Reduction in residual stress and distortion of thin-walled inconel 718 specimens fabricated by selective laser melting: Experiment and numerical simulation

Residual stresses were induced in the fabrication of thin-walled Inconel 718 specimens through selective laser melting (SLM) due to rapid heating and cooling, which yield distortion and have a detrimental impact on their mechanical performance. Reducing the process-induced residual stress and distortion is of great importance for practical applications. For achieving this aim, accurate measurement of residual stress and distortion is required. In the present work, residual stresses of SLMed samples were measured through hole drilling method (HDM), taking into account their anisotropic features. The distortion induced by the release of residual stress after manufacturing was measured using digital image correlation (DIC). The effect of thickness of thin-walled samples on residual stress and distortion was investigated. The results indicate that by reducing the thickness of sample, the residual stress could be reduced, whereas the distortion was increased. Furthermore, it was revealed that by manufacturing a pair of side samples in one printing job, the distortion and residual stress of the thin-walled component fabricated by SLM can be evidently reduced. The obtained results were clarified by using thermal-mechanical simulations of SLM.