Static assessment of flawed notched components manufactured by L-PBF in AlSi10Mg: Experiments, computational approaches, a simplified method

The assessment of parts produced by Additive Manufacturing against static loading requires to account for several factors, such as process-induced defects and heterogeneous microstructure, which cause dependence of the material properties on the building position. In this work, a comprehensive approach to the static assessment of AlSi10Mg notched test articles manufactured by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) is presented. A test campaign on thin notched AlSi10Mg parts manufactured by L-PBF confirms that, despite the quasi-brittle tensile behaviour, an assessment based on elastic-plastic fracture mechanics parameters is needed to correctly predict the experimental failures. Predictions based on Failure Assessment Diagram and Theory of Critical Distances are then compared with experimental results. A simplified Imaginary Crack Model method, based on the concepts of Fictitious Crack Length, resulted to be quite precise and simple to apply.