Effect of surface roughness on fatigue performance of additive manufactured Ti–6Al–4V

Additive manufacturing is increasingly considered for production of high quality, metallic, aerospace parts. Despite the high potential of this manufacturing process to reduce weight and lead time, the fundamental understanding of additive manufactured Ti–6Al–4V material is still at an early stage, especially in the area of fatigue and damage tolerance. This paper covers the effects of inherent surface roughness on the fatigue life. In the as built condition, metallic parts have a poor surface texture, which is generally removed in fatigue critical areas. It is shown that the fatigue properties of Ti–6Al–4V samples, produced by direct metal laser sintering and electron beam melting, are dominated by surface roughness effects. A simple model based on an equivalent initial flaw size is formulated.