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Despite the advances in hardware and software techniques, standard numerical methods fail in providing real-time simulations, especially for complex processes such as additive manufacturing applications. A real-time simulation enables process control through the combination of process monitoring and automated feedback, which increases the flexibility and quality of a process. Typically, before producing a whole additive manufacturing structure, a simplified experiment in the form of a beadon-plate experiment is performed to get a first insight into the process and to set parameters suitably. In this work, a reduced order model for the transient thermal problem of the bead-on-plate weld simulation is developed, allowing an efficient model calibration and control of the process. The proposed approach applies the proper generalized decomposition (PGD) method, a popular model order reduction technique, to decrease the computational effort of each model evaluation required multiple times in parameter estimation, control, and optimization. The welding torch is modeled by a moving heat source, which leads to difficulties separating space and time, a key ingredient in PGD simulations. A novel approach for separating space and time is applied and extended to 3D problems allowing the derivation of an efficient separated representation of the temperature.
The results are verified against a standard finite element model showing excellent agreement. The reduced order model is also leveraged in a Bayesian model parameter estimation setup, speeding up calibrations and ultimately leading to an optimized real-time simulation approach for welding experiment using synthetic as well as real measurement data.
In manufacturing, fusion welding processes use a lot of resources, which presents an opportunity to reduce environmental impact. While there is a general understanding of the environmental impact of these processes, it is difficult to quantitatively assess key parameters. This study introduces a welding-specific methodology that uses life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impact of fusion welding technologies. Our approach analyses the main parameters that affect the environmental performance of different welding techniques, including traditional methods and additive manufacturing through the Direct Energy Deposition-Arc (DED-Arc) process. We integrate real-time resource usage data to offer an innovative framework for directly deriving environmental impacts. This research contributes to optimising welding processes by providing a precise and quantifiable measure of their ecological impact, facilitating the advancement of sustainable manufacturing practices.
Life cycle assessment of fusion welding processes considering upstream and downstream process steps
(2023)
In manufacturing, fusion welding processes consume significant resources, presenting a significant opportunity for reducing environmental impact. Although there is a qualitative understanding of the environmental implications of these processes, a quantitative assessment of key parameters remains complex. This study introduces a welding-specific methodology that employs life cycle assessment (LCA) to quantitatively evaluate the environmental footprint of fusion welding technologies. Our approach identifies and analyses the principal parameters affecting the environmental performance of various welding techniques, including traditional joint welding and additive manufacturing via the Direct Energy Deposition-Arc (DED-Arc) process. Real-time resource usage data is integrated to offer an innovative framework for directly deriving environmental impacts. This research contributes to optimising welding processes by providing a precise and quantifiable measure of their ecological impact. This facilitates the advancement of sustainable manufacturing practices.
High-strength steels offer potential for weight optimization due to reduced wall thicknesses in modern constructions. Additive manufacturing processes such as Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) enable the resource-efficient production of structures. In the case of defects occurring in weld seams orWAAM components due to unstable process conditions, the economical solution is local gouging or machining and repair welding. It is important to understand the effects of machining steps on the multiaxial stress state in conjunction with the design-related shrinkage restraints. Research into how welding and slot milling of welds andWAAM structures affects residual stresses is still lacking. For this reason, component-related investigations with high-strength steels with yield strengths ≥790 MPa are carried out in our research. In-situ digital image correlation (DIC) and ex-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to analyze the stresses and strains induced on specimens during and after milling. The systematic analyses revealed a significant interaction of the stiffness and microstructure of the specimens with the initial residual stresses induced by welding. Subsequent repair welds can result in significantly higher residual stresses.
Additive manufacturing (AM) processes enable the efficient production of advanced constructions. New developments in topology optimization are leading to weight-optimized designs of increasing complexity. Direct energy deposition processes (DED) such as wire and arc-based additive manufacturing are an important method of additive manufacturing. The wire filler metals enable a wide range of materials, while the arc process provides a high deposition rate compared to laser and powder-based processes. Combined with the use of high-strength steels, the thickness of walls or components can be significantly reduced in the context of lightweight construction, which results in significant savings in energy, costs, time and resources. Suitable high-strength steel filler metals are commercially available for DED-arc AM processes. However, guidelines and quantitative knowledge about welding stresses and cold cracking issues during component production and service are lacking. This limits the industrial application considerably. In a joint project of BAM and Chemnitz University of Technology, the main influences and complex interactions of material, production process, design and processing steps on the residual stress level are investigated. The aim is to develop processing recommendations and a cold cracking test for economical processing and stress-related design of high-strength steels with DED-arc. This study focuses on residual stress analysis by neutron diffraction (ND) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) on defined test specimens. The ND analysis were performed at the Paul Scherrer Institute- Villigen, Switzerland (PSI) and the XRD analysis at BAM. The study shows a quantitative and qualitative comparison of the residual stress magnitudes and distribution between the component bulk (ND) and surface (XRD) analyses. The ND analysis reveals that in DED-arc AM walls the residual stresses dominate in the direction of welding and are negligibly small in each case transverse to the direction of welding. The topology of the analyzed residual stresses shows almost identical residual stress maps compared to XRD. In addition, the residual stresses are significantly influenced by the solid phase transformation of the material due to low cooling times and less post heat treatment cycles of following AM layers in the area of the top layer.
Residual stresses Analysis in Additively Manufactured alloys using neutron diffraction (L-PBF)
(2023)
An overview of recent progress at BAM of residual stress analysis in additively manufactured, in particular Laser Powder Bed Fusion of metallics materials, using neutron diffraction will be presented. This will cover important topics of the stress-free reference, the diffraction elastic moduli and principal stress determination.
The capability to produce complexly and individually shaped metallic parts is one of the main advantages of the laser powder bed fusion (PBF LB/M) process. Development of material and machine specific process parameters is commonly based on results acquired from small cubic test coupons of about 10 mm edge length. Such cubes are usually used to conduct an optimization of process parameters to produce dense material. The parameters are then taken as the basis for the manufacturing of real part geometries. However, complex geometries go along with complex thermal histories during the manufacturing process, which can significantly differ from thermal conditions prevalent during the production of simply shaped test coupons. This may lead to unexpected and unpredicted local inhomogeneities of the microstructure and defect distribution in the final part and it is a root cause of reservations against the use of additive manufacturing for the production of safety relevant parts. In this study, the influence of changing thermal conditions on the resulting melt pool depth of 316L stainless steel specimens is demonstrated. A variation of thermo-graphically measured intrinsic preheating temperatures was triggered by an alteration of inter layer times and a variation of cross section areas of specimens for three distinct sets of process parameters. Correlations between the preheating temperature, the melt pool depth, and occurring defects were analyzed. The limited expressiveness of the results of small density cubes is revealed throughout the systematic investigation. Finally, a clear recommendation to consider thermal conditions in future process parameter optimizations is given.
The capability to produce complexly and individually shaped metallic parts is one of the main advantages of the laser powder bed fusion (PBF LB/M) process. Development of material and machine specific process parameters is commonly based on results acquired from small cubic test coupons of about 10 mm edge length. Such cubes are usually used to conduct an optimization of process parameters to produce dense material. The parameters are then taken as the basis for the manufacturing of real part geometries. However, complex geometries go along with complex thermal histories during the manufacturing process, which can significantly differ from thermal conditions prevalent during the production of simply shaped test coupons. This may lead to unexpected and unpredicted local inhomogeneities of the microstructure and defect distribution in the final part and it is a root cause of reservations against the use of additive manufacturing for the production of safety relevant parts. In this study, the influence of changing thermal conditions on the resulting melt pool depth of 316L stainless steel specimens is demonstrated. A variation of thermo-graphically measured intrinsic preheating temperatures was triggered by an alteration of inter layer times and a variation of cross section areas of specimens for three distinct sets of process parameters. Correlations between the preheating temperature, the melt pool depth, and occurring defects were analyzed. The limited expressiveness of the results of small density cubes is revealed throughout the systematic investigation. Finally, a clear recommendation to consider thermal conditions in future process parameter optimizations is given.
New developments in nickel-based superalloys and production methods, such as the use of additive manufacturing (AM), can result in innovative designs for turbines. It is crucial to understand how the material behaves during the AM process to advance industrial use of these techniques. An analytical model based on reaction-diffusion formalism is developed to better explain the solidification behavior of the material during laser metal deposition (LMD). The well-known Scheil-Gulliver theory has some drawbacks, such as the assumption of equilibrium at the solid-liquid interface, which is addressed by this method. The solidified fractions under the Scheil model and the pure equilibrium model are calculated using CALPHAD simulations. Differential scanning calorimeter is used to measure the heat flow during the solid-liquid phase transformation, the result of which is further converted to solidified fractions. The analytical model is compared with all the other models for validation.
Additive manufacturing (AM) has revolutionized the manufacturing industry, offering a new paradigm to produce complex geometries and parts with customized properties. Among the different AM techniques, the wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) process has gained significant attention due to its high deposition rate and low equipment cost. However, the process is characterized by a complex thermal history, dynamic metallurgy, and mechanical behaviour that make it challenging to simulate it in real-time for online process control and optimization.
In this context, a reduced order model (ROM) using the proper generalized decomposition (PGD) method is proposed as a powerful tool to overcome the limitations of conventional numerical methods and enable the real-time simulation of the temperature field of WAAM processes. Though, the simulation of a moving heat source leads to a hardly separable parametric problem, which is handled by applying a novel mapping approach. Using this procedure, it is possible to create a simple separated representation of the model, also allowing to simulate multiple layers.
In this contribution, a PGD model is derived for the WAAM procedure simulating the temperature field. A good agreement with a standard finite element method is shown. The reduced model is further used in a stochastic model parameter estimation using Bayesian inference, speeding up calibrations and ultimately leading to a calibrated real-time simulation.
Safety-critical applications of products manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) are still limited to date. This is mainly due to a lack of knowledge regarding the complex relationship between process, structure, and resulting properties. The assurance of homogeneity of the microstructure and homogeneity of the occurrence and distribution of defects within complexly shaped geometries is still challenging. Unexpected and unpredicted local inhomogeneities may cause catastrophic failures. The identification of material specific and machine specific process parameter windows for production of fully dense simple laboratory specimens is state of the art. However, the incorporation of changing thermal conditions that a complexly shaped component can be faced with during the manufacturing process is often neglected at the stage of a process window determination. This study demonstrates the tremendous effect of changing part temperatures on the defect occurrence for the broadly used stainless steel alloy AISI 316L. Process intrinsic variations of the surface temperature are caused by heat accumulation which was measured by use of a temperature adjusted mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) camera. Heat accumulation was triggered by simple yet effective temporal and geometrical restrictions of heat dissipation. This was realized by a variation of inter layer times and reduced cross section areas of the specimens. Differences in surface temperature of up to 800 K were measured. A severe development of keyhole porosity resulted from these distinct intrinsic preheating temperatures, revealing a shift of the process window towards unstable melting conditions. The presented results may serve as a warning to not solely rely on process parameter optimization without considering the actual process conditions a real component is faced with during the manufacturing process. Additionally, it motivates the development of representative test specimens.
Safety-critical applications of products manufactured by laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) are still limited to date. This is mainly due to a lack of knowledge regarding the complex relationship between process, structure, and resulting properties. The assurance of homogeneity of the microstructure and homogeneity of the occurrence and distribution of defects within complexly shaped geometries is still challenging. Unexpected and unpredicted local inhomogeneities may cause catastrophic failures. The identification of material specific and machine specific process parameter windows for production of fully dense simple laboratory specimens is state of the art. However, the incorporation of changing thermal conditions that a complexly shaped component can be faced with during the manufacturing process is often neglected at the stage of a process window determination. This study demonstrates the tremendous effect of changing part temperatures on the defect occurrence for the broadly used stainless steel alloy AISI 316L. Process intrinsic variations of the surface temperature are caused by heat accumulation which was measured by use of a temperature adjusted mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) camera. Heat accumulation was triggered by simple yet effective temporal and geometrical restrictions of heat dissipation. This was realized by a variation of inter layer times and reduced cross section areas of the specimens. Differences in surface temperature of up to 800 K were measured. A severe development of keyhole porosity resulted from these distinct intrinsic preheating temperatures, revealing a shift of the process window towards unstable melting conditions. The presented results may serve as a warning to not solely rely on process parameter optimization without considering the actual process conditions a real component is faced with during the manufacturing process. Additionally, it motivates the development of representative test specimens.
