Thin-walled 3D-printed structures in fatigue loaded components

Research Project, 2019 – 2022

Purpose and goal: The goal of the project is to build up confidence to use additive manufacturing (AM) for thin walls. The freedom of design provides possibilities for new designs and weight savings, which are difficult or impossible to obtain with conventional manufacturing. Robust printing processes and thorough knowledge of mechanical properties are required to obtain highest possible performance and dare to use the full weight saving potential. As machining or surface treatment will not be possible on all the surfaces of the complex components, as-printed surfaces are also taken into account. Expected results and effects: The results includes methodology for mechanical testing, recommendation of surface treatments and increased knowledge for lower safety factors and less weight. The results of this project will be applied both in the aerospace and energy industry for components in different nickel-based superalloys with a target of more than 20% reduced weight. Confidence to use the thin walls will also provide better cooling and increased efficiency of the component. The results will also be spread to many other different industries in Sweden, which in total can lead to very large weight savings. Approach and implementation: The project will work with the following: Methodology for mechanical testing of as-printed thin-walled AM structures Recommendation of surface treatments to improve fatigue properties of as-printed surfaces Lower safety factors for components with thin walls through knowledge of correlation between defect density, surface properties, microstructure and mechanical properties. The results will also be spread to many other different industries in Sweden through CAM2 and the AM-Arena.