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The low-cycle and high-cycle fatigue behavior of the Mg-base wrought alloy AZ31 is investigated in the temperature range 20– 300 °C using total-strain-controlled push – pull tests. It is shown that the mechanical properties of the material are substantially influenced by the direction dependent formation of deformation twins and resulting deformation asymmetry. As a consequence tensile mean stresses develop during total-strain-controlled fatigue tests without mean strain.
Effects of Deep Rolling on the Fatigue Behavior of Ti-6Al-4V at Ambient and Elevated Temperatures
(2003)
Several specimens of AZ31 magnesium alloy were taken in different directions from a rolled plate and subjected to tensile, compressive and four-point bending tests. Tensile and compressive tests allowed to characterize the mechanical properties of the material in the rolling and cross rolling directions. The bending tests were carried out in four different specimen types to take the effect of the anisotropy induced by the rolling procedure itself into account. Six strain gages per specimen allowed to observe the evolution of the strain with the bending moment during the tests. All bending specimens were bent until a total compressive deformation of 2.5 %. It was observed that the corresponding tensile strain was significant lower and slightly different for each specimen type. In addition, a characteristic non-uniform distribution of deformation twinning was observed. The induced residual stresses after bending were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and incremental hole-drilling (IHD). Due to the different mechanical behavior in tension and compression, an asymmetric residual stress distribution after bending could be observed. The neutral axis was, in all cases, shifted towards the tensile side. This observation agrees with the strain measurements during bending tests.
Titanium is used in many areas due to its excellent mechanical, biological and corrosion-resistant properties. Implants often have thin and filigree structures, providing an ideal application for fine cutting with laser. In the literature, the main focus is primarily on investigating and optimizing the parameters for titanium sheets with thicknesses greater than 1 mm. Hence, in this study, the basic manufacturing parameters of laser power, cutting speed and laser pulse of a 200 W modulated fiber laser are investigated for 0.15 mm thick grade 2 titanium sheets. A reproducible, continuous cut could be achieved using 90 W laser-power and 2 mm/s cutting-speed. Pulse pause variations between 85 and 335 μs in 50 μs steps and a fixed pulse width of 50 μs show that a minimum kerf width of 23.4 μm, as well as a minimum cut edge roughness Rz of 3.59 μm, is achieved at the lowest pulse pause duration. An increase in roughness towards the laser exit side, independent of the laser pulse pause duration, was found and discussed. The results provide initial process parameters for cutting thin titanium sheets and thus provide the basis for further investigations, such as the influence of cutting gas pressure and composition on the cut edge.
Kombinationen aus kraft- und formschlüssigen Verbindungen erhöhen die Leistung bei im Hybridguss verbundenen Gussteilen mit Anbau- oder Einlegeteilen und machen separate Fügeprozesse überflüssig. Simulations-Methoden unterstützen das Design kraft- und formschlüssiger Verbindungen. Ergebnisse eines Ausdrückversuchs zeigen eine relativ gute Übereinstimmung zwischen gemessenen und mittels Simulation ermittelten Kraft-Weg-Kurven.
Mechanical surface treatments such as deep rolling or laser-shock peening can markedly affect the cyclic performance of light-weight alloys, especially if significant thick work hardened surface regions are induced. At room temperature, the cyclic deformation behaviour is strongly influenced by the nature of the induced near-surface microstructures provided that they remain stable during fatigue loading. At elevated temperatures, the stability of near-surface work hardening and local microstructures plays an even more important role since the process-induced residual compressive stresses are likely to anneal out partially or completely. This overview illustrates to what extent deep rolling can effect the cyclic performance of various wrought light alloys being fatigue loaded in stress control at ambient and elevated temperatures.