This article reports temperature-dependent elastic properties (Young’s modulus, shear modulus) of three alloys measured by the dynamic resonance method. The alloys Ti-6Al-4V, Inconel IN718, and AISI 316 L were each investigated in a variant produced by an additive manufacturing processing route and by a conventional manufacturing processing route. The datasets include information on processing routes and parameters, heat treatments, grain size, specimen dimensions, and weight, as well as Young’s and shear modulus along with their measurement uncertainty. The process routes and methods are described in detail. The datasets were generated in an accredited testing lab, audited as BAM reference data, and are hosted in the open data repository Zenodo. Possible data usages include the verification of the correctness of the test setup via Young’s modulus comparison in low-cycle fatigue (LCF) or thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF) testing campaigns, the design auf VHCF specimens and the use as input data for simulation purposes.
Additive manufacturing (AM) processes such as laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) are rapidly gaining popularity in repair applications. Gas turbine components benefit from the hybrid repair process as only damaged areas are removed using conventional machining and rebuilt using an AM process. However, hybrid repair is associated with several challenges such as component fixation and precise geometry detection. This article introduces a novel fixturing system, including a sealing concept to prevent powder sag during the repair process. Furthermore, a high-resolution camera within an industrial PBF-LB/M machine is installed and used for object detection and laser recognition. Herein, process related inaccuracies such as PBF-LB/M laser drift is considered by detection of reference objects. This development is demonstrated by the repair of a representative gas turbine blade. The final offset between AM build-up and component is analysed. An approximate accuracy of 160 μm is achieved with the current setup.
Additive manufacturing (AM) processes such as laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) are rapidly gaining popularity in repair applications. Gas turbine components benefit from the hybrid repair process as only damaged areas are removed using conventional machining and rebuilt using an AM process. However, hybrid repair is associated with several challenges such as component fixation and precise geometry detection. This article introduces a novel fixturing system, including a sealing concept to prevent powder sag during the repair process. Furthermore, a high-resolution camera within an industrial PBF-LB/M machine is installed and used for object detection and laser recognition. Herein, process related inaccuracies such as PBF-LB/M laser drift is considered by detection of reference objects. This development is demonstrated by the repair of a representative gas turbine blade. The final offset between AM build-up and component is analysed. An approximate accuracy of 160 μm is achieved with the current setup.
Although layer-based additive manufacturing methods such as laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) offer an immense geometrical freedom in design, they are typically subject to a build-up of internal stress (i.e. thermal stress) during manufacturing. As a consequence, significant residual stress (RS) is retained in the final part as a footprint of these internal stresses. Furthermore, localized melting and solidification inherently induce columnar-type grain growth accompanied by crystallographic texture. Although diffraction-based methods are commonly used to determine the RS distribution in PBF-LB parts, such features pose metrological challenges in their application. In theory, preferred grain orientation invalidates the hypothesis of isotropic material behavior underlying the common methods to determine RS. In this work, more refined methods are employed to determine RS in PBF-LB/M/IN718 prisms, based on crystallographic texture data. In fact, the employment of direction-dependent elastic constants (i.e. stress factors) for the calculation of RS results in insignificant differences from conventional approaches based on the hypothesis of isotropic mechanical properties. It can be concluded that this result is directly linked to the fact that the {311} lattice planes typically used for RS analysis in nickel-based alloys have high multiplicity and less strong texture intensities compared with other lattice planes. It is also found that the length of the laser scan vectors determines the surface RS distribution in prisms prior to their removal from the baseplate. On removal from the baseplate the surface RS considerably relaxes and/or redistributes; a combination of the geometry and the scanning strategy dictates the sub-surface RS distribution.
The microstructure has a great influence on short fatigue crack growth in metallic materials. Laser-based Powder Bed Fusion AlSi10Mg alloys exhibit in the as-built condition a fine fibrous Si structure and a supersaturated solid solution of Si in the α-Al matrix, which is significantly modified by heat treatments starting already at temperatures under 260 °C. This study focuses on the influence of post-process heat treatments on the microstructural evolution and the resulting fatigue crack growth resistance. As compared to the as-built condition, two heat treatments at 265 °C/1 h and at 300 °C/2 h are found to be beneficial to the fatigue crack growth resistance of the investigated material.
High-strength steels offer great potential in weight-optimised modern steel structures. Additive manufacturing processes, such as Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), enable near-net-shape manufacturing of complex structures and more efficient manufacturing, offering significant savings in costs, time, and resources. Suitable filler materials for WAAM are already commercially available. However, the lack of knowledge or technical guidelines regarding welding residual stresses during manufacturing and operation in connection with cold cracking risk limit their industrial application significantly. In a project of BAM and TU Chemnitz, the influences and complex interactions of material, manufacturing process, design and processing steps on residual stress evolution are investigated. By developing process recommendations and a special cold cracking test, economic manufacturing, and stress-appropriate design of high-strength steel WAAM components are main objectives.
The present study focuses on determining the influence of heat control (interpass temperature, heat input, cooling time) and the design aspects of the components on the hardness and residual stresses, which are analysed by X-ray diffraction. Defined reference specimens, i.e., hollow cuboids, are automatically welded with a special WAAM solid wire. The influences of wall length, wall thickness and wall height on the residual stresses are analysed. Geometric properties can be selectively adjusted by wire feed and welding speed but cannot be varied arbitrarily. This was addressed by adapted build-up strategies. The results indicate a significant influence of the heat control and the wall height on the residual stresses. The interpass temperature, wall thickness and wall length are not significant. These analyses allow recommendations for standards and manufacturing guidelines, enabling a safe and economic manufacturing of high-strength steel components.
Nickel alloys are cost intensive materials and generally classified as difficult-to-cut material. However, machining of these materials is needed especially in case of alloy 36 (1.3912), which is commonly used in mould construction for the production of fibre-reinforced composites. With regard to repair, modification and manufacturing of such components, additive manufacturing offers significant economic advantages. Nevertheless, subsequent machining steps are needed to achieve the final component contour and defined surface conditions. Dependent on the material and machining process conditions, detrimental tensile residual stresses may be the result on the machined surface, having negative impact on the component performance and safety. In this investigation, machining experiments were carried out on wire arc additive manufactured components made of alloy 36, varying the cutting speed and the feed rate. In addition, the conventional milling process (CM) was compared with a modern, hybrid machining process, the ultrasonic-assisted milling (US). The cutting forces and the surface-near residual stresses were analysed using X-ray diffraction. A significant improvement of the machinability as well as the surface integrity by using the ultrasonic assistance was observed, especially at low cutting speeds. The CM induced mainly tensile residual stresses, the US mainly compressive residual stresses.
The elastic properties (Young's modulus, shear modulus) of austenitic stainless steel AISI 316L were investigated between room temperature and 900 °C in an additively manufactured variant (laser powder bed fusion, PBF‑LB/M) and from a conventional process route (hot rolled sheet). The moduli were determined using the dynamic resonance method. The data set includes information on processing parameters, heat treatments, grain size, specimen dimensions and weight, Young’s and shear modulus as well as their measurement uncertainty.
The dataset was generated in an accredited testing lab using calibrated measuring equipment. The calibrations meet the requirements of the test procedure and are metrologically traceable. The dataset was audited as BAM reference data.
The elastic properties (Young's modulus, shear modulus) of Ni-based alloy Inconel IN718 were investigated between room temperature and 800 °C in an additively manufactured variant (laser powder bed fusion, PBF‑LB/M) and from a conventional process route (hot rolled bar). The moduli were determined using the dynamic resonance method. The data set includes information on processing parameters, heat treatments, grain size, specimen dimensions and weight, Young’s and shear modulus as well as their measurement uncertainty.
The dataset was generated in an accredited testing lab using calibrated measuring equipment. The calibrations meet the requirements of the test procedure and are metrologically traceable. The dataset was audited as BAM reference data.
The elastic properties (Young's modulus, shear modulus) of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V were investigated between room temperature and 400 °C in an additively manufactured variant (laser-based directed energy deposition with powder as feedstock, DED-LB/M) and from a conventional process route (hot rolled bar). The moduli were determined using the dynamic resonance method. The data set includes information on processing parameters, heat treatments, microstructure, grain size, specimen dimensions and weight, Young’s and shear modulus as well as their measurement uncertainty.
The dataset was generated in an accredited testing lab using calibrated measuring equipment. The calibrations meet the requirements of the test procedure and are metrologically traceable. The dataset was audited as BAM reference data.
Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) enables the efficient production of weight-optimized modern engineering structures. Further increases in efficiency can be achieved by using high-strength structural steels. Commercial welding consumables for WAAM are already available on the market. Lack of knowledge and guidelines regarding welding residual stress and component safety during production and operation leads to severely limited use for industry applications. The sensitive microstructure of high-strength steels carries a high risk of cold cracking; therefore, residual stresses play a crucial role. For this reason, the influences of the material, the WAAM process, and the design on the formation of residual stresses and the risk of cold cracking are being investigated. The material used has a yield strength of over 800 MPa. This strength is adjusted via solid solution strengthening and a martensitic phase transformation. The volume expansion associated with martensite formation has a significant influence on the residual stresses. The focus of the present investigation is on the additive welding parameters and component design on their influence on hardness and residual stresses, which are analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD). Reference specimens (hollow cuboids) are welded fully automated with a systematic variation of heat control and design. Welding parameters and AM geometry are correlated with the resulting microstructure, hardness, and residual stress state. Increased heat input leads to lower tensile residual stresses which causes unfavorable microstructure and mechanical properties. The component design affects heat dissipation conditions and the intensity of restraint during welding and has a significant influence on the residual stress.
Additive manufacturing (AM) in general and laser powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M) in particular are becoming increasingly important in the field of production technologies. Especially the high achievable accuracies and the great freedom in design make PBF-LB/M interesting for the manufacturing and repair of gas turbine blades. Part repair involves building AM-geometries onto an existing component. To minimise the offset between component and AM-geometry, a precise knowledge of the position of the component in the PBF-LB/M machine is mandatory. However, components cannot be inserted into the PBF-LB/M machine with repeatable accuracy, so the actual position will differ for each part. For an offset-free build-up, the actual position of the component in the PBF-LB/M machine has to be determined. In this paper, a camera-based position detection system is developed considering PBF-LB/M constraints and system requirements. This includes finding an optimal camera position considering the spatial limitations of the PBF-LB/M machine and analysing the resulting process coordinate systems. In addition, a workflow is developed to align different coordinate systems and simultaneously correct the perspective distortion in the acquired camera images. Thus, position characteristics can be determined from images by image moments. For this purpose, different image segmentation algorithms are compared. The precision of the system developed is evaluated in tests with 2D objects. A precision of up to 30μm in translational direction and an angular precision of 0.021∘ is achieved. Finally, a 3D demonstrator was built using this proposed hybrid strategy. The offset between base component and AM-geometry is determined by 3D scanning and is 69μm.
