Laser Scan Path Design for Controlled Microstructure in Additive Manufacturing with Integrated Reduced-Order Phase-Field Modeling and Deep Reinforcement Learning

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Hauptverfasser: Twumasi, Augustine, Roy, Prokash Chandra, Li, Zixun, Bhattacharjee, Soumya Shouvik, Gan, Zhengtao
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Twumasi, Augustine
Roy, Prokash Chandra
Li, Zixun
Bhattacharjee, Soumya Shouvik
Gan, Zhengtao
author_facet Twumasi, Augustine
Roy, Prokash Chandra
Li, Zixun
Bhattacharjee, Soumya Shouvik
Gan, Zhengtao
contents Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is a widely recognized additive manufacturing technology for producing intricate metal components with exceptional accuracy. A key challenge in L-PBF is the formation of complex microstructures affecting product quality. We propose a physics-guided, machine-learning approach to optimize scan paths for desired microstructure outcomes, such as equiaxed grains. We utilized a phase-field method (PFM) to model crystalline grain structure evolution. To reduce computational costs, we trained a surrogate machine learning model, a 3D U-Net convolutional neural network, using single-track phase-field simulations with various laser powers to predict crystalline grain orientations based on initial microstructure and thermal history. We investigated three scanning strategies across various hatch spacings within a square domain, achieving a two-orders-of-magnitude speedup using the surrogate model. To reduce trial and error in designing laser scan toolpaths, we used deep reinforcement learning (DRL) to generate optimized scan paths for target microstructure. Results from three cases demonstrate the DRL approach's effectiveness. We integrated the surrogate 3D U-Net model into our DRL environment to accelerate the reinforcement learning training process. The reward function minimizes both aspect ratio and grain volume of the predicted microstructure from the agent's scan path. The reinforcement learning algorithm was benchmarked against conventional zigzag approach for smaller and larger domains, showing machine learning methods' potential to enhance microstructure control and computational efficiency in L-PBF optimization.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_21815
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Laser Scan Path Design for Controlled Microstructure in Additive Manufacturing with Integrated Reduced-Order Phase-Field Modeling and Deep Reinforcement Learning
Twumasi, Augustine
Roy, Prokash Chandra
Li, Zixun
Bhattacharjee, Soumya Shouvik
Gan, Zhengtao
Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
Machine Learning
Optimization and Control
Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is a widely recognized additive manufacturing technology for producing intricate metal components with exceptional accuracy. A key challenge in L-PBF is the formation of complex microstructures affecting product quality. We propose a physics-guided, machine-learning approach to optimize scan paths for desired microstructure outcomes, such as equiaxed grains. We utilized a phase-field method (PFM) to model crystalline grain structure evolution. To reduce computational costs, we trained a surrogate machine learning model, a 3D U-Net convolutional neural network, using single-track phase-field simulations with various laser powers to predict crystalline grain orientations based on initial microstructure and thermal history. We investigated three scanning strategies across various hatch spacings within a square domain, achieving a two-orders-of-magnitude speedup using the surrogate model. To reduce trial and error in designing laser scan toolpaths, we used deep reinforcement learning (DRL) to generate optimized scan paths for target microstructure. Results from three cases demonstrate the DRL approach's effectiveness. We integrated the surrogate 3D U-Net model into our DRL environment to accelerate the reinforcement learning training process. The reward function minimizes both aspect ratio and grain volume of the predicted microstructure from the agent's scan path. The reinforcement learning algorithm was benchmarked against conventional zigzag approach for smaller and larger domains, showing machine learning methods' potential to enhance microstructure control and computational efficiency in L-PBF optimization.
title Laser Scan Path Design for Controlled Microstructure in Additive Manufacturing with Integrated Reduced-Order Phase-Field Modeling and Deep Reinforcement Learning
topic Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
Machine Learning
Optimization and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.21815