Review of fatigue fracture behaviours of materials made by laser powder bed fusion

The high cycle fatigue properties of metallic materials are strongly affected by the presence of defects via the premature initiation of fatigue cracks. The laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process is a popular additive manufacturing (AM) technique for making metal parts. It is known to produce detrimental fatigue defects, such as porosity and lack of fusion defects. This work reviews the severity of these defects on the fatigue performance of a number of L-PBF alloys. The applicability of heat treatment and hot isostatic pressing as the means for fatigue property control was also examined. Such understanding could aid material and process selection for fatigue-related applications.