Commercial high-strength fller metals for wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) are already available. However, widespread industrial use is currently limited due to a lack of quantitative knowledge and guidelines regarding welding stresses and component safety during manufacture and operation for WAAM structures. In a joint research project, the process- and material-related as well as design infuences associated with residual stress formation and the risk of cold cracking are being investigated. For this purpose, reference specimens are welded fully automated with defned dimensions and systematic variation of heat control using a special, high-strength WAAM fller metal (yield strength>790 MPa). Heat control is varied by means of heat input (200–650 kJ/m) and interlayer temperature (100–300 °C). The ∆t8/5 cooling times correspond with the recommendations of fller metal producers (approx. 5–20 s). For this purpose, additional thermo-physical forming simulations using a dilatometer allowed the complex heat cycles to be reproduced and the resulting ultimate tensile strength of the weld metal to be determined. Welding parameters and AM geometry are correlated with the resulting microstructure, hardness, and residual stress state. High heat input leads to a lower tensile stress in the component and may cause unfavorable microstructure and mechanical properties. However, a sufciently low interlayer temperature is likely to be suitable for obtaining adequate properties at a reduced tensile stress level when welding with high heat input. The component design afects heat dissipation conditions and the intensity of restraint during welding and has a signifcant infuence on the residual stress. These complex interactions are analyzed within this investigation. The aim is to provide easily applicable processing recommendations and standard specifcations for an economical, appropriate, and crack-safe WAAM of high-strength steels.
Alloy 36 is an iron-based alloy with 36% nickel. It is used in applications in which dimensional stability is critical, such as molding tools for composite materials in aerospace and automotive applications. Moreover, increasingly complex structures and the optimisation of resource efficiency also require additive manufacturing steps for the production or repair of components. Additively manufactured components have a heterogeneous microstructure and anisotropic mechanical properties. In addition, the manufactured components require subsequent machining surface finishing due to the high requirements. Nickel iron alloys are difficult to machine. Additionally, inhomogeneous microstructure may lead to unstable cutting forces and conditions. Alloy modifications are made to the alloy 36. For this purpose, titanium, zirconium and niobium are added up to 1 % by mass each. Plasma-Transferred-Arc is used for the welding tests. The hardness profile is determined on the transverse section. The initial structure as well as the modifications have an austenitic structure. The microstructure of the modifications of Alloy 36 with 1% Ti and 1% Zr is not refined, instead the grain size increases.
Influence of a 265 °C heat treatment on the residual stress state of a PBF-LB/M AlSi10Mg alloy
(2022)
Laser Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB/M) additive manufacturing (AM) induces
high magnitude residual stress (RS) in structures due to the extremely heterogeneous cooling and heating rates. As the RS can be deleterious to the fatigue resistance of engineering components, great efforts are focused on understanding their generation and evolution after post-process heat treatments. In this study, one of the few of its kind, the RS relaxation induced in an as-built PBF-LB/M AlSi10Mg material by a low-temperature heat treatment (265 °C for 1 h) is studied by means of X-ray and neutron diffraction. Since the specimens are manufactured using a baseplate heated up to 200 °C, low RS are found in the as-built condition. After heat treatment a redistribution of the RS is observed, while their magnitude remains constant. It is proposed that the redistribution is induced by a repartition of stresses between the a-aluminium matrix and the silicon phase, as the morphology of the silicon phase is affected by the heat treatment. A considerable scatter is observed in the neutron diffraction RS profiles, which is principally correlated to the presence (or absence) of pockets of porosity developed at the borders of the chessboard pattern.
With additive manufacturing in the powder bed, the component size is limited by the installation space. Joint welding of additively manufactured parts offers a possibility to remove this size limitation. However, due to the specific stress and microstructure state in the additively built material, it is unclear to what extent existing evaluation rules of joint welding are also suitable for welds on additive components. This is investigated using laser beam welding of additively manufactured pipe joints. The welds are evaluated by means of visual inspection, metallographic examinations as well as computed tomography. The types of defects found are comparable to conventional components. This is an indicator that existing evaluation regulations also map the possible defects occurring for weld seams on additive components.
When it comes to higher accuracies, new technologies and real applications in additive manufacturing, there is one topic which cannot be avoided: The material response on the chosen processing parameters and its agreement and correspondence with literature data of the wrought material grade counterpart. In industrial Additive Manufacturing (AM) standards in terms of printing parameters, protection gas atmospheres or powder handling instructions are not obligatory. Therefore, the question must be answered whether the AM process is reproducible and reliable over different printing companies. This was the motivation to realize a round robin test between 8 European printing companies and academic partners. The consortium had printed and tested fatigue and tensile testing bars under plant-specific conditions. A commonly used cast aluminum alloy, AlSi10Mg, was chosen as test material for the PBF-LB/M process. Differences of the results between the partners and the scatter itself were discussed in detail.
When it comes to higher accuracies, new technologies and real applications in additive manufacturing, there is one topic which cannot be avoided: The material response on the chosen processing parameters and its agreement and correspondence with literature data of the wrought material grade counterpart. In industrial Additive Manufacturing (AM) standards in terms of printing parameters, protection gas atmospheres or powder handling instructions are not obligatory. Therefore, the question must be answered whether the AM process is reproducible and reliable over different printing companies. This was the motivation to realize a round robin test between 8 European printing companies and academic partners. The consortium had printed and tested fatigue and tensile testing bars under plant-specific conditions. A commonly used cast aluminum alloy, AlSi10Mg, was chosen as test material for the PBF-LB/M process. Differences of the results between the partners and the scatter itself were discussed in detail.
Directed energy deposition (DED) has been in industrial use as a coating process for many years. Modern applications include the repair of existing components and additive manufacturing. The main advantages of DED are high deposition rates and low energy input. However, the process is influenced by a variety of parameters affecting the component quality. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) offer the possibility of mapping complex processes such as DED. They can serve as a tool for predicting optimal process parameters and quality characteristics. Previous research only refers to weld beads: a transferability to additively manufactured three-dimensional components has not been investigated. In the context of this work, an ANN is generated based on 86 weld beads. Quality categories (poor, medium, and good) are chosen as target variables to combine several quality features. The applicability of this categorization compared to conventional characteristics is discussed in detail. The ANN predicts the quality category of weld beads with an average accuracy of 81.5%. Two randomly generated parameter sets predicted as “good” by the network are then used to build tracks, coatings,walls, and cubes. It is shown that ANN trained with weld beads are suitable for complex parameter predictions in a limited way.
With the introduction of a hydrogen-based energy and national economy, safety-relevant components for hydrogen technologies are becoming increasingly important. Characteristic of hydrogen technologies are, for example, harsh environmental conditions such as cryogenic or high-pressure storage, corrosion issues in fuel cells and electrolyzers, turbines, and many more. Additive manufacturing of components is becoming increasingly important and irreplaceable for the production of complex technical systems. Using the case studies of burners for gas turbines and electrodes and membranes for polymer (PEMFC) and solid oxide (SOFC) fuel cells, this article shows the potential of additive manufacturing of components. At the same time, however, the challenge of considering divergent mechanical properties depending on the direction of assembly in a "hydrogen-compatible" manner is also highlighted. Finally, the challenges posed by additive manufacturing and hydrogen for materials testing are highlighted under scenarios that are as realistic as possible.
Co-Cr alloys are frequently used for highly stressed components, especially in turbine and plant construction, due to their high resistance to thermal and mechanical stress, as well as to corrosive and abrasive loads. Furthermore, they are classified as difficult-to-cut materials because of their high strength and toughness as well as their low thermal conductivity. However, for Co, an increased cost and supply risk can be observed in recent years. Therefore, additive manufacturing (AM) offers significant economic advantages due to higher material efficiency regarding repair, modification, and manufacturing of such components. Concerning inhomogeneity and anisotropy of the microstructure and properties as well as manufacturing-related stresses, a lot of knowledge is still necessary for the economic use of additive welding processes in SMEs. In addition, subsequent machining, particularly contour milling, is essential to generate the required complex contours and surfaces. Hence, additive and machining manufacturing processes need to be coordinated in a complementary way, especially due to additional challenges arising in milling of heterogeneous hard-to-cut microstructures. Recently, it has been shown that modern, hybrid cutting processes, such as ultrasonic-assisted milling (US), can improve the cutting situation. In this investigation, the Co-Cr initial alloy is additionally modified with Ti and Zr up to 1 wt% with the aim to enhance the homogeneity of the microstructure and, thus, the machinability. Hence the investigation includes finish milling tests of the AM components and the comparison of US and conventional machining. Both the modifications and the ultrasonic assistance exhibit a significant effect on the machining situation; for example US causes a higher surface integrity of the finish milled surfaces compared to conventional milling.
The round robin test investigated the reliability users can expect for AlSi10Mg additive manufactured specimens by laser powder bed fusion through examining powder quality, process parameter, microstructure defects, strength and fatigue. Besides for one outlier, expected static material properties could be found. Optical microstructure inspection was beneficial to determine true porosity and porosity types to explain the occurring scatter in properties. Fractographic analyses reveal that the fatigue crack propagation starts at the rough as-built surface for all specimens. Statistical analysis of the scatter in fatigue using statistical derived safety factors concludes that at a stress of 36.87 MPa the fatigue limit of 107 cycles could be reached for all specimen with a survival probability of 99.999 %.
The manufacturability of metallic alloys using laser-based additive manufacturing methods such as laser powder bed fusion has substantially improved within the last decade. However, local melting and solidification cause hierarchically structured and crystallographically textured microstructures possessing large residual stress. Such microstructures are not only the origin of mechanical anisotropy but also pose metrological challenges for the diffraction-based residual stress determination. Here we demonstrate the influence of the build orientation and the texture on the microstructure and consequently the mechanical anisotropy of as-built Inconel 718. For this purpose, we manufactured specimens with [001]/[011]-, [001]- and [011]/[111]-type textures along their loading direction. In addition to changes in the Young’s moduli, the differences in the crystallographic textures result in variations of the yield and ultimate tensile strengths. With this in mind, we studied the anisotropy on the micromechanical scale by subjecting the specimens to tensile loads along the different texture directions during in situ neutron diffraction experiments. In this context, the response of multiple lattice planes up to a tensile strain of 10% displayed differences in the load partitioning and the residual strain accumulation for the specimen with [011]/[111]-type texture. However, the relative behavior of the specimens possessing an [001]/[011]- and [001]-type texture remained qualitatively similar. The consequences on the metrology of residual stress determination methods are discussed.
Alloy 36 (1.3912), also known as “Invar”, is an alloy with 36% nickel. The alloy has a remarkably low thermal expansion coefficient in certain temperature ranges. Therefore, it is used in applications in which dimensional stability is critical, such as moulding tools for composite materials in aerospace and automotive applications. Moreover, increasingly complex structures and the optimisation of resource efficiency also require additive manufacturing steps for the production or repair of components. Additively manufactured components have a heterogeneous microstructure and anisotropic mechanical properties. In part I of this investigation, the initial alloy 36 is modified with the elements Ti, Zr and Hf up to a maximum of 0.33 wt.-%. The influence of the modification elements on the microstructure as well as on the hardness of the AM components is examined. Part II focusses on the effect of the alloy modifications on machinability as well as on the surface integrity of plasma-transferred-arc-welded (PTA) and finish milled invar components. The results show that PTA welding cause numerous finely distributed precipitates with high silicon content.
Ni alloys are generally classified as difficult-to-cut materials and cost intensive. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers economic advantages. However, machining of these AM components is mandatory to create the final contour or surface. The inhomogeneous and anisotropic microstructure and properties of AM components causes an unstable cutting process. Moreover, undesirable tensile residual stresses are generated due to subsequent machining. In this investigation, the initial alloy 36 is modified with Ti and Nb up to 1.6 wt.-% and build-up welded via gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and plasma-transferred-arc (PTA). Then, finish-milling tests are carried out to investigate the influence of the modification as well as the cutting parameters on the resulting cutting force and the surface integrity. In addition, the conventional milling process (CM) is compared with the ultrasonic-assisted milling process (US), which has a significant influence on the machinability as well as on the surface integrity.
