A Methodology for the Rapid Qualification of Additively Manufactured Materials Based on Pore Defect Structures

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Manufacturing Engineering

Background:

• Additive manufacturing (AM) integrates material formation and part shaping, offering advantages over traditional methods.
• Widespread AM adoption in fatigue-critical applications is limited by defects like porosity, which are influenced by process parameters and part geometry.
• Qualifying AM materials for fatigue performance is complex due to process variability and localized microstructural defects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel approach for the rapid qualification of AM fatigue-limited parts.
• To address the challenges in characterizing and certifying AM materials for fatigue-sensitive applications.
• To reduce the number of tests required for AM material qualification through a combined experimental and simulation strategy.

Main Methods:

• Controlled seeding of pore defects (size, distribution, morphology) into AM specimens.
• Integration of non-destructive and destructive testing for material characterization and fatigue performance evaluation.
• Microstructure-based simulations to predict fatigue behavior based on specific defect and microstructural combinations.

Main Results:

• The proposed method facilitates the generation of simulated fatigue data to validate and augment experimental results.
• Demonstrates a pathway to accelerate the qualification of AM materials for fatigue applications.
• Highlights the potential for closer integration between material qualification and part certification processes.

Conclusions:

• The developed approach enables faster and more efficient qualification of AM materials, particularly for fatigue-limited applications.
• Combining experimental data with simulation-driven insights can significantly reduce testing requirements.
• A unified approach to material qualification and part certification is crucial for robust AM part deployment.