Abstract

Fatigue performance of additively manufactured (AM) components is still uncertain and inconsistent. Structural health monitoring (SHM) systems offer a solution to continuously monitor the structural integrity of a structure. The effective Structural Health Monitoring (eSHM) system is the first SHM principle developed with the principal purpose to monitor AM components. The eSHM principle exploits the design freedom offered by AM to integrate a capillary inside the component. The capillary is put under low vacuum and the pressure is monitored during the operation of the component. As-built AM surfaces report elevated surface roughness and are one of the principle causes of premature fatigue initiation and fatigue failure. The current study will investigate the effect of a chemical etching (CE) post-process on the capillary surface and evaluate its effect on the fatigue performance.

Highlights

  • Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are widely studied nowadays as they enable the production of complex shaped components with integrated functionalities

  • A fatigue crack is considered detected by the effective Structural Health Monitoring (eSHM) system when the pressure level inside the capillary exceeds a preset limit, here chosen to be 0.85 bar

  • The pressure rise in specimen 2 (HIP+chemical etching (CE)) is slightly larger indicating that the fatigue crack is larger at crack detection

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are widely studied nowadays as they enable the production of complex shaped components with integrated functionalities. AM components in the industry is rising, but the remaining uncertainty on the fatigue behavior of metal AM components remains critical for industrial wide adoption. At the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, researchers have developed the “effective Structural Health. Using AM technologies, capillaries are integrated at the locations where fatigue cracks are expected to grow. The capillaries are put under low vacuum and the pressure inside the capillary is continuously monitored during operation. The growing fatigue crack will breach through the capillary and induce a leakage. The resulting pressure change inside the capillary is a clear indication of the presence of a fatigue crack. With over 40 fatigue tests conducted, the eSHM has always successfully detected the fatigue cracks prior to complete fracture

Methods
Results
Conclusion

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.