Alloy 36 (1.3912), also known as “Invar”, is an alloy with 36% nickel. It was developed in 1897 by Guillaume and stands out for its very low thermal expansion coefficient. It is classified as a difficult-to-cut material and is commonly used for the production of fiber-reinforced composites in the field of mold construction. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers many economic advantages regarding the repair, modification and manufacture of entire components. Subsequent machining of the AM components is necessary to account for complex structures, final contours or defined surfaces. In part I of this investigation, the initial alloy 36 is modified with the elements Ti, Zr and Hf up to a maximum of 0.33 wt.-%. The influence of the modification elements on the microstructure as well as on the hardness of the AM components is examined. Part II focusses on the effect of the alloy modifications on machinability as well as on the surface integrity of plasma-transferred-arc-welded (PTA) and finish milled invar components. Machining tests were carried out, to investigate the influence of ultrasonic assistance and the effects of modification elements Ti, Zr and Hf on the occurring cutting forces, temperatures and resulting surface integrity of the AM components made of alloy 36 and their modifications. The results show a significant positive influence of ultrasonic assistance on the resulting cutting force as well as on the roughness of all materials investigated.
Co-Cr alloys are frequently used for highly stressed components, especially in turbine and plant construction, due to their high resistance to thermal and mechanical stress, as well as to corrosive and abrasive loads. Furthermore, they are classified as difficult-to-cut materials because of their high strength and toughness as well as their low thermal conductivity. However, for Co, an increased cost and supply risk can be observed in recent years. Therefore, additive manufacturing (AM) offers significant economic advantages due to higher material efficiency regarding repair, modification, and manufacturing of such components. Concerning inhomogeneity and anisotropy of the microstructure and properties as well as manufacturing-related stresses, a lot of knowledge is still necessary for the economic use of additive welding processes in SMEs. In addition, subsequent machining, particularly contour milling, is essential to generate the required complex contours and surfaces. Hence, additive and machining manufacturing processes need to be coordinated in a complementary way, especially due to additional challenges arising in milling of heterogeneous hard-to-cut microstructures. Recently, it has been shown that modern, hybrid cutting processes, such as ultrasonic-assisted milling (US), can improve the cutting situation. In this investigation, the Co-Cr initial alloy is additionally modified with Ti and Zr up to 1 wt.-% with the aim to enhance the homogeneity of the microstructure and, thus, the machinability. Hence the investigation includes finish milling tests of the AM components and the comparison of US and conventional machining. Both the modifications and the ultrasonic assistance exhibit a significant effect on the machining situation, e.g., US causes a higher surface integrity of the finish milled surfaces compared to conventional milling.
Ni alloys are generally classified as difficult-to-cut materials and cost intensive. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers economic advantages. However, machining of these AM components is mandatory to create the final contour or surface. The inhomogeneous and anisotropic microstructure and properties of AM components causes an unstable cutting process. Moreover, undesirable tensile residual stresses are generated due to subsequent machining. In this investigation, the initial alloy 36 is modified with Ti and Nb up to 1.6 wt.-% and build-up welded via gas metal arc welding (GMAW) and plasma-transferred-arc (PTA). Then, finish-milling tests are carried out to investigate the influence of the modification as well as the cutting parameters on the resulting cutting force and the surface integrity. In addition, the conventional milling process (CM) is compared with the ultrasonic-assisted milling process (US), which has a significant influence on the machinability as well as on the surface integrity.
Design methodology of vessel produced by L PBF stainless steel using representative specimens
(2022)
This work presents the preliminary results of an ongoing project with a double objective: on the one hand, the characterisation of the mechanical properties against fatigue damage of an additively manufactured 316 stainless steel produced by laser powder bed-based (L-PBF) technology; on the other hand, the implementation of numerical simulation techniques able to predict the mechanical behaviour of the material in order to optimise and reduce the design costs of vessels used in the chemical sector. The current state of the work developed in this research framework allows showing the first batch of experimental results of crack propagation rate (FCGR) and high cycle fatigue (HCF) tests. The geometry of the vessels studied presents three clearly differentiated regions, either in terms of thickness (11-15 mm) or concerning the inclination of the walls to the direction of manufacturing (0º - 45º). The experimental campaign carried out so far allows identifying the differences in behaviour when comparing different extraction locations around the vessel. This is due to the variations in thermal cycles that the deposited material undergoes during the manufacturing process. Therefore, this causes variations in the microstructure which lead to changes in the response of the material. In this work, these differences are analysed qualitatively and quantitatively from the results of FCGR and HCF, thus allowing to locate the regions with the highest risk in terms of structural integrity against fatigue. This preliminary phase together with the numerical simulation of the additive manufacturing process are key to achieving a reliable description and modelling of the material. The latter will make it possible to address the priority aim of this project, involving the manufacture of independent samples whose properties are representative of the original material extracted from the reference vessels. It is, therefore, a comprehensive methodology for the design of additively manufactured components based on the localised fatigue mechanical properties of representative specimens.
Alloy 36 (1.3912), also known as “Invar”, is an alloy with 36% nickel. It was developed in 1897 by Guillaume and stands out for its very low thermal expansion coefficient. It is classified as a difficult-to-cut material and is commonly used for the production of fiber-reinforced composites in the field of mold construction. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers many economic advantages regarding the repair, modification and manufacture of entire components. Subsequent machining of the AM components is necessary to account for complex structures, final contours or defined surfaces. This is usually done using a tool with a geometrically defined cutting edge, i.e., milling processes. Surface integrity is determined by metallurgical (e.g., microstructure of the subsurface), topological (e.g., surface defects, roughness) and mechanical (e.g., residual stresses) factors, which is crucial in terms of component safety and performance. Modern, hybrid cutting processes, such as ultrasonic-assisted milling (US), provide potentially improvement of the cutting situation of these components.
In part I of this investigation, the initial alloy 36 is modified with the elements Ti, Zr and Nb up to a maximum of 1 wt.-%. The influence of the modification elements on the microstructure as well as on the hardness of the AM components is examined. Part II focusses on the effect of the alloy modifications on machinability as well as on the surface integrity of plasma-transferred-arc-welded (PTA) and finish milled invar components.
The results show a significant positive influence of ultrasonic assistance on the resulting cutting force of both materials. The modification with 1% Ti shows a positive influence on the surface integrity, as the roughness of the conventional machining processes is lower compared to the initial alloy, which has to be confirmed in further experiments.
Ni alloys are cost intensive materials and generally classified as difficult-to-cut materials. However, machining of these materials is needed especially in case of alloy 36 (1.3912), which is commonly used in mould construction for the production of fibre-reinforced composites. With regard to repair, modification and manufacturing of such components, additive manufacturing offers significant economic advantages. Nevertheless, subsequent machining steps are needed to achieve the final component contour and defined surface conditions. Dependent on the material and machining process conditions, detrimental tensile residual stresses may be the result on the machined surface, having negative impact on the component performance and safety. Recent studies exhibited that hybrid machining processes, such as ultrasonic-assisted milling (USAM), are suitable for achieving favourable residual stress states at the surface of difficult-to-cut Ni-Cr alloys. In this investigation, wire arc additive manufactured (WAAM) specimens of alloy 36 were finish milled under different milling conditions. In addition to the machined surfaces condition and topology, the surface-near residual stresses were analysed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Especially for low cutting speeds, significantly improved surface properties, roughness parameters and lower mechanical and microstructural degradations were found for the specimen machined with USAM compared to conventional milling. The improved surface integrity could furthermore be observed by a significant reduction of the tensile residual stresses in the surface boundary area.
Ni alloys are cost intensive materials and generally classified as difficult-to-cut materials. However, machining of these materials is needed especially in case of alloy 36 (1.3912), which is commonly used in mould construction for the production of fibre-reinforced composites. With regard to repair, modification and manufacturing of such components, additive manufacturing offers significant economic advantages. Nevertheless, subsequent machining steps are needed to achieve the final component contour and defined surface conditions. Dependent on the material and machining process conditions, detrimental tensile residual stresses may be the result on the machined surface, having negative impact on the component performance and safety. Recent studies exhibited that hybrid machining processes, such as ultrasonic-assisted milling (USAM), are suitable for achieving favourable residual stress states at the surface of difficult-to-cut Ni-Cr alloys. In this investigation, wire arc additive manufactured (WAAM) specimens of alloy 36 were finish milled under different milling conditions. In addition to the machined surfaces condition and topology, the surface-near residual stresses were analysed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Especially for low cutting speeds, significantly improved surface properties, roughness parameters and lower mechanical and microstructural degradations were found for the specimen machined with USAM compared to conventional milling. The improved surface integrity could furthermore be observed by a significant reduction of the tensile residual stresses in the surface boundary area.
Metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies such as Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) are characterized by layer wise construction, which enable advancements of component design, with associated potential gains in performance and efficiency. However, high magnitude residual stresses (RS) are often a product of the rapid thermal cycles typical of the layerwise process. Therefore, a deep understanding of the formation of RS, the influence of process parameters on their magnitude and the impact on mechanical performance is crucial for widespread application. The experimental characterisation of these RS is essential for safety related engineering application and supports the development of reliable numerical models. Diffraction-based methods for RS analysis using neutrons and high energy X-rays enable non-destructive spatially resolved characterisation of both surface and bulk residual stresses in complex components. This presentation will provide an overview of recent research by the BAM at large scale facilities for the characterization of residual stresses in LPBF metallic alloys as a function of process parameters. In addition, the challenges posed by the textured and hierarchical microstructures of LPBF materials on diffraction-based RS analysis in AM materials will be discussed. This will include the question of the d0 reference lattice spacing and the appropriate choice of the diffraction elastic constants (DECs) to calculate the level of RS in LPBF manufactured alloys.
Joining processes for components in hydrogen technologies: Current need and future importance
(2022)
This presentation gives an overview on the importance of joining processes for component fabrication in hydrogen technologies. For that reason, the current need and future research and developement activites are highlighted for the three technological fields: hydrogen storage, transport and use (in terms of the emerging field of additive manufacturing). Finally, some remarks are given for necessary changes in the standardization.
Additive manufacturing (AM) is becoming increasingly important in engineering applications due to the possibility of producing components with a high geometrical complexity allowing for optimized forms with respect to the in-service functionality. Despite the promising potential, AM components are still far from being used in safety-relevant applications, mainly due to a lack of understanding of the feedstock-process-properties-performance relationship. This work aims at providing a full characterization of the fatigue behavior of the additively manufactured AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel and a direct comparison with the fatigue performance of the wrought steel. To this purpose, a set of specimens has been produced by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) and subsequently heat treated at 900 °C for 1 hour for complete stress relief, whereas a second set of specimens has been machined out of hot-rolled plates. Low cycle fatigue (LCF) and high cycle fatigue (HCF) tests have been conducted for characterizing the fatigue behavior. The L-PBF material had a higher fatigue limit and better finite life performance compared to wrought material. Both, LCF and HCF-testing revealed an extensive cyclic softening.
Al-Si alloys produced by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) techniques allow the fabrication of lightweight free-shape components that find space in aerospace, automotive, biomedical and military applications. Due to the high cooling rates occurring during the building process, L-PBF AlSi10Mg alloys exhibit an ultra-fine microstructure that leads to superior mechanical properties in the as-built condition compared to conventional cast Al-Si materials. Nevertheless, L-PBF processing induces high thermal gradients, leading to deleterious residual stress levels that must be considered to avoid part distortion and unpredicted failures. In order to relax detrimental residual stress and to increase the ductility, post-processing stress relief treatments are generally performed. In as-built condition the hypoeutectic AlSi10Mg microstructure consist of fine α-Al cells containing uniformly dispersed silicon nanoparticles, which are, in addition, surrounded by a eutectic Si network. Above 260°C the silicon interconnectivity starts to breakdown into spheroidized particles and to coarsen. At the same time, the heating residual stresses are relieved.
The objective of the contribution is to investigate, under different heat treatment conditions, the evolution of microstructure and residual stresses in view of optimizing the fatigue performance of the alloy. To this purpose various heat treatments in a range of temperatures between 265°C and 300°C for a duration between 15 minutes and 2 hours are performed. The microstructure modifications are analysed using a scanning electron microscope and the residual stress state is measured by laboratory X-ray diffraction.
Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is an additive manufacturing process for materials which inherently tends to yield various degrees of metastable hierarchical microstructures, defects and high residual stresses in the as-built condition depending on the process parameters. The understanding of the evolution of these typical features during heat treatment and subsequent thermal and mechanical ageing is crucial for the wider acceptance for safety critical structures. A multi-disciplinary research project at BAM studying the development of the microstructure, defects, residual stresses typical of LPBF 316L and their evolution during thermal and mechanical ageing has led to insights into the stability of these inherent features. This presentation aims to give a broad overview of the project with a few specific cases of investigation. Firstly, the formation of residual stresses, the nature of the initial microstructure, the tensile properties and a modelling approach to understand the anisotropy will be presented. This will be followed by examples of studies of their evolution during heat treatment, long term thermal exposure, and room temperature and high temperature mechanical testing compared to a baseline of conventional wrought variant of the same alloy.
Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are experiencing an exceedingly rapid growth, driven by their potential through layer wise deposition for transformational improvements of engineering design, leading to efficiency and performance improvements. Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) is an Additive Manufacturing (AM) method which permits the fabrication of complex structures that cannot otherwise be produced via conventional subtractive manufacturing methods. Nevertheless, the rapid cooling rates associated with this process results in the formation of significant and complex residual stress (RS) fields. A large body of both experimental and simulation research has been dedicated in recent years to the control and mitigation of RS in AM. In order to validate simulations with the end goal of being able to model the residual stress state in AM components and to devise strategies for their reduction during manufacturing, experimental methods need to be able to accurately determine 3D residual stresses fields in complex geometries. Several destructive and non-destructive methods can be used to analyze the RS state, the choice of which depends on the geometry and the information required. Diffraction-based methods using penetrating neutron and synchrotron X-rays at large scale facilities offer the possibility to non-destructively spatially resolve both surface and bulk residual stresses in complex components and track their changes following applied thermal or mechanical loads. This presentation will overview the success stories of using large scale facilities by the BAM for the characterization of residual stresses in additively manufactured metallic alloys. In particular, the study of the influence of process parameters on the residual stress state and the relaxation of these stresses through heat treatment will be presented. However there remains challenges to overcome particularly of the hypotheses underlying the experimental determination of residual stresses, which will be discussed.
Metal Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies such as Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) enable the fabrication of complex structures, giving rise to potential improvements in component and manufacturing efficiency. However, the processes are typically characterized by the generation of high magnitude residual stress (RS) which can have detrimental consequences for subsequent applications. Therefore, the characterization of these RS fields and the understanding of their formation and mitigation through optimized processing is crucial for the wider uptake of the technology. Due to the potential complex nature and high value of components manufactured by LPBF, it is important to have suitable characterisation methods which can determine the spatial variations of RS in a non-destructive manner. Neutron diffraction is considered to be the best suited for these requirements. However, the microstructures developed in the complex thermal cycles experience in the production can pose challenges to the ND method for RS analysis. The BAM has conducted significant research over the past years to overcome these obstacles, enabling higher confidence in the RS determined in LPBF materials by neutron diffraction. This contribution will overview some of these advancements made recently at European neutron sources including on Stress-Spec at FRM2/MLZ.
Al-Si alloys produced by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) techniques allow the fabrication of lightweight free-shape components. Due to the high cooling rates occurring during the building process, L-PBF AlSi10Mg alloys exhibit an ultra-fine microstructure that leads to superior mechanical properties in the as-built condition compared to conventional cast Al-Si materials. Nevertheless, L-PBF processing induces high thermal gradients, leading to deleterious residual stress. In order to relax detrimental residual stress and to increase the ductility, post-processing stress relief treatments are performed. The objective of the contribution is to investigate, under different heat treatment condition, the evolution of microstructure and residual stresses in view of optimizing the fatigue performance of the alloy. To this purpose various heat treatments in a range of temperatures between 265°C and 300°C for a duration between 15 minutes and 2 hours are performed.
Nickel-iron-alloy modification to enhance additively welded microstructure for subsequent milling
(2021)
The aerospace industry uses nickel-iron-alloys to create moulding tools for composite materials because of the low coefficient of thermal expansion. These tools have a large-sized and complex structure, making them cost-intensive and difficult to manufacture. Therefore, the focus is set on additive manufacturing, which can additionally enable the repair of components in order to eliminate local defects. However, the process usually results in a heterogeneous microstructure and anisotropic mechanical properties. As there is a high demand for a precise and exact fit of the precision moulds and thus the surface quality, the welded components must be subsequently machined. Nickel-iron alloys are difficult to machine and an inhomogeneous microstructure also leads to unstable cutting forces.
Consequently, a refinement and homogenisation of the microstructure morphology is achieved through specific alloy modifications in order to stabilise and improve the subsequent machining process. Studies on the refinement of FeNi 36 based on vacuum arc melting furnaces are used as a starting point. Therefore, titanium and niobium are chosen as modification elements with a maximum 1 % weight percent and are added to nickel-iron base alloy. The elements are alloyed and build-up welded by using plasma-transferred-arc welding. The resulting microstructure morphology of the welded wall structure and the machining properties are then determined. Furthermore, the influence on the coefficient of thermal expansion is investigated in connection with the modification and the welding process itself. It can be shown that even small amounts of niobium have a significant influence on the structural morphology of the welded layers during plasma-transferred-arc welding.
This study reports on the stress relaxation potential of stress-relieving heat treatments for laser powder bed fused 316L. The residual stress is monitored non-destructively using neutron diffraction before and after the heat treatment. Moreover, the evolution of the microstructure is analysed using scanning electron microscopy. The results show, that a strong relaxation of the residual stress is obtained when applying a heat treatment temperature at 900°C. However, the loss of the cellular substructure needs to be considered when applying this heat treatment strategy.
Additive manufacturing processes are increasingly being used in industrial applications. Especially powder bed fusion processes are of high interest due to their capability to economically produce individual, highly complex and functionally integrated components in small batches.
However, the quality assurance of these components remains a challenge. Internal defects and undesirable microstructures and surface conditions can deteriorate the mechanical properties. Especially for use in safety-relevant applications, new design and inspection concepts are needed that take these factors into account.
This talk presents typical defects and microstructure phenomena resulting from the laser powder bed fusion process and identifies challenges and opportunities for non-destructive testing from a manufacturing engineering perspective. In particular, the possibility of a process-integrated quality control is shown based on current research results.
Within the group of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies for metals, laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) has a leading position. Nevertheless, reproducibility of part properties has not reached sufficient maturity hindering the use for industrial applications especially for safety-relevant components. This article presents the results of various experimental tests performed with the aluminium alloy AlSi10Mg identifying reasons for the high deviations in mechanical properties. Herein, it is discussed how microstructure is influenced by different process parameters (laser power, scanning speed, energy density, building height) and how it can be adjusted by suitable post process heat treatments. The impact of resulting changes in microstructure is shown by monotonic tensile and cyclic fatigue tests considering specimens manufactured with different L-PBF machines.
Within the group of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies for metals, laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) has a leading position. Nevertheless, reproducibility of part properties has not reached sufficient maturity hindering the use for industrial applications especially for safety-relevant components. This article presents the results of various experimental tests performed with the aluminium alloy AlSi10Mg identifying reasons for the high deviations in mechanical properties. Herein, it is discussed how microstructure is influenced by different process parameters (laser power, scanning speed, energy density, building height) and how it can be adjusted by suitable post process heat treatments. The impact of resulting changes in microstructure is shown by monotonic tensile and cyclic fatigue tests considering specimens manufactured with different L-PBF machines.
Im Rahmen des Themenfeldprojektes „Process Monitoring of AM“ (ProMoAM) evaluiert die Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -Prüfung (BAM) gegenwärtig die Anwendbarkeit verschiedenster ZfP-Verfahren zur in-situ Prozessüberwachung in der additiven Fertigung (AM) von Metallen in Hinblick auf die Qualitätssicherung.
Einige der wichtigsten Messgrößen sind hierbei die Temperatur des Schmelzbades und die Abkühlrate, welche starken Einfluss auf das Gefüge und die Eigenspannung haben. Aufgrund der Zugänglichkeit zum Werkstück während des Bauprozesses bieten sich optische Verfahren zu Temperaturbestimmung an. Hierbei stellen jedoch u. a. die hohe Bandbreite der zu messenden Temperaturen, die Bestimmung der Emissivität und ihre Änderung bei Phasenübergängen der verwendeten Legierung große experimentelle Herausforderungen dar. Eine weitere Herausforderung stellt für die IR-Spektroskopie die Absorption durch das Schutzgas und weitere optische Elemente dar. Um diese auch in einem industriellen Umfeld kompensieren zu können, wurde eine Methode entwickelt, die das gemessene Spektrum bei der Verfestigung des Werkstoffes als Referenz nutzt. In diesem Beitrag wird die Anwendung dieser Methode für die IR-Spektrometrie als auch Thermografische Messungen beim Laser-Pulver-Auftragschweißen von 316L gezeigt, wobei beide Methoden weiterhin in Hinblick auf ihre individuellen Vor- und
Nachteile miteinander verglichen werden.
Undetected and undesired microstructural variations in components produced by laser powder bed fusion are a major challenge, especially for safety-critical components. In this study, an in-depth analysis of the microstructural features of 316L specimens produced by laser powder bed fusion at different levels of volumetric energy density and different levels of inter layer time is reported. The study has been conducted on specimens with an application relevant build height
(>100 mm). Furthermore, the evolution of the intrinsic preheating temperature during the build-up of specimens was monitored using a thermographic in-situ monitoring set-up. By applying recently determined emissivity values of 316L powder layers, real temperatures could be quantified. Heat accumulation led to preheating temperatures of up to about 600 °C. Significant differences in the preheating temperatures were discussed with respect to the individual process parameter combinations, including the build height. A strong effect of the inter layer time on the heat accumulation was observed. A shorter inter layer time resulted in an increase of the preheating temperature by more than a factor of 2 in the upper part of the specimens compared to longer inter layer times. This, in turn, resulted in heterogeneity of the microstructure and differences in material properties within individual specimens. The resulting differences in the microstructure were analyzed using electron back scatter diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Results from chemical analysis as well as electron back scatter diffraction measurements indicated stable conditions in terms of chemical alloy composition and austenite phase content for the used set of parameter combinations. However, an increase of the average grain size by more than a factor of 2.5 could be revealed within individual specimens. Additionally, differences in feature size of the solidification cellular substructure were examined and a trend of increasing cell sizes was observed. This trend was attributed to differences in solidification rate and thermal gradients induced by differences in scanning velocity and preheating temperature. A change of the thermal history due to intrinsic preheating could be identified as the main cause of this heterogeneity. It was induced by critical combinations of the energy input and differences in heat transfer conditions by variations of the inter layer time. The microstructural variations were directly correlated to differences in hardness.
Additive manufacturing (AM) of metals and in particular laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) enables a degree of freedom in design unparalleled by conventional subtractive methods. To ensure that the designed precision is matched by the produced LPBF parts, a full understanding of the interaction between the laser and the feedstock powder is needed. It has been shown that the laser also melts subjacent layers of material underneath. This effect plays a key role when designing small cavities or overhanging structures, because, in these cases, the material underneath is feed-stock powder. In this study, we quantify the extension of the melt pool during laser illumination of powder layers and the defect spatial distribution in a cylindrical specimen. During the LPBF process, several layers were intentionally not exposed to the laser beam at various locations, while the build process was monitored by thermography and optical tomography. The cylinder was finally scanned by X-ray computed tomography (XCT). To correlate the positions of the unmolten layers in the part, a staircase was manufactured around the cylinder for easier registration. The results show that healing among layers occurs if a scan strategy is applied, where the orientation of the hatches is changed for each subsequent layer. They also show that small pores and surface roughness of solidified material below a thick layer of unmolten material (>200 µm) serve as seeding points for larger voids. The orientation of the first two layers fully exposed after a thick layer of unmolten powder shapes the orientation of these voids, created by a lack of fusion.
