Numerical study of rolling process on the plastic strain distribution in wire + arc additive manufactured Ti-6Al-4V

Wire+arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is an additive manufacturing (AM) process that employs wire as the feedstock and an arc as energy source, to construct near net-shape components at high build rates. Ti-6Al-4V deposits typically form large columnar prior β grains that can grow through the entire component height, leading to anisotropy and lower mechanical properties, compared to the equivalent wrought alloy. Cold-working techniques such as rolling can be used to promote grain refinement in Ti-6Al-4V WAAM parts, thus increasing strength and eliminating anisotropy concomitantly. Additionally, rolling can be beneficial in terms of reduction of residual stress and distortion. The aim of this study is to illustrate the effect of rolling process parameters on the plastic deformation characteristics in Ti-6Al-4V WAAM structures. To produce a certain refinement of the microstructure, a certain amount of strain is typically required; thus suitable design guidelines for practical applications are needed. The effect of different rolling process parameters, in particular, rolling load and roller profile radius on the plastic strain distribution is investigated based on the finite element method. From a numerical point of view, the effect of the stiffness of the roller is investigated, e.g. deformable vs. rigid roller. Results indicate that for an identical rolling load, the deformable roller produces lower equivalent plastic strains due to its own elastic deformation. Additionally, a lower friction coefficient produces higher equivalent plastic strains near the top surface but, it has an insignificant effect on the plastic deformation further away from the top surface. However, numerically the computation time significantly increased for a higher friction coefficient. Larger roller profile radii lead to lower plastic strain near the top surface, but simultaneously had nearly no noticeable effect on plastic strains at deeper depth. In addition, the effect of interspace between rollers on the uniformity of the plastic strain during multi-pass rolling was investigated for a selected example. The results show that a higher uniform plastic strain distribution is obtained when the interspace between two rollers is equal to the residual width of the groove produced by a single rolling pas

Numerical investigation of the effect of rolling on the localized stress and strain induction for wire + arc additive manufactured structures

Cold rolling can be used in-process or post-process to improve microstructure, mechanical properties and residual stress in directed-energy-deposition techniques, such as the high deposition rate wire + arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) process. Finite element simulations of the rolling process are employed to investigate the effect of rolling parameters, in particular rolling load and roller profile radius on the residual stress field as well as plastic strain distribution for the profiled roller. The results show the response to rolling of commonly used structural metals in WAAM, i.e., AA2319, S335JR steel and Ti-6Al-4V, taking into account the presence of residual stresses. The rolling load leads to changes in the location and the maximum value of the compressive residual stresses, as well as the depth of the compressive residual stresses. However, the roller profile radius only changes the maximum value of these compressive residual stresses. Changing the rolling load influences the equivalent plastic strain close to the top surface of the wall as well as in deeper areas, whereas the influence of the roller profile radius is negligible. The plastic strain distribution is virtually unaffected by the initial residual stresses prior to rolling. Finally, design curves were generated from the simulations for different materials, suggesting ideal rolling load and roller profile combinations for microstructural improvement requiring certain plastic strains at a specific depth of the additive structure

Quantification of strain fields and grain refinement in Ti-6Al-4V inter-pass rolled wire-arc AM by EBSD misorientation analysis

Inter-pass deformation is an effective method for refining the coarse β-grain structure normally produced in high-deposition-rate additive manufacturing processes, like wire-arc additive manufacturing. The effectiveness of applying contoured surface rolling deformation tracks to each added layer has been studied by developing, and applying, a large-area SEM-based strain mapping technique. This technique is based on calibration of the average point-to-point Local Average Misorientation (LAM) of α-phase lamellar variants in EBSD orientation data to the local effective plastic strain. Although limited in the strain range that can be measured, the technique has proven to be very effective for identifying the size and depth of the plastic zone induced by surface rolling, as well as the local strain distribution, up to a saturation limit of ~12%. The strain fields mapped showed a close correlation to the region and level of recrystallization that occurred in the deformation zones during rapid re-heating through the β transus. The β recrystallization identified was consistent with the local strain distribution within the plastic zones measured by the LAM method and previous work on the recrystallization mechanisms operating in WAAM inter-pass deformation processes

