Experimental investigation on cyclic R-curves for additively manufactured 316L steel

The present study deals with the experimental characterization of short crack propagation in SLM (selective-laser-melting) manufactured stainless steel. More specifically, the determination of cyclic R-curves is discussed. This describes the dependency of the crack propagation threshold on crack growth during the short crack propagation stage. For metals, the threshold, starting at a material-intrinsic value, increases until it reaches a value independent of the crack length due to crack closure phenomena which build up at that stage. The cyclic R-curve, when used in the frame of a cyclic R curve analysis, characterizes the resistance of a material to fatigue crack growth and the ability to arrest a physically short crack. Thus, it is the link between classical fatigue and fracture mechanics. In the high-cycle-fatigue range, the short crack propagation stage dominates the overall lifetime, i.e., the number of cycles until failure. Below the fatigue limit crack arrest of hitherto propagable micro-cracks will occur. The effort for the experimental characterization of the short fatigue crack propagation behavior and the cyclic R-curve is very high compared to experiments on long crack propagation. A very exact measurement of crack extension is required, since small increments need to be depicted. Pre-cracking must leave a closure free initial crack, since closure must be build up only by the cyclic R-curve. The closure-free status is achieved by compression pre-cracking. The aim of the present study is an insight into the influence of an AM process on the short crack propagation threshold. Cyclic R-curves are experimentally determined at different load-ratios for 316L austenitic steel specimens produced by SLM and conventional manufacturing. Residual stresses are measured in the crack plane and their influence on the cyclic R-curve is discussed.