AccScience Publishing / MSAM / Volume 4 / Issue 3 / DOI: 10.36922/MSAM025140021
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Numerical simulation and experimental characterization of a single-seam plasma wire arc additive manufacturing process for Ti-6Al-4V

Martin Bielik1,2* ,  Erich Neubauer2 ,  Michael Kitzmantel2 ,  Ingo Neubauer3 ,  Ernst Kozeschnik1
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1 Institute of Materials Science and Technology, Faculty for Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria
2 RHP-Technology GmbH, RHP Group, Research and Technology Center, Seibersdorf, Lower Austria, Austria
3 Division of Manufacturing Intelligence, Hexagon GmbH, Hamburg, Germany
MSAM 2025, 4(3), 025140021 https://doi.org/10.36922/MSAM025140021
Received: 3 April 2025 | Accepted: 2 May 2025 | Published online: 17 June 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Arc welding processes are increasingly being used in the additive manufacturing of metal components. Physics-based modeling of welding processes enables the study of welding parameter effects on the final weld shape, residual stress state, and distortion, helping to improve weld quality and reduce costs. However, the quality of the process simulation strongly depends on the mathematical description of the heat source. The parameters of the heat source model have a significant influence on the temperature field and, consequently, on the distortion and residual stress fields. This paper presents a trial-and-error method for determining the parameters for Goldak’s double-ellipsoidal heat source model. The transient temperature distribution and the size of the melt pool are determined through experimental studies. Numerical models are then set up in Simufact Welding 8.0 with a set of heat source parameters to reproduce the experimental trials. By comparing numerical finite element results with experimental results, the heat source parameters for a multi-pass additive manufacturing process are successfully calibrated and identified.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Wire arc additive manufacturing
Finite element method
Heat source model
Melt pool
Ti6Al4V
Funding
Not applicable
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.
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Materials Science in Additive Manufacturing, Electronic ISSN: 2810-9635 Published by AccScience Publishing
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