Influence of local thermal conditions on solidification patterns in laser beam welding: An experimentally aided phase-field study

Umar M, Elmoghazy A, Gumenyuk A, Bakir N, Schneider D, Nestler B, Rethmeier M, Schmidt M (2026)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2026

Journal

Materials & Design Elsevier

Book Volume: 267

Article Number: 116332

DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2026.116332

Abstract

Solidification cracking in laser beam welding (LBW) is governed by local thermal conditions at the weld-pool boundary, yet the sub-micron microstructural response across the full mushy zone remains poorly understood. This study employs an automated phase-field (PF) simulation workflow, integrated within the Kadi4Mat research data management platform, to conduct a systematic, FAIR-compliant parametric study of dendritic solidification in the quaternary EN 1.4301 (Fe–Cr–Ni–C) alloy. Thermal conditions—thermal gradient (G), solidification velocity (Vs), and grain misorientation angle (θR)—are extracted from a thermocouple-validated ANSYS Fluent weld-pool model and used as inputs to 2D and 3D PACE3D phase-field simulations spanning G from 100 to 900 K/mm, Vs from 5 to 40 mm/s, and θR from 0∘ to 45∘. Key findings demonstrate that θR is a critical parameter—alongside G and Vs—governing the cellular-to-dendritic morphological transition, secondary dendrite arm formation, and the topology of inter-dendritic liquid (continuous films versus isolated pockets), each carrying distinct solidification cracking risk pathways. The Kadi4Mat workflow reduces manual pre-processing effort substantially while ensuring data reproducibility and reuse. Quantitative validation against electron probe micro-analysis confirms primary dendrite arm spacing predictions within 12% at the upper weld surface and within 4% at the mid-section.

Authors with CRIS profile

Michael Schmidt Lehrstuhl für Photonische Technologien (LPT)

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität Berlin DE Germany (DE) Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) DE Germany (DE) Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Umar, M., Elmoghazy, A., Gumenyuk, A., Bakir, N., Schneider, D., Nestler, B.,... Schmidt, M. (2026). Influence of local thermal conditions on solidification patterns in laser beam welding: An experimentally aided phase-field study. Materials & Design, 267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2026.116332

MLA:

Umar, Muhammad, et al. "Influence of local thermal conditions on solidification patterns in laser beam welding: An experimentally aided phase-field study." Materials & Design 267 (2026).

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