (DS) and numerical modeling. Based on this, targeted optimization measures and process control indicators are identified to enable advanced thermal management. To achieve this, a novel thermal optimization strategy (TOS) was developed to optimize the thermal process of an exemplary tube geometry. Optimizations in path planning, interlayer temperature (ILT) profiles, and temperature change rates were detected and addressed with specific countermeasures. An analysis of the heat balance revealed specific temperature and heat flow gradients providing input for targeted cooling actions. The results highlight the benefits of a coupled monitoring-simulation-control architecture, which eliminates process errors early, enhances thermal stability and control, and optimizes process efficiency.     «

Arc-based Directed Energy Deposition (DED-Arc) offers major industrial potential due to its versatile application possibilities and attractive advantages, such as the flexible, time-efficient near-net-shape manufacturing of large-volume components. However, there are obstacles to overcome, such as the complex thermal history, which limits process stability, component quality, and process efficiency. Therefore, establishing this technology in industry requires solutions capable of monitoring and...     »