KiSSAM: efficient simulation of melt pool dynamics during PBF using GPUs

The computer simulation of powder bed fusion (PBF) with an electron beam (EB) source at the mesoscale is relevant since the simulation output can be used to estimate solidified material properties and predict possible defects. A high-fidelity simulation with high resolution is computationally heavy, which is why 3D simulations of multilayered samples are rarely used in engineering tasks. We developed the simulation package for additive manufacturing (KiSSAM) that implements the known mathematical models in 3D on a GPU with high performance. KiSSAM includes an implementation of lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) optimized for a GPU; a dynamic mesh for the melt pool; an adaptive mesh for the heat solver; a GPU-powered ray tracer and Monte-Carlo scattering solver for beam absorption, and a high-performance DEM solver for powder particle deposition. All aspects of PBF are implemented with optimized algorithms, so the results of the simulation can be obtained in a few hours. In this paper, we demonstrate the applications of the software for PBF-EB simulation tasks.