Bauteilfertigung
(2009)
Mechanical surface treatments, such as deep rolling, shot peening and laser shock peening, can significantly improve the fatigue behavior of highly stressed metallic components. Deep rolling is an especially attractive technique since it is possible to generate deep, near-surface compressive residual stresses and work hardening while retaining a relatively smooth surface finish. Indeed, this technique is best known for increasing the fatigue strength and lifetime of steel components such as crankshafts. Although most work on deep rolling has been on steels, recently it has also been applied with reasonable success to titanium alloys. Accordingly, in this investigation, we examine the effect of deep rolling on the high-cycle fatigue behavior of Ti-6Al-4V, with particular emphasis on the thermal and mechanical stability of the residual stress states and near-surface microstructures. Preliminary results on laser shock peened Ti-6Al-4V are also presented for comparison. In addition, we examine whether these surface treatments are effective in retaining fatigue strength at the higher temperatures of 300 to 450C. Based on the cyclic deformation and stress/life behavior, together with the X-ray and microstructural observations, it is found that deep rolling can be quite effective in retarding the initiation and initial propagation of fatigue cracks in Ti-6Al-4V at such higher temperatures, despite the almost complete relaxation of the residual stresses at the surface. This clearly implies that, in addition to residual stresses, near-surface microstructures, which in Ti-6Al-4V consist of ultrafine near-surface nanostructures, play a critical role in the enhancement of fatigue lifetimes by mechanical surface treatments.
In this paper, the high-temperature fatigue behavior and residual stress states of a Ti-6Al-4V alloy are investigated after mechanical surface treatment. In particular, the two surface treatments investigated, laser shock peening and deep rolling, were observed to result in significantly different residual stress states. The consequent isothermal fatigue behavior at elevated temperatures, characterized using cyclic deformation curves, are discussed in terms of the stability of the near-surface work hardening and compressive residual stresses. Despite pronounced relaxation of the residual stresses, both laser shock peening and deep rolling led to a significant improvement in the cyclic deformation behavior and, hence, increased fatigue lifetimes at elevated temperatures as compared to untreated materials states.
Introduction The most well known effect of mechanical surface treatments on metallic materials is the improvement in fatigue properties. It is therefore not surprising that most of the archival literature on mechanical surface treatments, such as shot peening, deep rolling and laser shock peening, deals with the effect of near-surface properties on fatigue behavior. Most of these studies, however, are confined to room temperature fatigue behavior; in comparision, the effect of mechanical surface treatment on fatigue behavior at high temperatures has been rarely investigated [1-5]. The reason for this disparity can be found in the popular belief that fatigue strength improvement by mechanical surface treatments is mainly due to the presence of compressive residual stresses, and since such stresses should anneal out at elevated temperatures, mechanical surface treatments for high temperature applications would appear questionable. However, this view may be over simplistic as there is always a possibility that the residual stresses may be at least partially stable at elevated temperatures [6]; in addition, other factors may be involved, such as the nature of the near-surface microstructure. Accordingly, it is the objective of this study to examine the role of mechanical surface treatments on the high temperature fatigue behavior of several metallic engineering materials. Moreover, it is the aim of this work to clarify what are the critical temperature "thresholds' at which near-surface microstructures and residual stresses become unstable and whether this can explain the observed fatigue behavior.
It is well known that mechanical surface treatments, such as deep rolling, shot peening and laser shock peening, can significantly improve the fatigue behavior of highly-stressed metallic components. Deep rolling (DR) is particularly attractive since it is possible to generate, near the surface, deep compressive residual stresses and work hardened layers while retaining a relatively smooth surface finish. In the present investigation, the effect of DR on the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) and high-cycle fatigue (HCF) behavior of a Ti–6Al–4V alloy is examined, with particular emphasis on the thermal and mechanical stability of the residual stress states and the near-surface microstructures. Preliminary results on laser shock peened Ti–6Al–4V are also presented for comparison. Particular emphasis is devoted to the question of whether such surface treatments are effective for improving the fatigue properties at elevated temperatures up to ∼450 °C, i.e. at a homologous temperature of ∼0.4T/Tm (where Tm is the melting temperature). Based on cyclic deformation and stress/life (S/N) fatigue behavior, together with the X-ray diffraction and in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations of the microstructure, it was found that deep rolling can be quite effective in retarding the initiation and initial propagation of fatigue cracks in Ti–6Al–4V at such higher temperatures, despite the almost complete relaxation of the near-surface residual stresses. In the absence of such stresses, it is shown that the near-surface microstructures, which in Ti–6Al–4V consist of a layer of work hardened nanoscale grains, play a critical role in the enhancement of fatigue life by mechanical surface treatment.
