Size-effects affecting the fatigue response up to 109 cycles (VHCF) of SLM AlSi10Mg specimens produced in horizontal and vertical directions

This paper experimentally investigates the effect of the specimen volume (size-effect) on the Very-High-Cycle Fatigue (VHCF) response of SLM AlSi10Mg specimens. Tension-compression tests are carried out on hourglass and Gaussian specimens with different risk-volumes produced in horizontal and vertical direction. Experimental results show that size-effects significantly influence the VHCF response regardless of the building orientation. Furthermore, size-effects are more evident for SLM specimens than for traditionally built specimens, pointing out that the design of SLM components cannot rely on the results obtained by testing traditionally built specimens.