Data-driven evaluation of fatigue performance of additive manufactured parts using miniature specimens

This overview firstly introduces the state-of-the-art research progress in length scale-related fatigue performance of conventionally-fabricated metals evaluated by miniature specimens. Some key factors for size effects sensitive to microstructures including the specimen thickness, grain size and a ratio between them are highlighted to summarize some general rules for size effects. Then, ongoing research progress and new challenges in evaluating the fatigue performance of additive manufactured parts controlled by location-specific defects, microstructure heterogeneities as well as mechanical anisotropy using miniature specimen testing technique are discussed and addressed. Finally, a potential roadmap to establish a data-driven evaluation platform based on a large number of miniature specimen-based experiment data, theoretical computations and the ‘big data’ analysis with machine learning is proposed. It is expected that this overview would provide a novel strategy for the realistic evaluation and fast qualification of fatigue properties of additive manufactured parts we have been facing to.     

Notched fatigue testing of Inconel 718 prepared by selective laser melting

Selective laser melting (SLM) was used to prepare notched high‐cycle fatigue test specimens made from nickel‐based superalloy Inconel 718. Samples were designed to have 1 of 3 different notch geometries, including V notches with K_t of 2.2 or 3.1, a U notch with K_t of 2.0, and were printed in either vertical or horizontal orientations. Samples were tested with as‐printed dimensions and surfaces after heat treatment, but a separate set of SLM samples were printed as plates and machined to final dimensions comporting to the V‐notch specimen with K_t = 3.1. High‐cycle fatigue testing showed that machined SLM specimens behaved similar to wrought Inconel 718 plate specimens, but testing with as‐produced surfaces led to a decrease in fatigue life. The explanation for this difference is based on approximations of linear elastic fracture mechanics solutions for short cracks emanating from notch roots, with intrinsic surface features of SLM materials serving as the cracks. Analysis of the actual notch geometries after SLM fabrication indicates that stress intensity in the presence of these features plays a prominent role in determining number of cycles before fatigue crack initiation and propagation occurs.     

Computed tomography for characterization of fatigue performance of selective laser melted parts

Components manufactured by maturing additive manufacturing techniques like selective laser melting (SLM) find potential competence in several applications especially in automotive and aerospace industries as well as in medical applications like customized implants. The manufactured parts possess better, or at least comparable, yield strength and tensile strength values accompanied with a reduced fracture strain. Though their fatigue performance in the as-built condition is impaired due to surface roughness, it can be sufficiently improved by post-process surface treatments. Even then, there exists a high fatigue scatter due to remnant porosity. Characterization of remnant porosity is necessary for a reliable component design to be employed for cyclic applications. Computed tomography has been used in this study to evaluate the influence of porosity-incited stress concentration on the corresponding fatigue scatter. Microscopic analysis, tensile tests, fatigue tests with continuous load increase and constant amplitudes as well as finite element analysis have been used for this purpose. Critical pore characteristics and a modification in the process scanning strategy have been recommended so that the components can be reliably used in fatigue-loaded applications.     

Hybrid post-processing effects of magnetic abrasive finishing and heat treatment on surface integrity and mechanical properties of additively manufactured Inconel 718 superalloys

Desired microstructure and surface integrity are critical to achieving the high performance of additively manufactured components. In the present work, the hybrid post-processes of magnetic abrasive finishing(MAF) and post-heat treatment(HT) were applied to the additively manufactured Inconel718 superalloys. Their hybrid effects and influencing mechanism on the surface quality and mechanical properties of the additively manufactured samples have been studied comparatively. The results show that ...     

