Deriving the Structural Fatigue Behavior of Additively Manufactured Components

In order to perform a high quality numerical fatigue approach, the main influences, acting on the material along the life cycle, have to be considered. In case of additively manufactured structures, a multitude of different influences on the fatigue behavior exists. Some of them are related to the production process and the exposure strategy. Others depend on the service loading conditions. Furthermore, the industrial demands for a reduction of the experimental effort and a simultaneous increase in the accuracy of the predicted fatigue life with respect to the numerical effort have to be considered. Due to these reasons new test systems and algorithms have been developed to evaluate the cyclic behavior of representative structure elements from the Low Cycle Fatigue up to the Very High Cycle Fatigue regime. In order to provide input data for the numerical fatigue assessment, the cyclic stress-strain behavior is derived using an Incremental Step Test and the continuous Fatigue Life Curve, which is determined for Low, High and Very High Cycle Fatigue by constant amplitude testing, characterized the strain-life relation.