The effect of residual stress on the fracture toughness of Ti-6Al-4V produced by laser-based powder bed fusion

The effect of residual stress on the fracture toughness of Ti-6Al-4V produced by laser-based powder bed fusion | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The effect of residual stress on the fracture toughness of Ti-6Al-4V produced by laser-based powder bed fusion D. F. Louw, M. Neaves, T. H. Becker This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7009031/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 12 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in International Journal of Fracture → Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) imposes steep thermal gradients, resulting in distortion and the formation of significant residual stresses, which often precipitate in-situ cracking at support interfaces and sharp geometric features. To isolate their influence on structural integrity, we combined fracture mechanics testing with residual stress evaluation on as-built compact tension specimens printed in two orthogonal orientations. The experimentally measured apparent stress-intensity factor was deconvolved into mechanical and residual-stress components, yielding a residual-stress-free fracture toughness ( \(\:{K}_{ICeff}\) ). Apparent fracture toughness ranged from 25–35 MPa.m 1/2 , whereas \(\:{K}_{ICeff}\) increased to 45–52 MPa.m 1/2 . Residual stresses, therefore, depress the material’s residual-stress-free resistance by up to ~ 50% and accentuate orientation-dependent anisotropy. The framework presented offers a route for quantifying process-induced toughness degradation in LPBF alloys. Additive manufacturing Fracture toughness Ti-6Al-4V Residual stress Laser-based powder bed fusion Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 12 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in International Journal of Fracture → Version 1 posted Reviewers invited by journal 08 Jul, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 08 Jul, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 01 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 30 Jun, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7009031","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":482490300,"identity":"3e4ec95a-9e8f-45f6-9821-2cf211dfddca","order_by":0,"name":"D. F. 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To isolate their influence on structural integrity, we combined fracture mechanics testing with residual stress evaluation on as-built compact tension specimens printed in two orthogonal orientations. The experimentally measured apparent stress-intensity factor was deconvolved into mechanical and residual-stress components, yielding a residual-stress-free fracture toughness (\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{K}_{ICeff}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e). Apparent fracture toughness ranged from 25\u0026ndash;35 MPa.m\u003csup\u003e1/2\u003c/sup\u003e, whereas \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(\\:{K}_{ICeff}\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e increased to 45\u0026ndash;52 MPa.m\u003csup\u003e1/2\u003c/sup\u003e. Residual stresses, therefore, depress the material\u0026rsquo;s residual-stress-free resistance by up to ~\u0026thinsp;50% and accentuate orientation-dependent anisotropy. The framework presented offers a route for quantifying process-induced toughness degradation in LPBF alloys.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The effect of residual stress on the fracture toughness of Ti-6Al-4V produced by laser-based powder bed fusion","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-07-10 14:45:26","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7009031/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-07-08T15:41:56+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-07-08T15:28:41+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-07-01T14:09:35+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"International Journal of Fracture","date":"2025-06-30T09:37:15+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"international-journal-of-fracture","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"frac","sideBox":"Learn more about [International Journal of Fracture](http://link.springer.com/journal/10704)","snPcode":"10704","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10704/3","title":"International Journal of Fracture","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"beeb8adb-9460-4028-8e88-40100e64e65b","owner":[],"postedDate":"July 10th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-19T16:45:58+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7009031","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10704-025-00906-7","journal":{"identity":"international-journal-of-fracture","isVorOnly":false,"title":"International Journal of Fracture"},"publishedOn":"2026-01-12 16:28:54","publishedOnDateReadable":"January 12th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-07-10 14:45:26","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s10704-025-00906-7","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10704-025-00906-7","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7009031","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7009031","identity":"rs-7009031","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}