Date of Award

12-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Committee Chair/Advisor

Dr.Huijuan Zhao

Committee Member

Dr.Garrett Pataky

Committee Member

Dr.Fei Peng

Abstract

Laser sintering of ceramics plays a vital role in advanced additive manufacturing due to its precise fabrication of complex ceramic structures, localized heating and microstructural control. It allows the production of complex and customized ceramic parts for applications such as the aerospace industry and biomedical devices. However, due to the high thermal gradients produced during the process, laser sintering technology faces fundamental challenges, such as thermal stresses and crack formation. Establishing a valid numerical model to guide the ceramic laser sintering process, which predicts the thermal and mechanical behavior of the component, is necessary.

In this work, the modified Skorohod-Olevsky Viscous Sintering (mSOVS) model considering grain growth is adopted in the finite element analysis (FEA) to simulate the laser sintering process of alumina. The mSOVS model is implemented as a creep subroutine in the FEA software ABAQUS and validated under the conventional sintering condition. The grain growth model and material parameters in the mSOVS model have been systematically investigated under stationary laser sintering conditions. Under the moving laser condition, the role of laser scanning speed in the relative density, temperature, and stress distribution in the simulation domain is discussed.

This work will offer insight into optimizing sintering process parameters for future additive manufacturing of complex ceramics structures.

Available for download on Wednesday, December 31, 2025

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