Mechanical properties enhancement of additive manufactured Ti-6Al-4V by machine hammer peening

Wire + Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) is a technology potentially offering reduction of material wastage, costs and shorter lead-times. It is being considered as a technology that could replace conventional manufacturing processes of Ti-6Al-4V, such as machining from wrought or forged materials. However, WAAM Ti-6Al-4V is characterized by coarse β-grains, which can extend through several deposited layers resulting in strong texture and anisotropy. As a solution, inter-pass cold rolling has been proven to promote grain refinement, texture modification and improvement of material strength by plastically deforming the material between each deposited layer. Nevertheless, with the increased interest in the WAAM technology, the complexity and size of the deposited parts has increased, and its application can be hindered by the low speed and complex/costly equipment required to perform rolling at this scale. Therefore, Machine Hammer Peening (MHP) has been studied as an alternative cold work process. MHP can be used robotically, offering greater flexibility and speed, and it can be applied easily to any large-scale geometry. Similarly to rolling, MHP is applied between each deposited layer with the new ECOROLL peening machine and, consequently, it is possible to eliminate texturing and reduce the β-grains size from centimeters long to approximately 1 to 2 mm. This effect is studied for thin and thick walls and no considerable change in grain size is observed, proving the applicability of MHP to large components. The yield strength and ultimate tensile strength increases to 907 MPa and 993 MPa, respectively, while still having excellent ductility. This grain refinement may also improve fatigue life and induce a decrease in crack propagation rate. In this study, it has been shown that MHP is a suitable process for WAAM Ti-6Al-4V applications, can be applied robotically and the grain refinement induced by very small plastic deformations can increase mechanical properties

Judicial disagreement need not be political: dissent on the Estonian Supreme Court

I investigate the non-unanimous decisions of judges on the Estonian Supreme Court. I argue that since judges on the court enjoy high de jure independence, dissent frequently, and are integrated in the normal judicial hierarchy, the Estonian Supreme Court is a crucial case for the presumption that judicial disagreement reveals policy preferences. I analyse dissenting opinions using an ideal point response model. Examining the characteristics of cases which discriminated with respect to the recovered dimension, I show that this dimension cannot be interpreted as a meaningful policy dimension, but instead reflects disagreement about the proper scope of constitutional redress

The Effectiveness of Grain Refinement by Machine Hammer Peening in High Deposition Rate Wire-Arc AM Ti-6Al-4V

Surface deformation, applied in-process by machine hammer peening (MHP), has the potential to refine the coarse columnar β-grain structures normally found in high deposition rate Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) processes with Ti alloys like Ti-6Al-4V. Effective refinement, as well as a reduction in texture strength, has been achieved in relatively thick sections and to a depth that is greater than that expected from the surface deformation induced by MHP. By application of MHP to each deposition track, the average β-grain size could be reduced from cm’s to less than 0.5 mm. Systematic experiments have been performed to investigate the origin of this interesting effect, which included ‘stop-action’ trials and separation of the strain and temperature gradients induced by the two process steps. The maximum depth of the plastic deformation from MHP required to generate new β-grain orientations was determined by electron backscatter diffraction local average misorientation analysis to be < 0.5 mm, which was less than the melt pool depth in the WAAM process. Nevertheless, new β-grain orientations were observed to form within the peened layer ahead of the approaching heat source as the peak temperature rose above the β transus, which then grew into the less deformed core of the wall as the temperature rose. This allowed the new grain orientations to penetrate deeper than the melt pool depth and survive to act as substrates for epitaxial growth at the fusion boundary during solidification, resulting in significant grain refinemen