Residual stress analysis of thin AlSi10Mg parts produced by Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Among the various Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies available for metal part production, powder bed processes are the most promising for industrial mass production. However, one obstacle to the widespread adoption of AM technologies is the effect of the residual stress state on the integrity and lifetime of parts. The residual stress state is influenced to a great extent by the geometry and orientation of the part, and such conditions as the distance of the part regions from the building platform or geometrical constraints may change the stress values and distribution. This work describes an experimental activity that has made it possible to draw the trend of the residual stress beneath the surfaces of thin samples produced in AISi10Mg alloy through a Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) process, in order to evaluate how stresses are altered by different geometrical constraints.