Ce Papers - 2019 - K Hne - 3D Printing in Steel Construction With The Automated Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing

NORDIC STEEL 2019
The 14th Nordic Steel Construction Conference,

September 18–20, 2019, Copenhagen, Denmark
3D printing in steel construction with the automated Wire Arc Additive Manu-
facturing
Ronny Kühne*,a, Markus Feldmanna, Sandro Citarellia, Uwe Reisgenb, Rahul Sharmab, Lukas
Osterb
a
RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Steel Construction, Germany
r.kuehne@stb.rwth-aachen.de, feldmann@stb.rwth-aachen.de, s.citarelli@stb.rwth-aachen.de
b
RWTH Aachen University, Welding and Joining Institute, Germany
reisgen@isf.rwth-aachen.de, sharma@isf.rwth-aachen.de, oster@isf.rwth-aachen.de
ABSTRACT
The classic 3D printing of metallic components using powder bed processes has so far mainly been
used in the aerospace industry or in mechanical engineering. For the production of large structural
components, such as those used in steel construction, laser powder-based additive manufacturing
processes are too expensive. Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) can offer a possibility
to realize 3D printing of large steel components. This process, also known as "shape welding", has
become interesting for the building industry in combination with flexible robot technology and low
energy welding processes. This is not only because of the vast variety of design options, as digitali-
sation and integration into computer-supported design, planning and manufacturing processes also
open up new possibilities for steel construction. Additionally, WAAM is also well-suited for the pro-
duction of load-optimised components in particular. This study describes the current and future fields
of application, the characteristics of production and the load-bearing capacity of the achievable com-
ponent types.
Keywords: 3D Printing, WAAM, robotic welding, surface roughness
1 INTRODUCTION
Recent developments in civil engineering increasingly rely on automation, parallel to the demands of
the individualisation of products in other areas of steel construction production. The following trends
can be observed in steel construction:
 on the product side, the increasing demand for individuality, freedom of design and high load-
bearing capacity, and at the same time
 on the production side, the increasing use of higher levels of automation.
In the past, the architects’ desire for individual, freely designed components often inhibited the eco-
nomic demand for high levels of automation. Today the conflict can be resolved by the use of auto-
mation and robotics embedded in digital planning and manufacturing processes.
An innovative manufacturing process is Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), which uses
shaping welding to create almost any structure that can be used to scale in the construction industry.
The use of robots is key to this technology, which can now be used in industrial manufacturing pro-
cesses. WAAM is characterized by free shaping, computer-aided optimisation and high cost effi-
ciency compared to other additive manufacturing technologies.
WAAM opens an infinite field of new types of structural solutions (see Fig. 1 for an example).
© 2019 Ernst & Sohn Verlag für Architektur und technische Wissenschaften GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin · ce/papers 3 (2019), Nos. 3 & 4
https://doi.org/10.1002/cepa.1103 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cepa 577
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578 |
Fig. 1. Left: Robot with installed welding torch for wire- and arc-based additive manufacturing (ISF, RWTH Aachen),
middle and right: parts of a pedestrian bridge (Amsterdam) built by MX3D using the WAAM process (1)
2 DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH FIELDS IN THE PROCESS TECHNOLOGY OF

WAAM
Different welding processes can be used for WAAM. The GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) process
can be easily implemented for welding self-contained path curves with constant seam formation due
to centric wire guidance. In addition, the deposition rates of the GMAW process at currently up to 10
kg/h (2) are significantly higher than those of the TIG (Tungsten Arc Welding) process at 0.8 kg/h
(3). The high deposition rate comes with a high heat input, which needs to be considered because of
its effect on the grain structure and therefore the mechanical properties of the material. The modula-
tion of the arc and the cooling of the molten pool by cold wire feeding can further increase the depo-
sition rate (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. GMAW-Multi-wire welding at ISF (RWTH Aachen) (4)
Especially the further increase of the deposition rate while reliably estimating distortion and residual
stresses is an important field of development to make the WAAM process usable in the construction
industry. Metallurgical optimisations of the used wire materials, and the further development and
integration of automation processes makes WAAM even more interesting for future applications.
Fig. 3. Distortion as an indicator of the stiffness of the substructure and the formation of residual stresses. Both struc-
tures were manufactured using the same welding parameters
The complex path planning and its parameterisation are also the focus of further developments (5; 6).
Not only speeding up the process but also detecting the distortion (prediction of the final contour) is
an important aspect. This is because component distortion leads, among other aspects, to undesirable
© Ernst & Sohn Verlag für Architektur und technische Wissenschaften GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin ∙ ce/papers (2019)
| 579
shape deviations and, as a result, to additional milling work (7). If the thermally induced stresses
arising in the welding process cannot be relieved by distortion, they remain in the component in the
form of residual stresses and can have a negative effect on the load-bearing capacity (Fig. 3). Thus,
knowledge of the residual stresses prevailing in the component is of great importance for strength
evaluation. Here the thermomechanical structural simulation can be used to predict residual stresses
and distortion, which form the basis for the adaptation of process parameters and path planning.
For steel construction, however, the use of non-milled surfaces is an economical option, provided that
the properties of such surfaces can be defined and classified. Most additive manufacturing processes
for processing metallic materials involve subsequent machining of the functional surfaces of the com-
ponent. If the additive and subtractive manufacturing processes are integrated in the same machine,
the manufacturing process is called hybrid manufacturing (8). The advantage here is the simplified
production chain. On the other hand, the disadvantage is the higher technical complexity of a hybrid
plant.
3 DESIGN AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR STEEL CONSTRUCTION