Increasing the lifetime of titanium implants through a diffusion-controlled surface treatment
(2023)
Titanium is used in many areas due to its excellent mechanical, biological and corrosion-resistant properties. Implants often have thin and filigree structures, providing an ideal application for laser fine cutting. In literature, the main focus is primarily on investigating and optimizing the parameters for titanium sheet thicknesses greater than 1 mm. Hence, in this study, the basic manufacturing parameters of laser power, cutting speed and laser pulsing of a 200 W modulated fibre laser are investigated for 0.15 mm thick titanium grade 2 sheets. A reproducible, continuous cut could be achieved using 90 W laserpower and 2 cutting-speed. Pulse pause variations between 85–335 μs in 50 μs steps and fixed
pulse duration of 50 μs show that a minimum kerf width of 23.4 μm, as well as a minimum cut edge roughness Rz of 3.59 μm, is achieved at the lowest pulse pause. An increase in roughness towards the laser exit side, independent of the laser pulse pause, was found and discussed. The results provide initial process parameters for cutting thin titanium sheets and thus provide the basis for further investigations, such as the influence of cutting gas pressure and composition on the cut edge.
Influence of carbon content on the formation of TiC at diffusion bonded titanium-steel interface
(2023)
Hot pressing of pure Ti and various carbon steels in a temperature range of 950 – 1050 °C creates an up to 9 μm thick compound layer of TiC at the Ti/ steel interface. The calculation of the activation energy for layer formation is 126.5 - 136.7 kJ/mol, independent of the steels carbon content. As the carbon content of the steel increases, the layer thickness also increases, which provides enormous potential for the surface modification of Ti/ Ti-alloys.
Aerospace and automotive industries employ three main techniques to set up joints between metal and fibre reinforced plastics parts (FRP); adhesive bonding, mechanical fastening with rives/bolts and a hybrid combination. A new joint technique has been developed to combine the two advantageous mechanisms form-closure and adhesion in a fibre-friendly way. Prior is established through metal structures (pins) which are perpendicularly welded onto metal surfaces with an arc-welding-process. They intrude into the FRP during lay-up and therefore set up a first connection. The composite-matrix is responsible for latter adhesive bonding and final form closure. Finite-element-analyses of cylindrically shaped joints are carried out to get detailed knowledge of the influence of parameters like pin-number, pin-position, pin-height, pin-form sleeve-geometry, and stiffness behaviour. Long calculation times of 3D-models lead to the introduction of a corresponding 2D-axisymmetric-model which is used to run parameter-studies within a reasonable time. For this novel technique the combination of fibre-friendly form closure and adhesive bonding of interface plays a major role. A well selected amount of vertical reinforcements, their placement and geometrical dimensions will lead to a stiffer joint. Goal is to minimize fibre-deletion and overlap length to improve load-transfer and joint-strength, to reduce weight in high-strength-applications as well as the avoidance of safety rivets.
Flame sprayed Al-12Si coatings for the improvement of the adhesion of composite casting profiles
(2008)
In this study, flame sprayed Al-12Si coatings were produced on the surface of inlays (aluminum profiles) of composite castings parts. The aim was to enhance the strength between the joining partners inlay and cast. Due to the high surface roughness and the presence of pores in the coatings, combined with the formation of an intermetallic phase at the interface, the adhesion of flame sprayed inlays could be enhanced by a factor of 2 compared to blank inlays and by a factor of 1.3 when compared to sand-blasted inlays. However, results also show that gaps are present, mostly at the interface between the inlays and the flame sprayed coatings, and these gaps have a negative effect on the joining strength of the composite casting parts. Therefore, optimizing the adhesion of the coating on the Al profiles via an improvement in both the sand-blasting and the flame spraying parameters would be beneficial for further enhancement of the adhesion of composite casting parts.
Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit Untersuchungen zur thermischen Ermüdung der Magnesiumbasislegierung AZ31 im Temperaturbereich zwischen +50°C und +290°C. Die Experimente erfolgten unter konstanter Totaldeformation (out-of-phase-Beanspruchung) und es wurde der Verlauf der Spannungsamplitude sowie der plastischen Dehnungsamplitude über die Zahl der Temperaturzyklen ermittelt. Insbesondere wurde der Einfluss einer mechanischen Oberflächenbehandlung (Festwalzen) sowie von Haltezeiten auf den Verlauf der Schädigung untersucht. In beiden Fällen konnte kein signifikanter Unterschied zu unbehandelten Proben bzw. Beanspruchungen ohne Haltezeit festgestellt werden, welches auf die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Verformungs- und Rekristallisationsprozessen bei der thermischen Ermüdung zurückzuführen ist.
