Distortion analysis of WAAM component using thermo-mechanical, inherent strain and experimental methods
摘要
This study comprehensively investigates distortion in components fabricated using Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) and compares three numerical simulation methods validated through experimental analysis. A thin-walled rectangular SS316L component deposited on an S235 substrate served as the demonstrative model. The Thermo-mechanical Method (TMM) utilized Goldak's double-ellipsoid heat source model and isotropic hardening based on the von-Mises yield criterion which incorporates temperature- and strain-rate-dependent material properties determined from chemical composition using advanced materials modelling software. Another two distinct Inherent Strain Methods (ISM) were employed which are one based on traditional Analytical Equations (AE) and another novel Virtual Calibration Test (VCT). While the AE-based ISM implemented the welding shrinkage theorem, the VCT, which eliminates conventional calibration processes using TMM, corrected and iteratively optimized the resulting distortion to inherent strain values using the Nelder-Mead algorithm. Experimental validation was performed through robotic Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) with precisely controlled process parameters aligned with simulations. Component distortions were measured using an industrial 3D scanner with structured blue light technology. Results indicated average vertical distortion errors of 6–7% for TMM and 8–8.5% for AE-based and VCT-based ISMs. Importantly, both ISMs significantly reduced computational time, achieving speeds 8–16 times faster than TMM. The newly developed VCT-based ISM particularly demonstrates the considerable potential for accurately predicting distortions in WAAM-fabricated components, attributed primarily to its enhanced computational efficiency relative to existing major computational methods.