Metal 3D printing technology can increase the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry's resource-efficiency by removing a major fabrication constraint: geometrical complexity. Since the large part dimensions are a current limit of metal 3D printers, we propose a ‘hybrid’ manufacturing approach by welding optimized printed nodes to conventional steel elements for tubular constructions. In this work, we identified suitable analytical formulations for metal 3D-printed parts, and calibrated numerical models for hybrid joints by means of experimental results. Finally, we quantified the structural integrity performance of the hybrid joints. Numerical simulations highlighted the joints' most sensitive regions, where the optimisation reduced the stresses up to 40% under tensile loading. The butt weld between the printed node and the conventional profiles guaranteed a simple state of stress in the weld, providing the hybrid joint a fatigue life of 2 × 10⁶ cycles under 100-MPa cyclic loading. These results confirm that metal 3D printing combined with topology optimisation can remarkably reduce the quantity of resource-consuming cutting and welding operations to fabricate a structural joint for static and fatigue loads.
Resource‐efficient joint fabrication by welding metal 3D‐printed parts to conventional steel: A structural integrity study
Chierici, Martina;Kanyilmaz, Alper
2021-01-01
Abstract
Metal 3D printing technology can increase the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry's resource-efficiency by removing a major fabrication constraint: geometrical complexity. Since the large part dimensions are a current limit of metal 3D printers, we propose a ‘hybrid’ manufacturing approach by welding optimized printed nodes to conventional steel elements for tubular constructions. In this work, we identified suitable analytical formulations for metal 3D-printed parts, and calibrated numerical models for hybrid joints by means of experimental results. Finally, we quantified the structural integrity performance of the hybrid joints. Numerical simulations highlighted the joints' most sensitive regions, where the optimisation reduced the stresses up to 40% under tensile loading. The butt weld between the printed node and the conventional profiles guaranteed a simple state of stress in the weld, providing the hybrid joint a fatigue life of 2 × 10⁶ cycles under 100-MPa cyclic loading. These results confirm that metal 3D printing combined with topology optimisation can remarkably reduce the quantity of resource-consuming cutting and welding operations to fabricate a structural joint for static and fatigue loads.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
