Title: Simulation and analysis of pore evolution in 316L stainless steel formed by PBF.LB with laser remelting post-treatment

Authors: Zhiwen Li; Yonghong Zhu; Xin Chen; Yanping Miao; Jieyong Deng; Wei Wei

Addresses: School of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Jingdezhen Ceramic University, No. 27, Taoyang South Road, Zhushan District, Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province, China ' School of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Jingdezhen Ceramic University, No. 27, Taoyang South Road, Zhushan District, Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province, China ' Wuhan Business University, Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, No. 816, Dongfeng Avenue, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China ' School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangxi Technical College of Manufacturing, No. 318, Ziyang Avenue, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, China ' School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangxi Technical College of Manufacturing, No. 318, Ziyang Avenue, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, China ' School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangxi Technical College of Manufacturing, No. 318, Ziyang Avenue, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, China

Abstract: In the process of laser-based powder bed fusion (PBF.LB), pore defects can seriously affect the quality of formed parts. In this paper, the effectiveness of laser remelting to eliminate the pore defects of PBF.LB formed parts were analysed experimentally. It was found that the porosity of PBF.LB formed parts decreased from 2.15% to 0.65% after laser remelting. Based on the level set method, a numerical simulation of a multi-physics field finite element model was established to conduct a detailed analysis of the mechanism of pore evolution during laser remelting. It is found that the pore evolution is significantly affected by the Marangoni effect at the micro scale. Affected by the Marangoni effect, the porosity does not rise vertically during the evolution process, but moves to the tail area of the molten pool during the rising process. The essence of pore evolution is fluid mass transfer. [Submitted 4 December 2024; Accepted 13 August 2025]

Keywords: additive manufacturing; process of laser-based powder bed fusion; PBF.LB; pore evolution; 316L stainless steel; laser remelting; Marangoni effect.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMR.2026.154546

International Journal of Manufacturing Research, 2026 Vol.20 No.2, pp.131 - 151

Received: 04 Dec 2024
Accepted: 13 Aug 2025
Published online: 03 Jul 2026 *

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