The cyclic deformation behavior of deep rolled and polished aluminium wrought alloy AlMg4,5Mn in the temperature range 20-300°C has been investigated. Results of quasistatic tension and compression tests of untreated specimens in the temperature range 20-300°C are presented. To characterize the fatigue behavior for stress-controlled tests as a function of test temperature, s-n curves, cyclic deformations curves and mean strains as a function of number of cycles are given. The residual stress- and work hardening states near the surface of deep rolled aluminium alloy AlMg4.5Mn before and after fatigue tests were investigated by X-ray diffraction methods. The investigated AlMn4.5Mn aluminium alloy shows cyclic hardening until fracture at all stress amplitudes in stress-controlled fatigue tests at 25-150°C. With increasing temperature the deformation behavior shifts from cyclic hardening to cyclic softening. Below a certain stress amplitude at a given temperature deep rolling led to a reduction of the plastic strain amplitude as compared to the untreated state through cyclically stable near-surface work hardening as indicated by stable FWHM-values. This reduction in plastic strain amplitude is associated with enhanced fatigue lives. The effectiveness of deep rolling is governed by the cyclic and thermal stability of near-surface work hardening rather than macroscopic compressive residual stresses. Since near-surface work hardening is known to retard crack initiation, deep rolling is also effective in temperature- and stress ranges where macroscopic compressive residual stresses have relaxed almost completely, but where near-surface work hardening prevails. Above certain stress amplitudes and temperatures, deep rolling has no beneficial effect on the fatigue behavior of AlMg4.5Mn. This is a consequence of instable near-surface microstructures, especially instable near-surface work hardening.
In the context of the “InnMag” project, partners from industry and science are co-operating to investigate the issues involved in adapting established production processes to the material Mg. The project's aim is to further the deployment of Mg interior parts in civil aircraft. The project covers every production step, from alloy selection, Mg ingot melting, alloying, direct chill casting, extruding, machining, surface treatment and component assembly. This paper discusses the project's targets and the results arrived at so far, particularly in the areas of direct chill casting and extrusion.
Hot pressing of pure Ti and cast iron under vacuum formed a ~15 μm wide TiC-layer through the thermoreactive diffusion process. Nanoindentation testing of the TiC-layer revealed average hardness and elastic
modulus values of ~35 GPa and ~400 GPa, respectively. High-resolution indentation mapping indicated hardness change across the boundary with peak values observed within the TiC-layer. Solid state high temperature diffusion holds significant potential for developing uniform hard coatings on pure Ti/Ti-alloys.
In this paper, first results regarding the realization of laser-based hot-melt bonding of additive manufactured plastics parts to metal sheets for strong and tight multi-material joints are presented. Compared to earlier investigations, in which nearly solely extruded plastic materials were applied, the use of additive manufactured plastics complements the research field with a promising approach. Besides the typical advantages of multi-material joints regarding weight reduction and high strengths, such parts can meet the needs of constructional freedom and the avoiding of tool costs. Materials used for this paper are aluminum (AlMg3), stainless steel (1.4301) and polyamide 12 (PA12). The performed experiments resulting in multi-material joints between metal and polyamide. The realized specimens undergo a tensile shear test and a tightness test, in which the characteristics of the joints are determined.
The use of thermoplastics in lightweight construction is continuing to grow. This implies the need for suitable joining techniques to combine thermoplastics with other materials, such as metals, to gain tailored multi-material parts. In this paper latest results of experimental investigations on laser-based hot-melt bonding and injection molding for laser-structured metal plastic hybrids are presented. As materials stainless steel and short-fiber reinforced polyamide are used. The stainless steel surface is structured with a nanosecond pulse laser before joining to improve the mechanical adhesion between the dissimilar materials. Thereby, different structure depths in the range between 16.6 ± 1.2 µm and 66.5 ± 2.5 µm as well as different hatch distances between 70 and 300 µm are realized. The laser-based joining process is carried out irradiating the metallic surface multiple times. Positioned below the metal in T-joint configuration, the thermoplastic melts as a result of heat transfer and acts as hot-melt cohesive. Besides, hybrid joints are manufactured using injection molding. For experiments, the mold temperature as well as the melt temperature are varied. Regardless of the joining process, the hybrid joints are mechanically characterized by tensile tests. The results demonstrate that for both joining processes strong laser-structured metal plastic hybrids can be realized.