The great variety of possible designs, especially in the form of curvatures, thickness changes and
intersections, extends not only the architectural but also the engineering scope. Examples are shown
in Tab. 1.
Table 1. Exemplary comparison of conventional details (left) and WAAM manufactured details (right)
T-joint rectangular hollow profiles

(longitudinal section)
K-joints from round hollow profiles
Connection round hollow profile to I-

profile
fully connected in the upper right cor-
ner,
bottom right optimized for one load
case
In addition to the possibilities of developing free-form object designs, WAAM technology is partic-
ularly useful where the load-bearing capacity limits of conventional solutions regularly cause prob-
lems, e.g. with hollow section nodes (Table 1). The basic difficulty of companion structures of closed
profiles is based on their inaccessibility to the inside of the profile. This prevents stiffening with the
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result that the cross-sections of the connected tension rods are determined by the node design. Also
casting technology can offer only limited possibilities for improvement with gradual wall thickening.
However, the possibility of implementing internal reinforcements in a WAAM-printed node element
means that solutions for increasing the specific node load-bearing capacities are offered in a wide
range while at the same time dimensions and weights are reduced. The application of WAAM to
optimisations of other connection types can be found for example in (9).
4 SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ISSUES IN THE USE OF WAAM FOR STEEL CON-
STRUCTIONS
4.1 WAAM-manufactured cross-sections

Fig. 4 shows cross-sections produced with WAAM in multi-wire and single-wire technology using
the G3Si1 filler metal, which is commonly used in steel construction (ISO 14341-A:2011 (10)).
Multi-wire technology currently still shows surface irregularities, whereas single-wire technology can
now produce a regular surface structure. With suitable process control, weld-seam irregularities can
be almost completely ruled out. As expected, the hardness is increased both in the HAZ of the base
plate and in the top layer. The surface waviness and roughness largely depend on the used welding
process and the process parameterisation. Furthermore, the waviness tends to increase with the dep-
osition rate of the process.
Fig. 4. Hardness curve HV1 over the cross-section of a component wall produced by WAAM multi-wire (left) and a
cross-section produced by WAAM single-wire (right)
Table 2. Exemplary determination of notched bar impact work of selected WAAM manufactured specimens, longitu-
dinal and transversal to the welding direction. The material used (G 3Si1) corresponds to a conventional filler metal for
welding of structural steels. Manufacturing of the structure was carried out using a pendulum CMT process
Temperature [°C] -40 -60 -70
Notch impact energy (transversal) [J] 124 115,5 104
Notch impact energy (longitudinal) [J] 93 98 16
Both the process-related waviness and roughness are partly regular, partly stochastic in character. Not
only for cost reasons, but also for reasons of accessibility, e.g. inside hollow profile connections, the
rough surface will not be removed by subsequent surface grinding or milling. Therefore, this surface
geometry (in terms of waviness and roughness) must also be taken into account when determining
the strength. Tensile and Charpy tests of the material show a good behaviour at high and low temper-
atures (Table 2). Nevertheless, it has to be investigated how the mentioned surface geometric prop-
erties affects the strength behaviour for the static as well as for the fatigue case.
Round tensile specimens (DIN 50125 - B 8 × 40) taken from the WAAM material show tensile
strengths above 500 MPa at an elongation at break of approx. 24 % (Fig. 5). In relation to S355, the
yield strengths are considerably higher than the requirements of the base material.
| 581
550
500
450
400
Stress [N/mm²]
350
300
250 Longitudinal specimen
Transversal specimen
200
150
100
50
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Strain [%]
Fig. 5. Technical stress-strain curves of round tensile test specimens longitudinal and transverse to the welding direc-
tion of the printed cross-section made of welding wire of G 3Si1 according to ISO 14341:2011-04
4.2 Influence of surface roughness

