The aim of this study is to analyze how the microstructure and manufacturing defects impact the fatigue endurance of AlSi10Mg alloy specimens with an as-built cross-section manufactured via additive layer manufacturing using a laser beam on a powder bed. The investigation focuses on semi-spherical surface voids as a representation of a defect induced by manufacturing. The analysis consists in finite element modeling with the Crossland criterion to compute the fatigue limit based on the stress distribution around the defects and the affected depth approach. Fatigue characteristics are determined by utilizing S-N curves for non-defective specimens under a tensile stress at R= −1, both with and without T6 thermal treatment. Kitagawa-type diagrams are utilized to establish a relationship between the fatigue limit and the defect size. The proposed methodology strongly aligns with the experimental data.
Cisse et al. (Tue,) studied this question.