Mittels des entwickelten additiven Fertigungsprozesses des simultanen, intensitätsselektiven Laserstrahlschmelzens lassen sich Werkstoffverbunde bestehend aus unterschiedlichen Polymerwerkstoffen mit hohen Bauteilfestigkeiten realisieren. Die zukünftig realisierbaren Werkstoffverbunde können dabei durch eine örtlich variable Ausnutzung der unterschiedlichen Werkstoffeigenschaften die hinsichtlich lokal definierter Belastungsprofile gestellten Anforderungen an komplexe Multi-Material-Bauteile erfüllen. Dadurch lassen sich neue Anwendungsfelder für die additive Fertigung von Werkstoffverbunden erschließen.
Due to the growing number of applications for Additive Manufacturing (AM), an increasing need for enhanced quality control methods exists. Here optical measurement techniques are often used for in-situ monitoring in AM. There is a great potential to standardize and improve applications of optical measurement devices in accordance to the increasing requirements of measuring tasks. Beside the optical material qualifications, especially process-oriented changes in optical effects are of great relevance for in-situ evaluations. The optical modifications may be attributed to aggregate specific phase transitions coming along with variable emitted wavelengths. A measuring setup with two integrations spheres and a heated process chamber have been developed to analyze the optical interactions of laser radiation and visual illumination with the powder. The process oriented analysis for selective laser sintering lead to improved operating conditions in the field of in-situ measurements in combination with an accurate evaluation of the absorption ratio of the examined powder.
The mechanical and microstructural investigation of polymer parts (polyamide 12) fabricated by Selective Laser Sintering as part of a Round Robin initiative is presented. The paper focuses on the microstructural analysis of the Round Robin samples and their evaluation regarding their effect on mechanical properties with respect to each other. Therefore optical microscopy on microtomed samples, X-ray computed tomography and Differential Scanning Calorimetry is used to determine the morphology of residual particle cores and of internal pores.
The mechanical properties of polymer parts built by Selective Laser Sintering are strongly related to the internal microstructure which differs with the applied production parameters. The paper focuses on the back tracing of the pore morphology of laser sintered polyamide-12 samples to the process parameters. Therefore, a data base is used which is supplied by a Round Robin initiative and includes mechanical tensile tests and the microstructural analysis of the pore morphology of several different sample charges built with different machines. The pore morphologies (porosity, pore density, pore shape and pore arrangement) measured by X-ray computed tomography are compared and discussed regarding the employed parameters and the resulting mechanical properties. The investigations point out that pore density is a superior indicator than porosity for mechanical issues. This is especially valid along the build direction since pore morphology has shown to be strongly anisotropic. Moreover, the analysis revealed that pore density is strongly affected by the process temperature, which is proved to be essential for the fabrication of mechanical robust parts using Selective Laser Sintering.
Conventional Selective Laser Sintering of polymers is restricted to the processing of single materials. The fabrication of components consisting of different material regions is a challenge which cannot be realized by standard coating devices basing on blades or rollers. Thus, advanced coating and deposition techniques are needed which enable the precise and reliable control over very small powder quantities in order to prepare arbitrary powder patterns with high accuracy and repeatability. In this report, the delivery of polymer powder by vibrating nozzles inside laser sintering machines is investigated. Therefore, a steel nozzle attached to a piezo actuator is integrated into a machine, whereas the nozzle itself features internal channels which allow the precise control over the powder temperature using heat transfer oil. The setup is used to study the influence of different system configurations on the powder deposition characteristics as resolution and layer surface roughness. The results show that temperature influences the mass flow depending on the material used and that a precise deposition of powder pattern with microscale resolution is possible with optimized parameters. Finally, the multimaterial powder pattern is fused by a new illumination strategy of laser sintering which is called Simultaneous Intensity-Selective Laser Sintering in order to demonstrate the potential of this new approach.
