Additive Repair Design Approach: Case Study of Transverse Loading of Aluminum Beams

The repair process for complex components is complicated and time consuming, and the traditional repair methods cannot handle these challenges. Therefore, introducing new solutions to repair parts is a necessity in the industrial world. Additive manufacturing is considered one of the modest manufacturing techniques. Using this technique in components repair is the state of the art in the industry of maintenance. This paper is based on previous work to develop an additive repair design approach, with focus on the Selective Laser Melting technique. A bending load case on beams made of two metals (cast part and sintered part) is discussed, and the induced stresses and deflections are investigated for various building directions and interface planes geometries. The used metals of the cast parts are Al-6082 and Al-7075 alloys, and the used powder to build-over with the Selective Laser Melting machine is AlSi10Mg. The analysis carried out by means of a finite element numerical model to estimate bending loading and the induced flexural stresses. Experimental work is implemented, and all analytical and experimental results are discussed and compared. This work aims to develop scientific basics for parts repair using additive manufacturing technologies.