Surface integrity of Inconel 718 by hybrid selective laser melting and milling

ABSTRACT

While selective laser melting (SLM) offers design freedom of metal parts with much less material consumption, there exist several limitations, including high surface roughness, low-dimensional accuracy, and high tensile residual stresses. To make functional parts with high form accuracy and superior surface integrity, an as-SLM part needs finishing to remove the deposited surface material. The integration of machining and SLM creates a hybrid manufacturing route to overcome the inherited limitations of SLM. However, little study has been done to characterise surface integrity of an as-SLM part followed by machining (e.g. hybrid SLM-milling). In this paper, surface, integrity including surface roughness, microstructure, and microhardness, have been characterised for IN718 samples processed by the hybrid process. It has been found that microhardness varies with the scan direction and the use of coolant in the subsequent milling, and surface integrity can be significantly improved by the hybrid SLM-milling route.     

Effect of different heat treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties in selective laser melted INCONEL 718 alloy

The microstructure and tensile properties of selective laser melted (SLM) Inconel 718 alloy were studied in the as-printed and different heat treat conditions. The SLM as-print microstructures exhibited columnar grain structures with very fine dendritic structure with segregation of elements. Apart from the standard heat treatment, three other heat treat cycle variants were carried out in an attempt to remove the extensive segregation of elements and modify the textured grain structure of the SLM as-print microstructure. Increasing the homogenization temperature reduced the segregation and coarsened the grain structure. However, the grains still remained columnar, and the material became softer with reduction in strength. After the ageing treatment, the tensile strength improved significantly for all the heat treated samples, which is typical for precipitation hardening of IN718 alloy. The microstructures of the heat treated samples exhibited the needle shaped δ, carbides, and finely dispersed γ″, γ′ phases.     

Feasibility analysis and process characteristics of selective laser ablation assisted milling Inconel 718

Laser-assisted machining (LAM), as one of the most efficient ways, has been employed to improve the machinability of nickel-based superalloys. However, the conventional LAM process usually used high power laser with large spot size, easily leading to high processing costs and overheating of bulk materials. In this paper, a new approach of selective laser ablation assisted milling (SLA-Mill) process for nickel-based superalloys was proposed, in which low power laser with small spot size was used to selectively ablate the uncut surface in front of the cutting tool, resulting in plentiful surface defects emerging. Such defects would significantly weaken the mechanical strength of difficult-to-cut materials, which was different from the thermal "softening" principle of conventional LAM. Thus, the laser ablation effect with low power and small spot size was first studied. The relationship between process parameters (e.g., laser power, cutting speed and cutting depth) and process characteristics of SLA-Mill (e.g., chip morphology, tool wear and surface integrity) was systematically discussed. Moreover, the chip formation mechanism in the SLA-Mill process was indepth analyzed. Results show that the SLA-Mill process is an effective approach for enhancing the machinability of nickel-based superalloys. The resultant cutting force has a reduction of about 30% at laser power of 60 W, cutting speed of 90 m/min, and cutting depth of 0.1 mm. Furthermore, the chip formation, tool wear, and surface integrity have improved significantly. In general, this paper provides a new route for the application of LAM technology.The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-021-00384-9     

Effect of laser-scan strategy on microstructure and fatigue properties of 316L additively manufactured stainless steel

The particular roles of grain morphology and defects, controlled using laser-scan strategies, on the mechanical properties and the fatigue behavior of 316L stainless steel are investigated. Microstructural characterization and X-ray tomography analysis was performed to understand the genesis of polycrystalline microstructure and defects. Tensile and fatigue tests were performed to analyze the effect of defect population and microstructural properties on plasticity and damage mechanisms during monotonic and cyclic loading. The effect of the grain-size and shape and type of defect was carefully investigated to evaluate the mechanisms driving the mechanical behavior under quasi-static and fatigue loading. It is shown that the laser-scan strategy determines the anisotropy in the plane perpendicular to the building direction. Moreover, contrary to the existing literature, for 316L obtained by AM, the grain size and shape does not affect the mechanical properties, and LoF defects drive the fatigue life, independent of the defect/grain size ratio.     