In order to understand the absorption characteristic, a ray trace model is developed by taking into account the reflection, absorption and refraction. The ray paths are resolved on a sub-powder grid. For validation, the simulation results are compared to analytic solutions of the irradiation of the laser beam onto a plain surface. In addition, the absorptance, reflectance and transmittance of PA12 powder layers measured by an integration sphere setup are compared with the numerical results of our model. It is shown that the effective penetration depth can be lower than the penetration depth in bulk material for polymer powders and, therefore, can increase the energy density at the powder bed surface. The implications for modeling of the selective laser sintering (SLS) process and the processability of fine powder distributions and high powder bed densities are discussed.
In this paper, the use of electrophotographic polymer powder transfer for the preparation of multi-material layers is discussed with respect to the application in powder bed-based additive manufacturing technologies as selective laser sintering (SLS). Therefore, the challenges of this task are considered verifying the critical process steps in order to develop a concept for an electrophotograhic laser sintering machine. On that basis, an experimental setup with a two-chamber design is realized which enables the investigation of the electrophotographic powder transfer at typical process conditions of SLS. Using this setup, transfer tests of polypropylene powder patterns were performed and qualitatively analyzed by photographic imaging. The results confirm the high potential of the application of electrophotography for multi-material powder deposition and show how a residual electrophotographic powder deposition can be achieved in general, which is independent from the already produced part height, in order to build up three-dimensional multi-material components.
Comparison between the optical properties of injection molded and additive manufactured components
(2018)
Fused Layer Manufacturing (FLM) is an additive technology based on polymer material extrusion. Due to variations in temperature during the manufacturing process and the resulting stress between the stacked layers, the final parts show anisotropic mechanical properties. One possible approach for their reduction is the immediate local preheating of the surface via laser radiation. At first, our research examines the influence of laser parameters as wavelength, power, velocity and area of impact for the preheating of the surface. In addition, an overview of possible parameter combinations is given based on the selection of raw materials, its colors, thicknesses and the manufacturing process. Initially, the absorption level of the materials regarding the emitted wavelength is detected using a spectrophotometer. Subsequently, preheating tests are conducted with different laser types while the temperature is determined by a thermal camera. The selected laser type is planned to get mounted on a prototype-machine for further in-situ preheating experiments on FLM parts during the manufacturing process.
Laser transmission welding is a well-known joining technology for welding thermoplastics. Although the process is already used industrially, fundamental process-structure-property relationships are not fully understood and are therefore the subject of current research. One aspect of these mentioned process-structure-property relationships is the interaction between the temperature field during the welding process, the weld seam morphology of semi-crystalline thermoplastics, and the weld seam strength. In this study, the influence of the line energy on the weld seam morphology of polypropylenes is analyzed. For this purpose, the size of spherulites in the weld seam is investigated, as well as different occurring phases of polypropylene (a- and b-phase). It is shown that both the spherulite size of the a-phase and the amount of b-phase increase with increasing line energy. For the explanation and discussion of the results, a temperature-dependent thermal simulation model is used to derive characteristic attributes of the temperature field (maximum temperatures, cooling rates, temperature gradients).
Laser transmission welding is a non-contact and efficient process technology for joining thermoplastic polymers. In the conventional process, laser sources in the wavelength range of 1 μm are usually used. Therefore, most of the laser radiation is transmitted through the upper joining partner and absorbed only in the lower joining partner. As a result, the possibilities to influence the temperature field especially in the upper joining partner are limited. To overcome these limitations, an additional thulium fiber-laser with a wavelength of 1.94 μm is used in this study and coaxially aligned with a diode laser. The use of an additional thulium fiber-laser leads to a significant absorption in the upper joining partner. Through this approach, it is shown that the temperature field and the weld seam geometry can be influenced by using these two different discrete laser wavelengths. Depending on the intensity distribution of both lasers, an increase of the size of the heat affected zone in the upper joining partner can be observed. In order to develop a better process understanding, a thermal finite element model is built up and verified by comparing the calculated size of the heat affected zone for different process parameters with the experimental data. The model is able to represent the influence of both laser sources on the temperature field and is used to calculate characteristics of the temperature field, such as maximum temperatures or cooling rates. The characteristics are then used to explain the weld seam morphology, such as occurrence and size of spherulitic structures in the weld seam.
