This work presents a flexible experimental setup to study dynamic fragmentation of additively-manufactured metallic materials using two different configurations: (i) rapid axial penetration of thin-walled tubes, and (ii) rapid radial expansion of rings. In the first approach, the experiment consists of a light-gas gun that fires a conical nosed cylindrical projectile that impacts axially on a thin-walled cylindrical tube fabricated by 3D printing. The diameter of the cylindrical part of the projectile is approximately twice greater than the inner diameter of the cylindrical target, which is expanded as the projectile moves forward, eventually breaking into fragments. In the second approach, using a similar technique, a ring is inserted over a high-ductility tube, which expands after penetration by the conical projectile, pushing the metallic ring radially outwards, ultimately breaking into multiple fragments. The experiments have been performed for impact velocities ranging from 180 m/s to 390 m/s. A salient feature of this work is that we have characterized by X-ray tomography the porous microstructure of selected specimens before and after testing. Moreover, two high-speed cameras have been used to film the experiments and thus to obtain time-resolved information on the mechanics of formation and propagation of fractures.
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In this study, a plasticity-induced crack closure model, FASTRAN, was used to predict the fatigue life of Inconel 718, 17-4 precipitation hardening (PH) stainless steel (SS), and Ti-6Al-4V alloys fabricated via additive manufacturing (AM) systems. Results indicated that in the presence of large defects (e.g., lack-of-fusion defects), the total fatigue life of AM specimens is dominated by crack growth. Results indicated that variations in the fatigue lives of specimens in machined and as-build surface conditions can be predicted based on the characteristics of AM process-induced defects and surface profile. Effect of build orientation on fatigue life was also captured based on the size of defects projected on a plane perpendicular to the loading direction. In addition, maximum valley depth of the surface profile can be used as an appropriate parameter for the fatigue-life prediction of AM specimens in their as‐built surface condition.
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Non-combustible Mg alloy components fabricated by laser powder bed fusion in as-built conditions have an average ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 320 MPa, a significantly larger value than its casting counterparts, which present an average UTS of 200 MPa. In addition, it was determined that stable crack extension always starts at the outer surface due to the coarsened microstructure regions present in the area. Therefore, this paper will use fracture mechanics to predict the UTS value by determining the size of the coarsened microstructure region and considering it as a surface crack with the √area parameter. Then, by using a fixed fracture toughness value, the UTS will be predicted. Furthermore, a processing parameter known as contour, which is used for remelting the outer surface of the specimen, can also smoothen the microstructure and potentially increase the UTS value. Results showed that the √area of the surface crack responsible for fracture was 730 μm for the no-contour specimen and 630 μm for a contour specimen. Subsequently, using Murakami’s theory, the predicted UTS is 320 MPa and 345 MPa respectively. Finally, tensile testing was performed to confirm the prediction, showing similar results with an average deviation of 2.9%.
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It is difficult to evaluate fracture toughness according to ASTM standards for non-combustible magnesium alloy fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) in as-built conditions. The reason is its microstructure duality between inner and outer surfaces. The microstructure duality can be eliminated by heat treatment. However, heat treatment reduces the strength of the material by around 11%. Therefore, heat treatment was not performed. In addition, the greatest advantage of LPBF is maximized when it can be used immediately without post-processing. Therefore in this study, the as-built condition was targeted. In the case of non-combustible Mg products, the mechanical properties of the inner and outer microstructures have a non-negligible difference. The difference is expected to affect the fracture behavior, so it is important to consider the difference in microstructure in strength evaluation. Therefore, this paper explains why ASTM standards are difficult to apply to non-combustible magnesium products fabricated by LPBF in as-built conditions with their microstructure differences. Furthermore, the alternative methods for measuring the fracture toughness of metals fabricated by the LPBF in as-built conditions with these characteristics are introduced and discussed.
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Additive manufactured (AM) alloys are still prone to critical manufacturing flaws, such as gaseous bubble entrapment. These defects can lead to early crack initiation reducing fatigue life and increasing scatter, especially when near surface. This research investigated the effect of femtosecond laser shock peening (FLSP) on the fatigue life of AM AlSi10Mg. Due to the low penetration of the FLSP, fatigue life remained consistent between treated and untreated specimens. Of equal importance though, the scatter was found to be reduced in the FLSP treated samples. From the high resolution DIC results, the average strain per grain in the untreated specimens showed a higher increase of strain from initial loading to final fracture as compared to the FLSP samples. Implementing the use of FLSP onto AM materials could lead to more consistent fatigue life despite the presence of porosity, leading to a path of easier certification and improved confidence in their behavior.
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