Influence of build-up height on residual stresses in additive repair and modification using DED-Arc with high-strength filler metals

Abstract Directed energy deposition (DED)-Arc is suitable for the hybrid additive manufacturing, modification and repair of large metal components with high deposition rates. Residual stresses and distortion are of central importance when characterizing the manufactured components and the sensitive transition area between additive manufactured (AM) component and semi-finished product. Residual stresses caused by the thermal cycles during the manufacturing process can impair the mechanical properties of the manufactured parts and can lead to component failure, especially for high-strength steels. Therefore, understanding and controlling residual stresses, when combining different base and feedstock materials, is critical to improve the quality and efficiency of the hybrid DED-Arc process. This article deals with the influence of the build-up height on the residual stress distribution of additively manufactured components with a selected base and feedstock material from commercial high-strength steels. Using a robot-assisted DED-system and a controlled short arc, AM welding experiments were carried out with close to the application parameters at working temperature (200 °C) and heat input (650 kJ/m). Five hybrid AM specimens (AM wall on upright structural steel plate) were produced using a one bead per layer strategy and selected AM-wall heights between 15 and 300 mm. The influence of the AM build height on the longitudinal residual stress in the whole hybrid AM specimen (in welding direction) was analyzed and discussed. All experiments exhibit comparable stress distributions in the area of the substrate plate up to the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and the transition zone, regardless of the building height. The height significantly influences the residual stress distribution of the deposited AM-component. Tensile residual stresses with a maximum range between 300and 400 MPa were always found in the last approx. 18 component layers (upper 40 mm). This is due to restraint of the shrinking of the top layers by the layers below. The lower layers show homogeneous residual stress distributions characterized by low compressive stresses due to the process-related tempering during the deposition of each layer on top of each other. As a result, the significant difference between the various AM build-up heights of the hybrid AM specimens is the extent (or height) of this tempered zone with low compressive stresses. These correlations contribute to the understanding of residual stress development with increasing structure height or ratio of component heights of substrate semi-finished product and AM component in hybrid additive manufacturing.