Numerical Analysis of Surface Rolling Effects on Fatigue Life Enhancement of Wire Arc Additively Manufactured Parts

Abstract

With the advancements in additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, it is expected that fast and efficient production using the AM techniques will gradually replace the traditional manufacturing processes. An important consideration in the design and life assessment of AM-built parts is the asset integrity management and in particular fatigue life enhancement of such components. Surface rolling treatment is known to be an efficient way to introduce deep compressive residual stresses into engineering components, and therefore it has been considered as a practical and effective life enhancement technology. In this study, the surface rolling effects on the fatigue life enhancement of wire arc additively manufactured (WAAM) parts have been investigated. For this purpose, a compact tension specimen geometry was modeled in ABAQUS and the rolling process was simulated by means of finite element simulations to predict the extent of compressive residual stresses induced into a WAAM built part. The simulation results have been discussed in terms of the beneficial effects of surface rolling on fatigue life enhancement of WAAM built parts.