About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
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Additive Manufacturing: Advanced Characterization With Synchrotron, Neutron, and In Situ Laboratory-scale Techniques IV
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| Presentation Title |
Direct Observation of Balling Defects in Laser Melting using X-ray Radiography |
| Author(s) |
Tharun Reddy, Zane Taylor, Debomita Basu, Bryan Webler, Leora Dresselhaus-Marais |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Tharun Reddy |
| Abstract Scope |
The productivity of metal additive manufacturing technologies strongly depends on laser power and scan velocity. High-power and high-scan velocity (high-PV) conditions often lead to balling defects, where material accumulates non-uniformly along melt tracks. These elevated regions and melt track discontinuities degrade part quality and cause build failures. To investigate the origin of balling, we employed synchrotron high-speed X-ray radiography to directly observe its formation during laser melting of stainless steel. We find that vapor depression morphology and solidification velocity govern the periodicity and size of these defects. Our results reveal distinct melt pool dynamics at high-PV conditions that differ significantly from previously studied regimes. These quantitative insights into an underexplored region of the PV space will inform strategies to mitigate balling and support scalability efforts. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Additive Manufacturing, Characterization, Solidification |