Residual stresses in selective laser melted components of different geometries

Abstract

As an emerging Additive Manufacturing (AM) technique, Selective Laser Melting (SLM) has found a promising application in biomedical field due to its advantages in fabricating Ti-6Al-4V components with specific and customised geometries. It has been reported that accumulated residual stress as a result of the high heating and cooling rates during SLM and the topological design of the components can largely influence the mechanical and functional properties of the fabricated components. In this study three notched samples were produced by SLM manufacturing. The samples were built using the same laser melting conditions on the same base size. The notches ranged in angle from 60° to 120°. Residual stresses in the three notched samples were analysed using the state-of-the-art neutron residual strain measurement instrument, Kowari, at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. A combination of gauge volumes were utilised to obtain high precision measurements at the notch tips and general measurements around the tips. This paper reports on the manufacture and measurement of differing residual stresses in the three SLM fabricated notches. © The Authors