Open Access

The present work seeks to extend the level of understanding of the stress field evolution during direct laser deposition (DLD) of a 3.2 mm thick multilayer wall of Ti-6Al-4V alloy by theoretical and experimental studies. The process conditions were close to the conditions used to produce large-sized structures by the DLD method, resulting in specimens having the same thermal history. A simulation procedure based on the implicit finite element method was developed for the theoretical study of the stress field evolution. The accuracy of the simulation was significantly improved by using experimentally obtained temperature-dependent mechanical properties of the DLD-processed Ti-6Al4V alloy. The residual stress field in the buildup was experimentally measured by neutron diffraction. The stress-free lattice parameter, which is decisive for the measured stresses, was determined using both a plane stress approach and a force-momentum balance. The influence of the inhomogeneity of the residual stress field on the accuracy of the experimental measurement and the validation of the simulation procedure are analyzed and discussed. Based on the numerical results it was found that the non-uniformity of the through-thickness stress distribution reaches a maximum in the central cross-section, while at the buildup ends the stresses are distributed almost uniformly. The components of the principal stresses are tensile at the buildup ends near the substrate. Furthermore, the calculated equivalent plastic strain reaches 5.9% near the buildup end, where the deposited layers are completed, while the plastic strain is practically equal to the experimentally measured ductility of the DLD-processed alloy, which is 6.2%. The experimentally measured residual stresses obtained by the force-momentum balance and the plane stress approach differ slightly from each other.

This study presents mechanisms of the evolution of a narrowed region in the weld pool center during deep penetration laser beam welding. In numerous numerical studies presented in this study, it was also found that the local reduction of the weld pool size can cause detrimental effects on the melt flow behavior and the resulting properties of the welds. A particularly large influence of this effect was identified in three aspects. Firstly, the local variation of the solidification sequence of the weld pool causes an increase in the hot-cracking susceptibility due to a locally delayed solidification. Secondly, it was proven that a change in the local length and width of the weld pool is associated with an adverse impact on the potential flow routes of the molten material that induces stronger local variations of its solidification. Thus, the element mixing, e.g. during the welding with filler materials, is blocked. This leads to a non-homogeneous chemical composition of the final weld and can cause undesired effects on the final material properties. Finally, another observed effect is related to the reduced ability of process pores to reach the top surface. As this type of porosity is usually produced around the keyhole tip, the change of the fluid flow regime above this area plays a significant role in determining the final path of the pores until the premature solidification in the middle of the weld pool captures them. This study summarizes mainly numerical results which were supported by selected experimental validation results.

A model of laser metal deposition with beam oscillation has been developed. The proposed model consists of two coupled sub-models calculating the heat transfer in the deposited part and the free surface of the molten pool, respectively. The heat transfer simulation of the deposited part solves a three-dimensional quasi-stationary heat conduction problem. The free surface of the molten pool are determined by solving the Laplace-Young equation. The developed model enables the layer-by-layer prediction of the shape of the deposited part and the resulting temperature field. It is shown that for an oscillation amplitude equal to the beam radius the peak value of the heat flux decreases by about 53% and 73% in the case of lateral oscillation and circular oscillation, respectively. Lateral oscillating laser beam results in a higher penetration depth due to the higher thermal efficiency. The amplitude of the laser beam oscillation effects the shape of the deposited wall and the deposition rate. A good correlation between the numerically calculated and experimentally observed results is obtained.

Fatigue failure is a critical concern in offshore wind structures, where welded joints are subjected to cyclic loading over extended service lifetimes. The combined effects of weld geometry [1, 2] and welding residual stresses (WRS) significantly influence the fatigue strength of welds [3-5]. In offshore wind applications, fatigue behavior is further complicated by cyclic loading conditions, where externally applied loads from wind, waves, and ocean currents interact with WRS, causing localized plastic deformation due to high-stress concentrations. Additionally, under prolonged cyclic loading, the redistribution of WRS can result in a shift of the fatigue-prone regions over time, meaning that locations identified as high-risk may not remain the dominant failure sites throughout the structure’s service life [6]. This presents a significant challenge for inspection and maintenance strategies, as conventional monitoring approaches may fail to detect the most vulnerable zones at later stages of operation. Early experimental studies on low-carbon steel plates and butt joints have shown that tensile WRS can reduce fatigue limits by up to 50% compared to stress-relieved specimens [7]. This effect is particularly pronounced in regions with welding defects, such as porosity, lack of fusion, and undercuts, as well as at geometric discontinuities, including weld toes and sharp notches, which induce localized stress gradients. The combined effect of tensile WRS and stress concentrations amplifies the local stress fields, promoting crack initiation and accelerating crack propagation, ultimately reducing the service life of offshore wind structures. Despite the critical role of weld geometry and WRS in fatigue performance, conventional fatigue assessment methods frequently neglect or oversimplify their effects, leading to overly conservative predictions and suboptimal structural designs. Current engineering standards, including BS 7910 (2019), BS 7608 (1993), EN 13001-3-1 (2020), and EN 1993-1-9 (2013), assume high tensile WRS in welded joints and apply simplified fatigue life prediction approaches that eliminate the need for explicit mean stress considerations. While some standards introduce correction factors for different WRS states, these remain highly generalized and lack accuracy. More sophisticated approaches, such as the Integrated Approach to Fatigue Strength Determination of Welded Structures (IBESS) [8], attempt to incorporate WRS into fatigue life assessments but rely on effective load ratios rather than explicitly modeling and considering real WRS distributions in the analysis. Additionally, IBESS does not fully integrate real weld geometries, limiting its predictive accuracy. These limitations result in significant scatter in fatigue life predictions, excessive conservatism, and inefficiencies in structural design. Although existing fatigue models improve on traditional methodologies, to the best of the authors' knowledge a unified framework that fully captures the combined effects of real weld geometries, WRS, and cyclic loading does not exist yet. The present research aims to develop an advanced fracture mechanics-based numerical framework for fatigue life assessment that explicitly accounts for these influencing factors at the specimen level, establishing the foundation for future scaling to component-level applications.

Laser beam welding is a widely used joining technique in many industrial applications. This is mainly due to its many unique advantages, especially compared to conventional arc welding processes. These advantages include, among others, highly concentrated energy deposition, low total heat input and a capacity to penetrate deep into the material while causing only small welding distortions. However, at the same time, the small dimension of the laser spot, high solidification rates, and small dimensions of the weld pool itself can provoke issues regarding the assembly tolerances of the workpiece, the hot-cracking phenomena, as well as keyhole-induced bubbles escaping from the melt. Weld pool shapes in laser beam welding are elongated at the external, free surfaces under the action of the main driving forces in the melt – such as recoil pressure and surface tension forces – while being shorter in the internal areas of the weld pool. This leads to a regular solidification sequence from the internal zones toward the free surfaces, e.g. from the bottom to the top in partial penetration welding. However, in recent studies reported in the literature and seen in the experimental and numerical investigations of BAM Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung in Berlin, it was found that an internal narrowing phenomenon can occur that is often accompanied by a distinct bulging of the weld bead in deeper zones. As the internal behaviour of the melt during the process is hardly optically accessible, several numerical models and experimental techniques were established to visualise the mechanisms of the formation of the bulging and the narrowing phenomenon and to reveal the consequences on the solidification sequence, pore formation, and filler metal dilution.