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On the fatigue properties of metals manufactured by selective laser melting — The role of ductility

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Abstract

The selective-laser-melting (SLM) technique is an outstanding new production technology that allows for time-efficient fabrication of highly complex components from various metals. SLM processing leads to the evolution of numerous microstructural features strongly affecting the mechanical properties. For enabling application in envisaged fields the development of a robust production process for components subjected to different loadings is crucially needed. With regard to the behavior of SLM components subjected to cyclic loadings, the damage evolution can be significantly different depending on the raw material that is used, which is, in this case, highly ductile austenitic stainless steel 316L and high-strength titanium alloy TiAl6V4. By means of a thorough set of experiments, including postprocessing, mechanical testing focusing on high-cycle fatigue and microstructure analyses, it could be shown that the behavior of TiAl6V4 under cyclic loading is dominated by the process-induced pores. The fatigue behavior of 316L, in contrast, is strongly affected by its monotonic strength.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank the Direct Manufacturing Research Center (DMRC), its industry partners, and the state of North Rhine Westphalia for financial support of the present study. Mrs. Kristina Duschik is thanked for conducting TEM analyses.

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Author notes

  1. Thomas Niendorf

    Present address: Institute of Materials Engineering, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Gustav-Zeuner-Str. 5, Freiberg, 09599, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. DMRC (Direct Manufacturing Research Center), Paderborn, 33098, Germany

    Stefan Leuders & Thomas Tröster

  2. Lehrstuhl für Leichtbau im Automobil (Automotive Lightweight Construction), Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Paderborn, Paderborn, 33098, Germany

    Stefan Leuders, Tobias Lieneke, Stefan Lammers & Thomas Tröster

  3. Lehrstuhl für Werkstoffkunde (Materials Science), Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Paderborn, Paderborn, 33098, Germany

    Thomas Niendorf

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  1. Stefan Leuders
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Correspondence to Stefan Leuders.

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Leuders, S., Lieneke, T., Lammers, S. et al. On the fatigue properties of metals manufactured by selective laser melting — The role of ductility. Journal of Materials Research 29, 1911–1919 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.157

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.157

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