Effects of path patterns on residual stresses and deformations of directed energy deposition-arc built blocks

Deposition path patterns play an important role in controlling residual stresses and deformation in direct energy deposition-arc (DED-arc) process. In this paper, the effects of various path patterns on the evolution of the temperature history, residual stress distribution, and substrate deformations are investigated through experiments and finite element analysis. The predicted results of temperature fields and substrate deformations are verified experimentally by the infrared thermal imager and the laser profile scanner, respectively. It is found that the path patterns have significant effects on the stress distribution in the first few layers, and the minimum substrate deformation is obtained by the zigzag path along the short edge of the block. The proposed finite element method and measuring method are confirmed to be effective and feasible, providing valuable insight into the residual stresses and deformations control in the DED-arc process.