Microstructure and compressive properties of Al-Si10-Mg lattice structures manufactured using selective laser melting

In this study, the aluminum alloy lattice structure was processed using selective laser melting, and the compressive behaviour was studied. When the porous aluminum alloy was compressed along the building direction, the compressive stress initially increased, followed by a decrease, and then another increase. The aluminum alloy lattice structure mainly underwent the stages of elasticity, shearing, collapse, and then densification in the course of the compression process; the fracture primarily occurred at the joints of the pillars and the support plates. Moreover, the fractures of the aluminum alloy lattice structure, as prepared by selective laser melting, exhibited dimples of different sizes and shapes. The silicon content at the bottom of such a dimple was higher than that at the edges. When the stress level reached its limit and was insufficient to coordinate the plastic deformation of the two phases (α-aluminum / silicon interface), micro-pores formed at the interface (the dimples resulted from the breakage of numerous micro-pores after aggregation), which caused the silicon content at the bottom of the dimple to be higher than that at the edge.     

Effect of scanning strategy on grain structure and crystallographic texture of Inconel 718 processed by selective laser melting

Two types of scanning strategies were adopted to study the effect of scanning strategy on grain structure and crystallographic texture of selective laser melted (SLM) Inconel 718. The results show that bidirectional scanning without and with a 90°-rotation for every layer produced the bimodal grain structure and the directional columnar grain structure, respectively. Controlling the heat flux direction between the successive layers via scanning strategy enabled the formation of such different grain structures. Furthermore, when the 90°-rotation was applied, the competitive grain growth mechanism became more pronounced and the strong cube texture developed.     

Studying the influence of initial powder characteristics on the properties of final parts manufactured by the selective laser melting technology

Selective laser melting (SLM) is an additive manufacturing process that enables direct manufacturing of 3D complex shape parts and internal architecture from powder materials. The SLM technology is characterised by high temperature gradients and solidification rates that have a significant effect on the microstructures and properties of final parts. The present paper aims at understanding the influence of the initial properties of various martensitic stainless steel powders on the final microstructures and mechanical properties of parts manufactured using the same optimised SLM process parameter settings. The results obtained show that for applied optimum process parameters, the thermal effects are the same for all martensitic powders used. Besides, the final microstructures and properties are different. The results clearly show the effect of the initial complex chemical composition of the martensitic precipitation hardening powder on the microstructures of final parts, and consequently, on their properties.     

Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties at high temperature of selective laser melted AlSi10Mg

In this study,the microstructure and tensile properties of selective laser melted AlSilOMg at elevated temperature were investigated with focus on the interfacial region.In-situ SEM and in-situ EBSD analysis were proposed to characterize the microstructural evolution with temperature.The as-fabricated AlSilOMg sample presents high tensile strength with the ultimate tensile strength(UTS)of~450 MPa and yield strength(YS)of~300 MPa,which results from the mixed strengthening mechanism among grain boundary,solid solution,dislocation and Orowan looping mechanism.When holding at the temperature below 200℃for 30 min,the micro structure presents little change,and only a slight decrement of yield strength appears due to the relief of the residual stress.However,when the holding temperature further increases to 300℃and 400℃,the coarsening and precipitation of Si particles inα-Al matrix occur obviously,which leads to an obvious decrease of solid solution strength.At the same time,matrix softening and the weakness of dislocation strengthening also play important roles.When the holding temperature reaches to 400℃,the yield strength decreases significantly to about 25 MPa which is very similar to the as-cast Al alloy.This might be concluded that the YS is dominated by the matrix materials.Because the softening mechanism counteracts work hardening,the extremely high elongation occurs.     