This article is an outcome of a workshop on Fatigue of Additive Manufactured Metallic Components jointly organized by the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) Berlin, Germany and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Boulder, CO, U.S.A. The aim of the workshop was a comprehensive discussion of the specific aspects of additively manufactured (AM) components in regard to failure under cyclic loading. Undoubtedly, a better understanding and the further development of approaches for damage tolerant component design of AM parts are among the most significant challenges currently facing the use of these new technologies.
This article presents a thorough overview of the workshop discussions. It aims to provide a review of the parameters affecting the damage tolerance of AM parts with special emphasis on the process parameters intrinsic to the AM technologies, the resulting defects and residual stresses. Based on these aspects, concepts for damage tolerant component design for AM are reviewed and critically discussed.
Due to increasing requirements relating to the efficiency of highly stressed components in turbine or plant construction, the use of cost-intensive, difficult to process materials is increasingly necessary today. In this context, cobalt-chromium alloys in particular are highly resistant to thermal and mechanical stress, as well as to corrosive and abrasive loads. Moreover, increasingly complex structures and the optimisation of resource efficiency also require additive manufacturing steps for the production or repair of components in many sectors. In order to realise a homogeneous and isotropic microstructure, alloy modifications are made to the alloy CoCr26Ni9Mo5W. For this purpose, hafnium and zirconium are added at 1 % and 0,33 % by mass each, as these elements are supposed to have a positive effect on the microstructure morphology. Plasma-Transferred-Arc is used for the welding tests. Wall structures are welded by multiple single-layer, overlapping welding beads on low-alloyed steel substrate (S355). The results show that the alloying elements hafnium and zirconium have a clear influence on the microstructure. Hardness measurements were also carried out. With each modification, the hardness is increased compared to the original material. The machining analyses show a reduction in cutting forces using ultrasonic assisted milling for high cutting speed and low feed rate.
Laser based powder bed fusion additive manufacturing offers the flexibility to incorporate standard and userdefined scan strategies in a layer or in between the layers for the customized fabrication of metallic components. In the present study, four different scan strategies and their impact on the development of microstructure, texture, and residual stresses in laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing of a nickel-based superalloy Inconel 718 was investigated. Light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy combined with electron backscatter diffraction, and neutron diffraction were used as the characterization tools. Strong textures with epitaxially grown columnar grains were observed along the build direction for the two individual scan strategies. Patterns depicting the respective scan strategies were visible in the build plane, which dictated the microstructure development in the other planes. An alternating strategy combining the individual strategies in the successive layers and a 67◦ rotational strategy weakened the texture by forming finer microstructural features. Von Mises equivalent stress plots revealed lower stress values and gradients, which translates as lower distortions for the alternating and rotational strategies. Overall results confirmed the scope for manipulating the microstructure, texture, and residual stresses during laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing by effectively controlling the scan strategies.
Creep and fracture behavior of conventionally and additively manufactured stainless steel 316L
(2020)
A critical task within the frame of establishing process-structure-property-performance relationships in additive manufacturing (AM) of metals is producing reliable and well-documented material behavior’s data and knowledge regarding the structure-property correlation, including the role of defects. After all, it represents the basis for developing more targeted process optimizations and more reliable predictions of performance in the future. Within this context, this contribution aims to close the actual gap of limited historical data and knowledge concerning the creep behavior of the widely used austenitic stainless steel 316L, manufactured by Laser-Powder-Bed-Fusion (L-PBF). To address this objective, specimens from conventional hot-rolled and AM material were tested under application-relevant conditions according to existing standards for conventional material, and microstructurally characterized before and after failure. The test specimens were machined from single blocks from the AM material. The blocks were manufactured using a standard scan and build-up strategy and were subsequently heat-treated. The creep behavior is described and comparatively assessed based on the creep lifetime and selected creep curves and characteristic values. The effect of defects and microstructure on the material’s behavior is analyzed based on destructive and non-destructive evaluations on selected specimens. The AM material shows shorter creep lives, reaches the secondary creep stage much faster and at a lower strain, and features lower creep ductility compared to its conventional counterpart. The creep damage behavior of the AM material is more microstructure than defect controlled and is characterized by the formation and accumulation of single intergranular damage along the whole volume. Critical features identified are the grain morphology and the grain-boundary as well as the dislocation’s density. Micro-computed tomography (µCT) proves to be an alternative to metallography to analyze the creep damage.
Rapid cooling rates and steep temperature gradients are characteristic of additively manufactured parts and important factors for the residual stress formation. This study examined the influence of heat accumulation on the distribution of residual stress in two prisms produced by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) of austenitic stainless steel 316L. The layers of the prisms were exposed using two different border fill scan strategies: one scanned from the centre to the perimeter and the other from the perimeter to the centre. The goal was to reveal the effect of different heat inputs on samples featuring the same solidification shrinkage. Residual stress was characterised in one plane perpendicular to the building direction at the mid height using Neutron and Lab X-ray diffraction. Thermography data obtained during the build process were analysed in order to correlate the cooling rates and apparent surface temperatures with the residual stress results. Optical microscopy and micro computed tomography were used to correlate defect populations with the residual stress distribution. The two scanning strategies led to residual stress distributions that were typical for additively manufactured components: compressive stresses in the bulk and tensile stresses at the surface. However, due to the different heat accumulation, the maximum residual stress levels differed. We concluded that solidification shrinkage plays a major role in determining the shape of the residual stress distribution, while the temperature gradient mechanism appears to determine the magnitude of peak residual stresses.
Directed energy deposition is a metal additive manufacturing process that builds parts by joining material in a layer-by-layer fashion on a substrate. Those parts are exposed to rapid thermo-cycles which cause steep stress gradients and the layer-upon-layer manufacturing fosters an anisotropic microstructure, therefore stress relief heat treatment is necessary. The numerical simulation can be used to find suitable parameters for the heat treatment and to reduce the necessary efforts to perform an effective stress relieving. Suitable validation Experiments are necessary to verify the results of the numerical simulation.
In this paper, a 3D coupled thermo-mechanical model is used to simulate the heat treatment of an additive manufactured component to investigate the application of a C-ring geometry for the distortion-based validation of the numerical simulation.
Therefore, the C-ring samples were 3D scanned using a structured light 3D scanner to quantify the distortion after each process step.
In additive manufacturing (AM) directed energy deposition (DED), parts are built by welding layers of powder or wire feedstock onto a substrate with applications for steel powders in the fields of forging tools, spare parts, and structural components for various industries. For large and bulky parts, the choice of toolpaths influences the build rate, the mechanical performance, and the distortions in a highly geometry-dependent manner. With weld-path lengths in the range of hundreds of meters, a reliable, automated tool-path generation is essential for the usability of DED processes. This contribution presents automated tool-path generation approaches and discusses the results for arbitrary geometries. Socalled “zig-zag” and “contour-parallel” processing strategies are investigated and the tool-paths are automatically formatted into machine-readable g-code for experimental validation to build sample geometries. The results are discussed in regard to volume-fill, microstructure, and porosity in dependence of the path planning according to photographs and metallographic cross-sections.
The understanding of process-microstructure-property-performance (PMPP) relationships in additive manufacturing (AM) of metals is highly necessary to achieve wide-spread industrial application and replace conventionally manufactured parts, especially regarding safety-relevant applications. To achieve this understanding, reliable data and knowledge regarding material’s microstructure-property relationships (e.g. the role of defects) is needed, since it represents the base for future more targeted process optimizations and more reliable calculations of performance. However, producing reliable material data and assessing the AM material behaviour is not an easy task: big challenges are e.g. the actual lack of standard testing methods for AM materials and the occasional difficulties in finding one-to-one comparable material data for the conventional counterpart.
This work aims to contribute to end this lack of reliable material data and knowledge for the low cycle fatigue behaviour of the most used titanium alloy in aerospace applications (Ti-6Al-4V). For this purpose, two sets of test specimens were investigated. The first set was manufactured from cylindrical rods produced by an optimized DED-L process and the second was manufactured from a hot formed round bar. The test specimens were cyclically loaded until failure in the low-cycle-fatigue (LCF) regime. The tests were carried out according to ISO 12106 between 0.3 to 1.0 % axial strain amplitude from room temperature up to 400°C. The LCF behaviour is described and compared between materials and with literature values based on cyclic deformation curves and strain-based fatigue life curves. Besides, the parameters of Manson-Coffin-Basquin relationship were calculated. The microstructures (initial and after failure) and fracture surfaces were comparative characterized. Thereby, the focus lied on understanding the role of grain morphology and defects on the failure mechanisms and fatigue lifetimes. For this latter characterization, optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and micro computed tomography (µCT) were used.
Components distort during directed energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing (AM) due to the repeated localised heating. Changing the geometry in such a way that distortion causes it to assume the desired shape – a technique called distortion-compensation – is a promising method to reach geometrically accurate parts. Transient numerical simulation can be used to generate the compensated geometries and severely reduce the amount of necessary experimental trials. This publication demonstrates the simulation-based generation of a distortioncompensated DED build for an industrial-scale component. A transient thermo-mechanical approach is extended for large parts and the accuracy is demonstrated against 3d-scans. The calculated distortions are inverted to derive the compensated geometry and the distortions after a single compensation iteration are reduced by over 65%.
In additive manufacturing (AM) Laser Metal Deposition (LMD), parts are built by welding layers of powder feedstock onto a substrate. Applications for steel powders include forging tools and structural components for various industries. For large parts, the choice of tool-paths influences the build-rate, the part performance and the distortions in a highly geometry-dependent manner. With weld-path lengths in the range of hundreds of meters, a reliable, automated tool path generation is essential for the usability of LMD processes.
In this contribution, automated tool-path generation approaches are shown and their results are discussed for arbitrary geometries. The investigated path strategies are the classical approaches: “Zig-zag-” and “contour-parallel-strategies”. After generation, the tool-paths are automatically formatted into g-code for experimental build-up and ASCII for a numerical simulation model. Finally, the tool paths are discussed in regards to volume-fill, microstructure and porosity for the experimental samples.
This work presents a part of the IGF project 18737N “Welding distortion simulation” (FOSTA P1140)
The laser-based direct energy deposition (DED) as a technology for additive manufacturing allows the production of near net shape components. Industrial applications require a stable process to ensure reproducible quality. Instabilities in the manufacturing process can lead to faulty components which do not meet the required properties.
The DED process is adjusted by various parameters such as laser power, velocity, powder mass flow and spot diameter, which interact with each other. A frequently used comparative parameter in welding is the energy per unit length and is calculated from the laser power and the velocity in laser welding. The powder per unit length comparative parameter in the DED process has also be taken into account, because this filler material absorbs energy in addition to the base material.
This paper deals with the influence of mass energy as a comparative parameter for determining the properties of additively manufactured parts. The same energy per unit length of 60 J/mm as well as the same powder per unit length of 7.2 mg/mm can be adjusted with different parameter sets. The energy per unit length and the powder per unit length determine the mass energy. The laser power is varied within the experiments between 400 W and 900 W. Energy per unit length and powder per unit length are kept constant by adjusting velocity and powder mass flow. Using the example of Inconel 718, experiments are carried out with the determined parameter sets. In a first step, individual tracks are produced and analyzed by means of micro section. The geometry of the tracks shows differences in height and width. In addition, the increasing laser power leads to a higher dilution of the base material. To determine the suitability of the parameters for additive manufacturing use, the individual tracks are used to build up parts with a square base area of 20x20 mm². An investigation by Archimedean principle shows a higher porosity with lower laser power. By further analysis of the micro sections, it can be seen that at low laser power, connection errors occur between the tracks.
The results show that laser power, velocity and powder mass flow have to be considered in particular, because a constant mass energy can lead to different geometric as well as microscopic properties.
Rapid cooling rates and steep temperature gradients are characteristic of additively manufactured (AM) parts and important factors for residual stress formation which have implications on structural integrity. This study examined the influence of heat input on the distribution of residual stresses in two prisms produced by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) of austenitic stainless steel 316L.
