Influence of build orientation on incremental cyclic tension screening of AlSi10Mg

We characterise the build-orientation dependence of the load–unload–reload (LUR) response of PBF-LB AlSi10Mg after an abbreviated (EOS) T6 heat treatment. A 24-step incremental cyclic tension (ICT) protocol was applied to specimens built at 0°, 45°, and 90°. Per-cycle apparent modulus, hetero-deformation-induced (HDI) stress, and stiffness-loss index were extracted from crosshead data. ANOVA confirmed significant build-orientation effects on ultimate cyclic strength, HDI stress, and stiffness-loss index (all p ≤ 0.002 ), while cumulative plastic strain at fracture was not significant ( p = 0.37 ). Single-specimen fractographs showed qualitative differences among orientations. ICT provides rapid comparative screening for orientation ranking, complementing rather than replacing constant-amplitude fatigue testing.