Thermal Fatigue Prediction in Additively Manufactured Components

Zhixin Zhan

Thermal Fatigue Prediction in Additively Manufactured Components

Author(s)	Dr. Zhixin Zhan
Country	United States
Abstract	Additively manufactured metallic components are increasingly considered for thermally demanding applications because additive manufacturing permits complex cooling passages, lightweight structures, integrated geometries, and material-efficient production. Their thermal-fatigue behavior, however, remains difficult to predict because cyclic thermal strain interacts with manufacturing-induced residual stress, porosity, lack-of-fusion defects, rough surfaces, anisotropic microstructures, build orientation, and post-processing history. Conventional strain-life approaches can describe cyclic thermo-mechanical damage but may underestimate the scatter produced by additive-manufacturing-specific imperfections. This study develops an integrated framework for thermal-fatigue prediction in additively manufactured components by coupling thermal strain, residual-stress state, defect severity, surface condition, microstructural anisotropy, build orientation, and post-processing. Because authenticated thermal-cycle tests, strain histories, computed-tomography measurements, and fracture-surface observations were not supplied, the quantitative component is explicitly simulation based. A synthetic experimental matrix containing 168 component conditions is constructed across seven thermal-cycle ranges, four build orientations, and three post-processing states. An Additive Thermal Fatigue Susceptibility Index is proposed to quantify manufacturing-related damage amplification, while a modified strain-life formulation is used to estimate cycles to crack initiation. Simulated analysis shows a strong nonlinear reduction in thermal-fatigue life as thermal-cycle range increases. At a 300 °C cycle range, predicted life increases from approximately 7,800 cycles for the as-built condition to 16,400 cycles following stress relief and 33,800 cycles after combined hot isostatic pressing and surface machining. The results demonstrate that thermal-fatigue prediction for additive components should not be based on temperature range alone. Reliable life assessment requires integration of thermal-mechanical loading with the defect population and residual microstructure created by the manufacturing route. The proposed framework provides a basis for subsequent experimental calibration using thermomechanical fatigue testing, X-ray or neutron residual-stress measurement, micro-computed tomography, surface metrology, and fractographic validation.
Keywords	additive manufacturing, thermal fatigue, thermomechanical fatigue, fatigue-life prediction, residual stress, laser powder bed fusion, manufacturing defects, Inconel 718
Field	Engineering
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 3, May-June 2026
Published On	2026-05-31

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American Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Innovation and Research

A Widely Indexed Open Access Peer Reviewed Multidisciplinary Bi-monthly Scholarly International Journal

Thermal Fatigue Prediction in Additively Manufactured Components

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