Weldability,microstructure and mechanical properties of laser-welded selective laser melted 304 stainless steel joints

Laser welding is a promising process for joining small components produced by selective laser melting (SLM) to fabricate the large-scale and complex-shaped parts. In the work, the morphology, microstructure, microhardness, tensile properties and corrosion resistance of the laser welded stress-relieved SLMed 304 stainless steel joints are investigated, as the different sections of stress-relieved SLMed 304 stainless steel are joined. Results show that the SLMed 304 stainless steel plates have a good laser weldability. The microstructure of laser-welded joints consists of the cellular dendrites in austenite matrix within columnar grains, exhibiting a coarser dendrite structure, lower microhardness (∼220 HV) and tensile properties (tensile strength of ∼750 MPa, and area reduction of ∼27.6%), but superior corrosion resistance to those of SLMed plates. The dendrite arm spacing of the joints varies from ∼3.7 μm in center zone, to ∼5.0 μm in fusion zone, to ∼2.5 μm in epitaxial zone. The SLMed anisotropy shows a negligible effect on the microstructure and performance of the laser-welded joints. The laser welding along the building directions of the SLMed base plates can induce a slightly finer dendritic structure and higher tensile properties.     

Porosity,cracks, and mechanical properties of additively manufactured tooling alloys: a review

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are currently employed for the manufacturing of completely functional parts and have gained the attention of high-technology industries such as the aerospace, automotive, and biomedical fields. This is mainly due to their advantages in terms of low material waste and high productivity, particularly owing to the flexibility in the geometries that can be generated. In the tooling industry, specifically the manufacturing of dies and molds, AM technologies enable the generation of complex shapes, internal cooling channels, the repair of damaged dies and molds, and an improved performance of dies and molds employing multiple AM materials. In the present paper, a review of AM processes and materials applied in the tooling industry for the generation of dies and molds is addressed. AM technologies used for tooling applications and the characteristics of the materials employed in this industry are first presented. In addition, the most relevant state-of-the-art approaches are analyzed with respect to the process parameters and microstructural and mechanical properties in the processing of high-performance tooling materials used in AM processes. Concretely, studies on the AM of ferrous (maraging steels and H13 steel alloy) and non-ferrous (stellite alloys and WC alloys) tooling alloys are also analyzed.The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-021-00365-y     

Influence of surface pores on selective laser melted parts under lubricated contacts: a case study of a hydraulic spool valve

ABSTRACT

Hydraulic valve spools can be produced with hollow structures using SLM to increase dynamic response. The contact between the valve spool and body is crucial and relates to the performance of a hydraulic valve, which has not been studied. This paper investigates the reciprocating contact of an SLM-fabricated spool valve from a tribological aspect. By varying the process parameters, porous and standard spool samples (18Ni-300 steel) were produced using SLM. The lubricating behaviours of 18Ni-300 samples under various contact pressures and reciprocating frequencies were investigated in comparison to a real spool sample (hardened 38CrMoAl steel) using conventional manufacturing. The results indicate that the standard SLM 18Ni-300 spool sample has comparable tribological performance compared to the conventional manufactured 38CrMoAl sample. The SLM fabricated sample, with a number of large pores, has the highest friction coefficient under a wide range of contact conditions due to rough surfaces and cracks. Compared to the standard sample, the presence of a few small pores positively affects lubrication by providing local extra lubrication and serving as debris containers. Such an effect becomes very notable under low pressure, reducing the friction coefficients by half.     

3钉带衬套复合材料/金属接头拉伸疲劳性能

带衬套沉头螺栓连接已经在复合材料连接结构中得到了一定应用,需要对其疲劳性能进行研究.本工作在单搭接 3 钉带衬套碳纤维复合材料/钛合金沉头螺栓连接接头实验研究基础上,建立复合材料及金属结构的疲劳分析模型,对结构的疲劳性能进行有限元分析,并与无衬套接头模型进行对比,研究衬套对接头疲劳性能的影响.结果表明,使用衬套比仅采用螺杆过盈装配能够更加有效地提升接头的疲劳寿命,其中层合板寿命提高了约 3 .6 倍,钛合金板寿命提高了约 2 .7 倍,螺栓寿命提升了约 1 4 倍,并且仅出现钛合金板破坏,紧固件不破坏.结合实验结果分析发现,由于复合材料和金属材料自身疲劳性能的差异,其机械连接结构的疲劳破坏模式会因载荷水平的不同而发生变化;当载荷水平较低时,金属结构更容易发生破坏.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties in the TLP joint of FeCoNiTiAl and Inconel 718 alloys using BNi2 filler

