Physics-Informed Neural Networks for Process Optimization in Laser Powder Bed Fusion of Inconel 718 Superalloy: A Data-Efficient, Physics-Constrained Machine Learning Framework

This study aimed to develop and validate a physics-informed neural network (PINN) framework for data-efficient and physically consistent process optimization in the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of Inconel 718 (IN718) superalloy. Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is widely adopted for fabricating Inconel 718 (IN718) components in aerospace and energy applications; however, navigating its high-dimensional, nonlinear process parameter space remains a central challenge. High-fidelity finite element simulations are computationally prohibitive for extensive parameter sweeps, whereas purely data-driven machine learning (ML) models are limited by data scarcity and unphysical extrapolation behavior. This study presents a physics-informed neural network (PINN) framework that embeds the transient heat conduction equation and Goldak double-ellipsoidal heat source model directly into the neural network training loss, enforcing thermophysical consistency simultaneously with data fidelity. The model was trained on a curated, multi-source dataset of LPBF IN718 parameter combinations drawn from peer-reviewed experimental studies and validated finite element simulation outputs, spanning the laser power (70–400 W), scan speed (200–2000 mm/s), hatch spacing (50–140 µm), and layer thickness (20–50 µm). The PINN predicted the melt pool width, depth, peak temperature, and relative density with mean absolute percentage errors (MAPE) of 3.8%, 4.7%, 3.1%, and 1.9%, respectively, outperforming a baseline artificial neural network (ANN) with an identical architecture. The framework correctly identified the optimal volumetric energy density (VED) window of 55–105 J/mm3, yielding relative densities ≥99.5%, consistent with the published experimental thresholds for IN718. A data efficiency analysis demonstrated that the PINN with 25% training data achieves a performance equivalent to that of the fully trained ANN with 100% data, confirming an approximately four-fold data efficiency improvement attributable to physics-informed regularization, consistent with theoretical predictions. Sensitivity analysis via automatic differentiation confirmed that laser power and scan speed were the dominant parameters (~85% combined variance), which is in agreement with previous studies. This study provides a computationally efficient, interpretable, and physically consistent ML pathway for the accelerated process qualification of IN718 components for aerospace and energy applications.