The layers of the prisms were exposed using two distinct helix scanning strategies: one scanned from the centre to the perimeter and the other from the perimeter to the centre. Residual stresses were characterised at one plane perpendicular to the building direction at half of its build height using neutron diffraction. In addition, the defect distribution was analysed via micro X-ray computed tomography (µCT) in a twin specimen.
Both scanning strategies reveal residual stress distributions typical for AM: compressive stresses in the bulk and tensile stresses at the surface. However, temperature gradients and maximum stress levels differ due to the different heat input. Regarding the X-ray µCT results, they show an accumulation of defects at the corners where the laser direction turned through 90°.
The results demonstrate that neutron diffraction and X-ray µCT can be successfully used as non-destructive methods to analyse through-thickness residual stress and defect distribution in AM parts, and in the presented case, illustrate the influence of scanning strategies. This approach contributes to deeper assessment of structural integrity of AM materials and components.
As humanity contemplates manned missions to Mars, strategies need to be developed for the design and operation of hospitable environments to safely work in space for years. The supply of spare parts for repair and replacement of lost equipment will be one key need, but in-space manufacturing remains the only option for a timely supply. With high flexibility in design and the ability to manufacture ready-to-use components directly from a computeraided model, additive manufacturing (AM) technologies appear extremely attractive. For the manufacturing of metal parts, laser-beam melting is the most widely used AM process. However, the handling of metal powders in the absence of gravity is one prerequisite for its successful application in space. A gas flow throughout the powder bed is successfully applied to compensate for missing gravitational forces in microgravity experiments. This so-called gas-flow-assisted powder deposition is based on a porous Building platform acting as a filter for the fixation of metal particles in a gas flow driven by a pressure difference maintained by a vacuum pump.
In this paper shortwave infrared (SWIR) thermographic measurements of the manufacturing of thin single-line walls via laser metal deposition (LMD) are presented. As the thermographic camera is mounted fixed to the welding arm, an acceleration sensor was used to assist in reconstructing the spatial position from the predefined welding path. Hereby we could obtain data sets containing the size of the molten pool and the oxide covered areas as functions of the position in the workpiece. Furthermore, the influence of the acquisition wavelength onto the thermograms was investigated in a spectral range from 1250 nm to 1550 nm. All wavelengths turned out to be usable for the in-situ process monitoring of the LMD process. The longer wavelengths are shown to be beneficial for the lower temperature range, while shorter wavelengths show more details within the molten pool.
Im Rahmen des Themenfeld Projektes „Process Monitoring of AM“ (ProMoAM) evaluiert die BAM gegenwärtig die Anwendbarkeit verschiedenster ZfP-Verfahren, darunter die Thermografie, zur Prozessüberwachung in der additiven Fertigung von Metallen in Hinblick auf die Qualitätssicherung.
In diesem Beitrag werden SWIR-Thermografiemessungen während des Bauprozesses mittels Laser Pulver Auftragsschweißen (LPA) vorgestellt. Eine Herausforderung im Rahmen dieser Messungen liegt in der Positionierung der Kamera, welche entweder fixiert am Schweißarm, also mitbewegt, oder fixiert in der Baukammer, also stationär, erfolgen kann, wobei beide Varianten mit individuellen Vor- und Nachteilen verbunden sind. Eine stationäre Befestigung der Kamera ermöglicht zwar eine einfachere Zuordnung der Messdaten zu der jeweiligen Position im Bauteil, führt jedoch bei komplexeren Geometrien zwangsläufig zu Problemen durch Abschattungen und zu defokussierten Bereichen. Zur Auswertung von Thermogrammen, welche durch eine mit dem Schweißarm mitbewegte Kamera aufgenommen wurden, sind hingegen für jedes Bild akkurate Positionsdaten der Kamera nötig um die Messdaten einer Position im Bauteil zuzuordnen. Da die Positionsdaten des Schweißarmes im allgemeinen Fall durch die Anlagensoftware nicht zur Verfügung gestellt werden, muss diese Information durch zusätzliche Messungen aufgezeichnet werden. Hierzu verwenden wir einen an der Kamera befestigten Beschleunigungssensor. Dieser ermöglicht einen zeitlichen Abgleich mit dem vorprogrammierten Verfahrweg des Schweißarmes, welcher im Allgemeinen noch Unsicherheiten bezüglich genauer Geschwindigkeiten und Beschleunigungen offenlässt. Weiterhin untersuchen wir den Einfluss des empfindlichen Spektralbereiches der IR-Kamera durch den Vergleich von Messungen mit verschiedenen schmalbandigen Bandpassfiltern (25 nm FWHM) in einem Bereich von 1150 nm bis 1550 nm.
By allowing economic on demand manufacturing of highly customized and complex workpieces, metal based additive manufacturing (AM) has the prospect to revolutionize many industrial areas. Since AM is prone to the formation of defects during the building process, a fundamental requirement for AM to become applicable in most fields is the ability to guarantee the adherence to strict quality and safety standards. A possible solution for this problem lies in the deployment of various in-situ monitoring techniques. For most of these techniques, the application to AM is still very poorly understood. Therefore, the BAM in its mission to provide safety in technology has initiated the project “Process Monitoring of AM” (ProMoAM). In this project, a wide range of in-situ process monitoring techniques, including active and passive thermography, optical tomography, optical emission and absorption spectroscopy, eddy current testing, laminography, X-ray backscattering and photoacoustic methods, are applied to laser metal deposition (LMD), laser powder bed fusion and wire arc AM. Since it is still unclear which measured quantities are relevant for the detection of defects, these measurements are performed very thoroughly. In successive steps, the data acquired by all these methods is fused and compared to the results of reference methods such as computer tomography and ultrasonic immersion testing. The goal is to find reliable methods to detect the formation of defects during the building process. The detailed acquired data sets may also be used for comparison with simulations.
Here, we show first results of high speed (> 300 Hz) thermographic measurements of the LMD process in the SWIR range using 316L as building material. For these experiments, the camera was mounted fixed to the welding arm of the LMD machine to keep the molten pool in focus, regardless of the shape of the specimen. As the thermograms do not contain any information about the current spatial position during the building process, we use an acceleration sensor to track the movement and synchronize the measured data with the predefined welding path. This allows us to reconstruct the geometry of the workpieces and assign the thermographic data to spatial positions. Furthermore, we investigate the influence of the acquisition wavelength on the thermographic data by comparing measurements acquired with different narrow bandpass filters (50 nm FWHM) in a spectral range from 1150 nm to 1550 nm.
This research was funded by BAM within the Focus Area Materials.
As a part of ProMoAM project, we are optimizing a prototype X-ray backscatter to reach NDT requirements, and thereafter to apply it for process monitoring. Moreover, we studied the capability of a radiography approach to detect artificial defects in AM components made by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF).
For metal-based additive manufacturing, sensors and measuring systems for monitoring of the energy source, the build volume, the melt pool and the component geometry are already commercially available. Further methods of optics, spectroscopy and non-destructive testing are described in the literature as suitable for in-situ application, but there are only a few reports on practical implementations.
Therefore, a new BAM project aims to develop process monitoring methods for the in-situ evaluation of the quality of additively manufactured metal components. In addition to passive and active thermography, this includes optical tomography, optical emission and absorption spectroscopy, eddy current testing, laminography, X-ray backscattering and photoacoustic methods. These methods are used in additive manufacturing systems for selective laser melting, laser metal deposition and wire arc additive manufacturing. To handle the sometimes huge amounts of data, algorithms for efficient preprocessing are developed and characteristics of the in-situ data are extracted and correlated to defects and inhomogeneities, which are determined using reference methods such as computer tomography and metallography. This process monitoring and fusion of data of different measurement techniques should result in a significant reduction of costly and time-consuming, destructive or non-destructive tests after the production of the component and at the same time reduce the production of scrap.
Here, first results of simultaneous measurements of optical emission spectroscopy and thermography during the laser metal deposition process using 316L as building material are presented. Temperature values are extracted from spectroscopic data by fitting of blackbody emission spectra to the experimental data and compared with results from a thermographic camera. Measurements with and without powder flow reveal significant differences between welding at a pristine metal surface and previously melted positions on the build plate, illustrating the significant influence of the partial oxidation of the surface during the first welding process on subsequent welding. The measurement equipment can either be mounted stationary or following the laser path. While first results were obtained in the stationary mode, future applications for online monitoring of the build of whole parts in the mobile mode are planned.
This research was funded by BAM within the focus area Material.
The project ProMoAM is presented. The goal of the project is to evaluate which NDT techniques or combination of techniques is suited for in-situ quality assurance in additive manufacturing of metals. To this end, also 3d-data fusion and visualization techniques are applied. Additional ex-situ NDT-techniques are used as references for defect detection and quantification. Feasability studies for NDT-techniques that are presently not applicable for in-situ use are performed as well.
The presentation gives a brief overview of the whole project and the different involved NDT-techniques.
The paper deals with the integration of a light emitting diode (LED) into an additive manufactured metal component. Selective laser melting (SLM) and laser metal deposition (LMD) are used. The material used is the chrome-nickel steel 316L. The basic component is manufactured by means of SLM and consists of a solid body and an area with grid structure. The solid body includes a duct in the shape of a groove with a recess for the positioning of the power cable. The LED is embedded in the grid structure via an inlet from the solid body. In further processing, the groove is filled with LMD. Two strategies with different parameter combinations were investigated. It shows that a high energy input near the power cable leads to its destruction. By using multiple parameter combinations during the manufacturing process, this destruction can be prevented. There was a comparison of both strategies with regard to the necessary number of tracks and duration of welding time.
The paper deals with the integration of a light emitting diode (LED) into an additive manufactured metal component. Selective laser melting (SLM) and laser metal deposition (LMD) are used. The material used is the chrome-nickel steel 316L. The basic component is manufactured by means of SLM and consists of a solid body and an area with grid structure. The solid body includes a duct in the shape of a groove with a recess for the positioning of the power cable. The LED is embedded in the grid structure via an inlet from the solid body. In further processing, the groove is filled with LMD. Two strategies with different parameter combinations were investigated. It shows that a high energy input near the power cable leads to its destruction. By using multiple parameter combinations during the manufacturing process, this destruction can be prevented. There was a comparison of both strategies with regard to the necessary number of tracks and duration of welding time.
Additive manufacturing (AM) opens the route to a range of novel applications. However, the complexity of the manufacturing process poses a challenge to produce defect-free parts with a high reliability. Since process dynamics and resulting microstructures of AM parts are strongly influenced by the involved temperature fields and cooling rates, thermography is a valuable tool for process monitoring. Another approach to monitor the energy input into the part during process is the use of optical tomography.
Common visual camera systems reach much higher spatial resolution than infrared thermography cameras, whereas infrared thermography provides a much higher temperature dynamic. Therefore, the combined application increases the depth of information. Here, we present first measurement results using a laser beam melting setup that allows simultaneous acquisition of thermography and optical tomography from the same point of view using a beam splitter. A high-resolution CMOS camera operating in the visible spectral range is equipped with a near infrared bandpass filter and images of the build plate are recorded with long-term exposure during the whole layer exposing time. Thus, areas that reach higher maximum temperature or are at elevated temperature for an extended period of time appear brighter in the images. The used thermography camera is sensitive to the mid wavelength infrared range and records thermal videos of each layer exposure at an acquisition rate close to 1 kHz.
As a next step, we will use computer tomographic data of the built part as a reference for defect detection.
This research was funded by BAM within the focus area Materials.
Additive Manufacturing (AM) offers the opportunity to produce easier geometrically complex parts compared to traditional production technologies. An important AM technology for metals is selective laser melting (SLM) where a part is produced by melting and solidifying powder in layers. This technique is known to cause a pronounced texture in the produced AM products due to the specific heat flow and the associated solidification of the material during SLM deposition. In order to evaluate the influence of the deposition hatch length during SLM of nickel based superalloy Inconel 718 samples on the texture and in order to identify any preferred crystallographic direction, we performed monochromatic neutron radiography scans (using wavelength from 1.6 Å to 4.4 Å, step size 0.05 Å) to image the samples while rotating it through 90°. Samples produced with short hatch length showed fine textured columnar grains oriented along the sample building direction in high-resolution radiographs. Whereas processing the sample using a ten-fold longer hatch length reduced the texture. The neutron radiographic experiments were accompanied by scanning electron microscopy including electron back-scattered diffraction to visualize and verify the microstructure and texture.
