Mitigation of residual stresses and distortions in additive manufactured parts is of great interest to industry. In this study, an arch-shaped geometry is simulated using the general purpose finite element code Abaqus in order to predict stresses and distortions for a laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) manufacturing process. A sequential thermal-mechanical coupling is adopted, in which temperatures are predicted first and then used as inputs in the static stress analysis. The printed part is modeled as an elasto-visco-plastic material, whose parameters are estimated using high temperature mechanical measurements from the literature. The layer-by-layer printing process is simulated by progressive element activation in conjunction with a moving heat source. After removal from the build plate, the simulations predict an outward distortion of the arch legs which qualitatively matches experimental observations of a similar geometry.
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