Additive Manufacturing - Fatigue life calculation (AMFat)

Purpose and goal:

The overall purpose of the project is to enhance the understanding of the fatigue and fracture behavior of the additively built material so that they can be used in the aerospace sector. The fatigue life of AM components are dictated by the surface morphology and the small defects present in the built part. The specific goal is to investigate the best modelling approach to account for these aspects, namely, the surface and the small defect.

Expected results and effects: The main expected outcomes of the research are:

1.Identification of the most significant surface characterization parameters for typical AM surfaces with regards to the fatigue behaviour of AM parts.

2.Identification of an appropriate short crack model to use in a fracture mechanics based method to calculate fatigue life.

3.Comparison of calculation results with available test data with an aim to be able to predict such life so that a product design protocol can be established. Approach and implementation:

The project started on 2023-10-02 and will finish on 2024-08-31. Work has started on WP1 and WP2 identified in the application. As planned, Sushovan Roychowdhury, from GKN Aerospace, has joined University West with part-time employment to act as the ‘gränsgångare’. Other participants include professors and research students from University West as well as engineers from GKN Aerospace, as listed in the application. Weekly recurring meetings have been set up to drive the project.