With the recent rise in the demand for additive manufacturing (AM), the need for reliable simulation tools to support experimental efforts grows steadily. Computational welding mechanics approaches can simulate the AM processes but are generally not validated for AM-specific effects originating from multiple heating and cooling cycles. To increase confidence in the outcomes and to use numerical simulation reliably, the result quality Needs to be validated against experiments for in-situ and post-process cases. In this article, a validation is demonstrated
for a structural thermomechanical simulation model on an arbitrarily curved Directed Energy Deposition (DED)part: at first, the validity of the heat input is ensured and subsequently, the model’s predictive quality for in-situ
deformation and the bulging behaviour is investigated. For the in-situ deformations, 3D-Digital Image Correlation measurements are conducted that quantify periodic expansion and shrinkage as they occur. The results show a strong dependency of the local stiffness of the surrounding geometry. The numerical Simulation model is set up in accordance with the experiment and can reproduce the measured 3-dimensional in-situ displacements. Furthermore, the deformations due to removal from the substrate are quantified via 3D-scanning, exhibiting considerable distortions due to stress relaxation. Finally, the prediction of the deformed shape is discussed in regards to bulging simulation: to improve the accuracy of the calculated final shape, a novel Extension of the model relying on the modified stiffness of inactive upper layers is proposed and the experimentally observed bulging could be reproduced in the finite element model.
Pores in additive manufactured metal parts occur due to different reasons and affect the part Quality negatively. Few investigations on the origins of porosity are available, especially for Ni-based super alloys. This paper presents a new study to examine the influence of common processing Parameters on the Formation of pores in parts built by laser metal Deposition using Inconel 718 powder. Further, a comparison between the computed tomography (CT) and the Archimedes method was made. The Investigation Shows that CT is able to identify different kinds of pores and to give further Information about their distribution. The identification of some pores as well as their shape can be dependent on the Parameter Setting of the Analysis tool. Due to limited measurement Resolution, CT is not able to identify correctly pores with Diameters smaller than 0.1 mm, which leads to a false decrease on Overall porosity. The applied Archimedes method is unable to differentiate between gas porosity and other Kinds of holes like internal cracks or lack of Fusion, but it delivered a proper value for Overall porosity. The method was able to provide suitable data for the statistical Evaluation with design of Experiments, which revealed significant Parameters ont he Formation of pores in LMD.
The residual stress distribution in IN718 elongated prisms produced by Selective Laser Melting was studied by means of neutron (bulk) and laboratory X-ray (surface) diffraction.
Two deposition hatch lengths were considered. A horizontal plane near the top surface (perpendicular to the building direction) and a vertical plane near the lateral surface (parallel to the building direction) were investigated. Samples both in as-built (AB) condition and removed (RE) from the base plate were characterized.
While surface stress fields seem constant for AB condition, X-ray diffraction shows stress gradients along the hatch direction in the RE condition. The stress profiles correlate with the distortion maps obtained by tactile probe measurements.
Neutron diffraction shows bulk stress gradients for all principal components along the main sample directions. We correlate the observed stress patterns with the hatch length, i.e. with its effect on temperature gradients and heat flow. The bulk stress gradients partially disappear after removal from the baseplate.
Having been introduced almost two decades ago, Additive Manufacturing (AM) of metals has become industrially viable for a large variety of applications, including aerospace, automotive and medicine. Powder bed techniques such as Selective Laser Melting (SLM) based on layer-by-layer deposition and laser melt enable numerous degrees of freedom for the geometrical design. Developing during the manufacturing process, residual stresses may limit the application of SLM parts by reducing the load bearing capacity as well as induce unwanted distortion depending on the boundary conditions specified in manufacturing.
The residual stress distribution in IN718 elongated prisms produced by SLM was studied non-destructively by means of neutron (bulk) and laboratory X-ray (surface) diffraction. The samples with different scanning strategies, i.e. hatching length, were measured in as-build condition (on a build plate) and after removal from the build plate.
The absolute values of all stress components decreased after removal from the build plate. Together with surface scan utilizing a coordinate-measuring machine (CMM), it is possible to link the stress release to the sample distortion. Obtained results indicated different residual stress states for each of the transversal, longitudinal and normal component depending on the thermal gradient in the respective direction.
Having been introduced almost two decades ago, Additive Manufacturing (AM) of metals has become industrially viable for a large variety of applications, including aerospace, automotive and medicine. Powder bed techniques such as Selective Laser Melting (SLM) based on layer-by-layer deposition and laser melt enable numerous degrees of freedom for the geometrical design. Developing during the manufacturing process, residual stresses may limit the application of SLM parts by reducing the load bearing capacity as well as induce unwanted distortion depending on the boundary conditions specified in manufacturing.
The residual stress distribution in IN718 elongated prisms produced by SLM was studied non-destructively by means of neutron (bulk) and laboratory X-ray (surface) diffraction. The samples with different scanning strategies, i.e. hatching length, were measured in as-build condition (on a build plate) and after removal from the build plate.
The absolute values of all stress components decreased after removal from the build plate. Together with surface scan utilizing a coordinate-measuring machine (CMM), it is possible to link the stress release to the sample distortion. Obtained results indicated different residual stress states for each of the transversal, longitudinal and normal component depending on the thermal gradient in the respective direction.
Additive manufacturing (AM) offers a range of novel applications. However, the manufacturing process is complex and the production of defect-free parts with a high reliability is still a challenge. Thermography is a valuable tool for process surveillance, especially in metal AM processes. The high process temperatures allow one to use cameras usually operating in the visible spectral range. Here, we compare the results of first measurements during the manufacturing process of a commercial laser metal deposition (LMD) setup using a MWIR camera with those from a VIS high-speed camera with band pass filter in the NIR range.
Additive manufacturing (AM) opens the route to a range of novel applications.However, the complexity of the manufacturing process poses a challenge for the production of defect-free parts with a high reliability. Since process dynamics and resulting microstructures of AM parts are strongly influenced by the involved temperature fields, thermography is a valuable tool for process surveillance. The high process temperatures in metal AM processes allow one to use cameras usually operating in the visible spectral range to detect the thermally emitted radiation from the process. In our work, we compare the results of first measurements during the manufacturing processes of a commercial laser metal deposition (LMD) setup and a laser beam melting (LBM) setup using a MWIR camera with those from a VIS high-speed camera with band pass filter in the NIR range.
The influence of the support structure on residual stress and distortion in SLM Inconel 718 parts
(2018)
The effect of support structure and of removal from the base plate on the residual stress state in selective laser melted IN718 parts was studied by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The residual stresses in subsurface region of two elongated prisms in as-built condition and after removal from the base plate were determined. One sample was directly built on a base plate and another one on a support structure. Also, the distortion on the top surface due to stress release was measured by contact profilometry. High tensile residual stress values were found, with pronounced stress gradient along the hatching direction. In the sample on support, stress redistribution took place after removal from the base plate, as opposed to simple stress relaxation for the sample without support. The sample on support structure showed larger distortion compared to sample without support. We conclude that the use of a support decreases stress values but stress-relieving heat treatments are still needed.
Laser metal deposition (LMD) is an established technology for two-dimensional surface coatings. It offers high deposition rates, high material flexibility, and the possibility to deposit material on existing components. Due to these features, LMD has been increasingly applied for additive manufacturing of 3D structures in recent years. Compared to previous coating applications, additive manufacturing of 3D structures leads to new challenges regarding LMD process knowledge. In this paper, the process steps for LMD as additive manufacturing technology are described. The experiments are conducted using titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4Vand Inconel 718. Only the LMD nozzle is used to create a shielding gas atmosphere. This ensures the high geometric flexibility needed for additive manufacturing, although issues with the restricted size and quality of the shielding gas atmosphere arise. In the first step, the influence of process parameters on the geometric dimensions of single weld beads is analyzed based on design of experiments. In the second step, a 3D build-up strategy for cylindrical specimen with high dimensional accuracy is described. Process parameters, travel paths, and cooling periods between layers are adjusted. Tensile tests show that mechanical properties in the as-deposited condition are close to wrought material. As practical example, the fir-tree root profile of a turbine blade is manufactured. The feasibility of LMD as additive technology is evaluated based on this component.
Influence of deposition hatch length on residual stress in selective laser melted Inconel 718
(2018)
The present study aims to evaluate the bulk residual stresses in SLM parts by using neutron diffraction measurements performed at E3 line -BER II neutron reactor- of Helmholtz-Zentrum für Materialien und Energie (HZB) Berlin. Together with microstructure characterization and distortion measurements, it is possible to describe the stress state throughout the whole sample. The sample was measured in as-build condition (on a build plate) and after releasing from the build plate. The used material is the nickel based superalloy 718. This alloy is widely used in aerospace and chemical industries due to its superior corrosion and heat resistant properties.
Obtained results indicated different residual stress states for each of the transversal, longitudinal and normal component. The normal and transversal component exhibits a rather compressive behavior while the longitudinal was tensile in the center part of the sample and became compressive towards the tip. As expected, the absolute values of all stress components decreased after releasing the sample from the building plate. A surface scan utilizing a coordinate-measuring machine (CMM) allowed us to present top surface distortion before and after releasing. The top surface showed a distortion around ±80µm after releasing. Microstructure evolution in the scanning-building cross-section is largely dominated by columnar grains. In addition, many small random orientated grains are prominent in the regions of a laser overlap during SLM.
In summary, for the sample of superalloy 718 manufactured by SLM, a small distortion occurred when removing the sample from the build plate whereby the residual stress state decreases. Moreover, the observed columnar grains in the building direction could give a reason for the lowest stress values in that normal direction. However, the most important parameter controlling the residual stresses is the temperature gradient. Hence, future investigations are planned for a different scan strategy to distribute the laser impact in a more homogenous manner.
Laser metal deposition (LMD) has been applied as a coating technology for many years. Today, the technologies capacity to produce 3D depositions leads to a new field of application as additive manufacturing method. In this paper, 3D laser metal deposition of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V is studied with special regard to the demands of additive manufacturing. Therefore, only the coaxial LMD powder nozzle is used to create the shielding gas atmosphere, which ensures high geometric flexibility. Furthermore, specimen with high aspect ratio and hundreds of layers are manufactured, which represent typical features in additive manufacturing. The presented study contains the following steps: First, cylindrical specimens are manufactured with a standard shell-core build-up strategy and mechanical properties as well as fracture mechanisms are determined. Based on the results, experiments are conducted to improve the build-up strategy and new tensile test specimens are built with the improved strategy. The improved strategy incorporates variable track overlap ratios to achieve a constant growth in the shell and core area. As blanks, lean cylinders comprising more than 240 layers and a height of more than 120mm are manufactured. The specimens are analyzed by X-ray inspection for material defects. Fractured surfaces are observed via scanning electron microscopy and the composition of the surfaces is determined using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The tensile test results prove mechanical properties close to ASTM F1108 specification for wrought material.
Influence of support configurations on the characteristics of selective laser-melted Inconel 718
(2018)
Samples fabricated using two different support configurations by following identical scan strategies during selective laser melting of superalloy Inconel 718 were characterized in this study. Characterization methods included optical microscopy, electron back-scattered diffraction and x-ray diffraction residual stress measurement. For the scan strategy considered, microstructure and residual stress development in the samples were influenced by the support structures. However, crystallographic texture intensity and the texture components formed within the core part of the samples were almost independent of the support. The formation of finer grains closer to the support as well as within the columnar grain boundaries resulted in randomization and texture intensity reduction by nearly half for the sample built on a lattice support. Heat transfer rates dictated by the support configurations in addition to the scan strategy influenced the microstructure and residual stress development in selective laser-melted Inconel 718 samples.