La micro fusion laser d'un lit de poudre (SLM) permet la réalisation de pièces complexes avec des microstructuresfines. Cette technologie présente de nombreux avantages mais se heurte encore à une faible disponibilité des poudres d'alliages. En SLM, la pièce est d'abord conçue par CAO (conception assistée par ordinateur), puis construite couche par couche avec un faisceau laser commandé par un ordinateur. Dans ce cadre, le travail effectué dans cette thèse a consisté à étudier et à développer une nouvelle méthode pour réaliser des pièces en alliages et en composites à partir de mélanges de poudres élémentaires, ouvrant ainsi la voie à une grande variété de compositions.Au niveau expérimental le choix s'est porté sur le système aluminium-silicium avec différentes teneurs en silicium (12, 18 et 50% en poids). L'effet de l'ajout d'un champ magnétique statique a aussi été proposé comme un outil supplémentaire de contrôle de la microstructure.Dans le processus de fabrication de pièces par SLM la puissance du laser et la vitesse de balayage déterminent au premier chef la densité, la microstructure, la composition des phases et les propriétés mécaniques du produit. Une analyse systématique de l'effet de ces paramètres sur l'alliage Al - Si fabriqué par SLM à partir de mélanges de poudres est présentée. Des alliages ont été ainsi obtenus pour plusieurs domaines de composition visés correspondant à des applications pratiques (structures légères, système tribologique, emballage électronique, ...).Les microstructures fines obtenues grâce à la solidification rapide des matériaux fondus conduit à des propriétés quise comparent de façon favorable à celles obtenues avec les techniques classiques d'élaboration et de mise en oeuvre. / As a new manufacturing technology, Selective laser melting (SLM) has a large potential in the manufacturing of complex parts with ultrafine microstructure.Selective laser melting has many significant advantages over traditional manufacturing methods but still faces a low availability of powder materials. With SLM, the part is firstly designed via 3D computer-aided design (CAD)), then built layer-by-layer with a high energy computer-controlled laser beam The work done in this study was therefore aiming at developing a new way to obtain alloys and composites directly from elemental powder mixtures with a large composition flexibility.Experimentally the choice was made of the aluminum-silicon system with several silicon contents (12, 18, 50 wt. %).Adding a static magnetic field was also considered as an additional way to control the microstructure. When parts are manufactured by SLM, laser power and scanning speed are the main parameters determining the density, microstructure, phase composition and mechanical properties. A systematic analysis of the role of these parameter on the manufacturing of Al - Si alloys by SLM from mixtures of powders was therefore conducted. Al - Si alloys with a very fine microstructure were thus obtained for several composition ranges corresponding to practical applications (lightweight structures, high wear resistance alloys, electronic packaging material, ...). The properties of the materials obtained in this way, according to the performed characterizations, compares favorably with those obtained via the conventional production technologies.

This thesis presents an experimental study which investigates the behaviour of gas bubbles rising in a liquid metal and the related bubble-driven flow under the influence of external DC magnetic fields. The experimental configuration considered here concerns a cylindrical container filled with the eutectic alloy GaInSn. Argon gas bubbles are injected through a single orifice located at the container bottom in the centre of the circular cross-section. A homogeneous magnetic field was generated by a Helmholtz configuration of a pair of water-cooled copper coils. The magnetic field has been imposed either in vertical direction parallel to the main bubble motion or in horizontal direction, respectively. A vertical magnetic field stabilizes and damps the liquid metal flow effectively. The temporal variations of the fluid velocity with time become smaller with increasing magnetic induction. The velocity magnitudes are decreased, and the velocity distributions along the magnetic field lines are smoothed. The flow field keeps the axisymmetric distribution. A horizontal magnetic field destabilizes and enhances the flow within a range of moderate Hartmann numbers (100 < Ha < 400). The flow becomes non-axisymmetric due to the non-isotropic influence of the magnetic field. In the meridional plane parallel to the field lines, the flow changes its direction from a downward to an upward motion. Enhanced downward flows were observed in the meridional plane perpendicular to the field lines. The liquid velocity in both planes shows strong, periodic oscillations. The fluid motion is dominated by large-scale structures elongated along the magnetic field lines over the entire chord lengths of the circular cross-section.

This thesis presents an experimental study which investigates the behaviour of gas bubbles rising in a liquid metal and the related bubble-driven flow under the influence of external DC magnetic fields. The experimental configuration considered here concerns a cylindrical container filled with the eutectic alloy GaInSn. Argon gas bubbles are injected through a single orifice located at the container bottom in the centre of the circular cross-section. A homogeneous magnetic field was generated by a Helmholtz configuration of a pair of water-cooled copper coils. The magnetic field has been imposed either in vertical direction parallel to the main bubble motion or in horizontal direction, respectively. A vertical magnetic field stabilizes and damps the liquid metal flow effectively. The temporal variations of the fluid velocity with time become smaller with increasing magnetic induction. The velocity magnitudes are decreased, and the velocity distributions along the magnetic field lines are smoothed. The flow field keeps the axisymmetric distribution. A horizontal magnetic field destabilizes and enhances the flow within a range of moderate Hartmann numbers (100 < Ha < 400). The flow becomes non-axisymmetric due to the non-isotropic influence of the magnetic field. In the meridional plane parallel to the field lines, the flow changes its direction from a downward to an upward motion. Enhanced downward flows were observed in the meridional plane perpendicular to the field lines. The liquid velocity in both planes shows strong, periodic oscillations. The fluid motion is dominated by large-scale structures elongated along the magnetic field lines over the entire chord lengths of the circular cross-section.