Blunt notch effect on the fatigue response up to 109 cycles of selective laser melting Ti6Al4V specimens

In this paper, the influence of a blunt notch on the VHCF response of SLM Ti6Al4V specimens is investigated. Ultrasonic fully reversed tension–compression tests up to 109 cycles were carried out on unnotched specimens and specimens with a blunt notch. Unnotched specimens show a slightly larger fatigue response, with limited differences. All fatigue failures originated from defects, which are bigger in unnotched specimens, mainly due to the different risk volume of the tested specimens and the related size effect. Interactions between notch, stress gradient, and defect size distribution must be considered to properly assess the influence of notch on the VHCF response.