Characterising the fatigue reliability of laser-powder bed fusion additively manufactured AlSi10Mg under random strain loads

This paper aims to assess the fatigue life characteristics of laser powder bed fusion additively manufactured AlSi10Mg alloy specimens using experimental and numerical techniques. The use of additively manufactured AlSi10Mg is continuously growing in many significant applications. Inherently, there is a need for more studies that combines experimental and probabilistic approaches to understand the fatigue life reliability of this material. In this study, material characterisation is conducted through tensile test and the effects of cyclic loadings under fatigue and compact-tension specimen tests are investigated. The time domain strain data captured is converted into frequency domain and spectral fatigue analysis is conducted to obtain the mean McTF. The models used for the spectral fatigue analysis are Dirlik, Lalanne and Narrow Band. Based on these models, the PDF, CDF, Reliability and Hazard rate plots are generated to suggest the best model that can be used for the AlSi10Mg material. The fracture surface morphology was also analysed to understand the material microstructure, internal defects, and manufacturing process which have a significant impact on the fatigue properties of the material. Hence, the fatigue reliability of AlSi10Mg in terms of durability and fatigue resistance in the manufacturing of components can be assessed to improve structural integrity.