A new approach to coat PA12 powders with laser-generated nanoparticles for selective laser sintering
(2018)
The modification of selective laser sintering (SLS) powder materials by nanoadditives offers the possibility to adapt the powder properties to the laser sintering process or the resulting part properties. To avoid agglomeration of the nanofiller, a new approach in which surfactant-free laser-generated colloidal nanoparticles are adsorbed onto the polymer surface directly in an aqueous solution is demonstrated. Based on this novel approach, polyamide 12 (PA12) powders are decorated with metal and oxide nanoparticles and processed via SLS. Electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning imaging are utilized to analyze the dispersion of the filler.
One of the fundamental challenges in L-PBF of filigree geometries, such as aortic stents used in biomedical applications, is the requirement for a robust yet easily removable support structure that allows each component to be successfully fabricated without distortion. To solve this challenge, an integrative experimental approach was attempted in the present study by identifying an optimal support structure design and an optimized support removal strategy for this design. The specimens were manufactured using four different support structure designs based on the geometry exposed to the laser beam during the L-PBF. Support removal procedures included sand blasting (SB), glass bead blasting (GB), and electrochemical polishing (ECP). The two best-performing designs (line and cross) were chosen due to shorter lead times and lower material consumption. As an additional factor that indicates a stable design, the breaking load requirement to remove the support structures was determined. A modified line support with a 145° included angle was shown to be the best support structure design in terms of breaking load, material consumption, and manufacturing time. All three procedures were used to ensure residue-free support removal for this modified line support design, with ECP proving to be the most effective.
Advances in additive manufacturing enable the production of tailored lattice structures and thus, in principle, coronary stents. This study investigates the effects of process-related irregularities, heat and surface treatment on the morphology, mechanical response, and expansion behavior of 316L stainless steel stents produced by laser powder bed fusion and provides a methodological approach for their numerical evaluation. A combined experimental and computational framework is used, based on both actual and computationally reconstructed laser powder bed fused stents. Process-related morphological deviations between the as-designed and actual laser powder bed fused stents were observed, resulting in a diameter increase by a factor of 2-2.6 for the stents without surface treatment and 1.3-2 for the electropolished stent compared to the as-designed stent. Thus, due to the increased geometrically induced stiffness, the laser powder bed fused stents in the as-built (7.11 ± 0.63 N) or the heat treated condition (5.87 ± 0.49 N) showed increased radial forces when compressed between two plates. After electropolishing, the heat treated stents exhibited radial forces (2.38 ± 0.23 N) comparable to conventional metallic stents. The laser powder bed fused stents were further affected by the size effect, resulting in a reduced yield strength by 41% in the as-built and by 59% in the heat treated condition compared to the bulk material obtained from tensile tests. The presented numerical approach was successful in predicting the macroscopic mechanical response of the stents under compression. During deformation, increased stiffness and local stress concentration were observed within the laser powder bed fused stents. Subsequent numerical expansion analysis of the derived stent models within a previously verified numerical model of stent expansion showed that electropolished and heat treated laser powder bed fused stents can exhibit comparable expansion behavior to conventional stents. The findings from this work motivate future experimental/numerical studies to quantify threshold values of critical geometric irregularities, which could be used to establish design guidelines for laser powder bed fused stents/lattice structures.
Experimental investigations are conducted to quantify the influence of specimen thickness and orientation on the mechanical properties of selective laser melted stainless steel 316 L. The results indicate that the mechanical strength and ductility increase with increasing specimen thickness until a saturation value is reached from a specimen thickness of about 2 mm. Specimen orientation dependency is pronounced for thin specimens (<1.5 mm), whereas only small deviations in strength are observed for thicker specimens with orientations of 30°, 45° and 90° to build direction. The mechanical properties of the specimen orientation of 0° to build direction shows great deviation to the other orientations and the smallest overall strength. A reliable design of selective laser melted components should account for specimen thickness and orientation, e. g. by a correction factor. Furthermore, it is recommended to avoid loads vertical (90°) and parallel (0°) to build direction to guarantee higher ductility and strength.