Additive manufacture of multistable structures

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Abstract

Residual thermal stresses which develop during additive manufacturing processes are often a cause of unwanted component deformation and mechanical failure. We demonstrate that this impairment can in fact be exploited to enhance the design process for shell structures, where bistability is known to emerge in particular instances due to the presence of inelastic stresses. Multistable structures are produced through a single additive manufacturing operation by considering the inherent availability of thermal stresses in certain additive technologies. This concept is demonstrated through an analytical example, numerical simulations and a physical demonstrator produced via selective laser sintering of a titanium alloy. Our findings underline these hitherto untapped capabilities of additive processes and facilitate a deeper understanding of the thermal stresses developed during manufacture.
Original languageEnglish
Article number02LT02
Pages (from-to)1-10
Number of pages11
JournalSmart Materials and Structures
Volume28
Issue number2
Early online date28 Sept 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Jan 2019

Keywords

  • additive manufacturing
  • bistable structures
  • residual stress

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Signal Processing
  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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