High entropy alloy(HEA) of Fe Co Ni Ti Al and Inconel 718 superalloy were firstly transient liquid phase(TLP) bonded by BNi2 filler due to the diffusion of Si and B in the filler to the base metals. The effects of bonding time on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the TLP joints were investigated.Owing to the complete isothermal solidification of the joints bonded for 30 min 120 min at 1100°C,no athermally solidified zones(ASZs) formed by eutectic phases were observed in the welded zone. Thus the TLP joints were only composed by the isothermally solidified zone(ISZ) and two diffusion affected zone(DAZ) adjacent to the dissimilar base metals and the negative effect of the ASZ on joint properties can be avoided. In addition, the increase of the bonding time can also make the Ti B2 borides precipitated in the DAZ near HEA and the brittle borides or carbides in the DAZ near IN718 alloy decrease and reduce the possibility of the stress concentration happened in the joints under loading. Therefore, the highest shear strength(632.1 MPa) of the TLP joints was obtained at 1100°C for 120 min, which was higher than that of the joint bonded for 30 min, 404.2 MPa. Furthermore, the extension of the bonding time made the fracture mechanism of the joint be transformed from the intergranular fracture to the transgranular fracture. However, as the brittle borides in the DAZ near IN718 can not be eliminated completely and refining of grains also happened in such region, all the TLP joints fractured inner the DAZ near IN718 alloy.     

On the fatigue crack growth behaviour of selective laser melting fabricated Inconel 625: Effects of build orientation and stress ratio

The building of Inconel 625 material was carried out using the selective laser melting method, and its fatigue crack growth property at ambient temperature was experimentally investigated. Compact‐tension specimens with different building orientations were utilized to determine the stress intensity factor threshold and fatigue crack growth rate curves at different stress ratios (R). The results indicated that the fatigue crack growth properties in the near threshold stress intensity factor and Paris regions were greatly affected by the loading factor, as well as the orientation of the alloy. The mechanism of fatigue crack growth at different stages was observed and discussed using scanning electron microscopy. Finally, based on the framework of the linear elastic fracture, a new and applicable effective driving force factor range was introduced to replace the traditional stress intensity factor range (ΔK) with good accuracy for all of the fatigue crack growth test data, considering both the stress ratio and orientation.     

激光选区熔化与轧制Inconel 625合金的微观组织与高温氧化性能研究

为了进一步揭示增材制造对金属材料的微观组织与高温氧化性能的影响规律,本文采用光学显微镜、扫描电子显微镜、能量色散谱、电子背散射衍射和X射线衍射等方法,对比研究了轧制态与激光选区熔化(Selective Laser Melting,SLM)制备的 Inconel 625合金垂直和平行于成形方向横截面(XY和XZ面)的微观结构,并探究了两种合金在900 ℃下的高温氧化性能。研究表明,SLM制备的合金与传统轧制合金的显微组织存在明显区别:轧制合金呈等轴晶,晶粒尺寸为(15±2.5) μm,具有更多的大角度晶界和较大的位错密度;SLM制备的合金呈多晶结构,主要由胞状晶与柱状晶组成,晶粒尺寸不均匀,其中胞状晶晶粒尺寸为0.2~2 μm,位错密度较小,呈现高度织构化特征;XRD结果表明,SLM并未改变合金的物相,SLM与轧制成形 Inconel 625合金由γ-Ni相组成。SLM合金的XY面和XZ面的晶粒取向存在较大差别,其中XZ面的晶粒取向为(001)。在900 ℃下,SLM合金的氧化速率更高,这种高氧化速率导致氧化膜致密性差,在SLM合金的亚表层区域形成空洞。轧制Inconel 625合金的抗氧化性能优于SLM合金,这主要归因于轧制合金具有更多的位错与孪晶。