A Method to Predict Fatigue Life of Additively Manufactured Metallic Parts

Additive manufacturing (AM) of metallic parts is rapidly evolving and the fatigue behavior of AM parts has become a significant concern in both industry and academia. In this paper, a method to predict the fatigue life of additively manufactured metallic parts is presented based on the electrical resistance measurement. The damage of the AM parts is characterized by the resistance change during the fatigue process. By combining the electrical resistance measurement with a continuum damage mechanics theory, a mathematical model is developed to predict the fatigue life of the AM samples. Fatigue tests were conducted under different loading conditions with AM 316L stainless steel samples. The result showed that the electrical resistance held steady at the beginning and increased gradually with the number of fatigue loading cycles. The resistance increased dramatically as the sample approached the fracture point, and this sudden increase can be used to indicate the beginning of fracture. By converting the electrical resistance to fatigue damage, experimental data was used to estimate parameters of the fatigue life model. By comparing the model prediction with experimental data, it is shown that the change of electrical resistance can be used to predict the fatigue life of additively manufactured metallic parts.