For the design under static loading, the question of permissible tolerances or the applicable wall
thickness is of particular interest for surfaces that have not been post-treated. On the one, hand there
is the difficulty of simply determining the relevant thickness of a WAAM-manufactured cross-sec-
tion. On the other, hand it should also be taken into account that the geometric notches of the surface
introduced as a result of the process generate stress concentrations reducing the cross-section com-
pared to a corresponding net cross-section with a smooth surface, in particular the effective ductility.
Figure 6 shows the determination of the effective thickness and the effective ductility for a single-
wire WAAM-manufactured cross-section. For the strength, the thickness dimension resulting from
the outer thickness minus the roughness depth can be used according to the investigations available
so far. By comparing the curves, however, it is also obvious that both the uniformity strain and the
elongation at break (to be estimated from the stress-strain curve of the simulation with rough surface)
are reduced. The thinner the wall cross section, the more influence this has, because the surface
roughness is not significantly reduced for the same process parameters with decreasing wall thickness
for the same process. Moreover, the residual stress profile is a further influencing variable. The su-
perposition of which with load stresses can lead to earlier reaching of the yield point and reducing of
the effective ductility.
Fig. 6. Determination of the effective thickness (left) and reduction of uniform elongation and elongation at fracture
(right, fracture not simulated but can be estimated)
A similar method can also be used for estimating the fatigue strength. Here, fatigue strength is deter-
mined as a function of the roughness characteristics of the surface. It is useful to continue to use the
equivalent wall thickness determined for the static case.
The fatigue decreasing effect of the notches gets stronger the deeper they protrude into the material.
Therefore, the evaluation of the fatigue influence of the notches can be performed with local stress
concepts, for example according to (11; 12; 13). A fictitious radius reff at the rounding is used for the
notches. For steel according to (11; 12) a reference fatigue S-N-line at the height of FAT 630 (for reff
= 0.05 mm) is available. With the help of notch factors βk, which record the ratio of nominal stress to
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notch stress, a nominal fatigue S-N-line can be derived (fatigue strength). The notch factors are de-
termined by FE simulations using a unit nominal stress. In this case, a maximum βk = 5.6 can be
determined (Fig. 7). When applying the notch stress concept according to (11; 12), this results in a
fatigue strength of 112 N/mm² based on nominal stresses by conversion with FAT630.
Fig. 7. Fine meshing of the groove to determine the highest notch stress
The stochastic character of the waviness or roughness of the surface can be investigated e.g. by a
histogram or a correlation analysis. Figure 8 shows the waviness and roughness curves and their
evaluations for a single-wire weld and a multi-wire welding.
Fig. 8. Surface profile, autocorrelation (right tilt due to limited sample length) and amplitude histogram of samples
with single-wire welding (left) and multi-wire welding (right)
The stochastically distributed roughness can be classified so that nominal values of equivalent wall
thicknesses can be classified. They can be used simultaneously as requirement or class characteristics
for production. A prerequisite is that fatigue strength calculations of stochastic surfaces deliver results
that are consistent in terms of safety.
In a further step, the stochastic roughness is not only to be described in a cross-section, perpendicular
to the welding direction, but over the whole wall surface under recording of the 3D mountains and
the influence of the surface size, e.g. by a Weibull approach.
Since the WAAM technology is particularly suitable in connection with optimized designs, buckling
proofs are also a topic regarding to relatively thinner resulting wall thicknesses. From the spectral
| 583
characterisation also the equivalent imperfections e0,eq, which are decisive for the buckling proofs,
can be derived. The residual stress profile must also be taken into account.
5 CONCLUSION
The WAAM technology provides a new and highly interesting manufacturing technology for steel
construction. This not only makes it possible to meet unusual architectural requirements or achieve
optimisation goals, but also increases in load-bearing capacity can be achieved where conventional
manufacturing techniques are limited. Both processes and products are currently being further devel-
oped for use in the construction industry, and preparations are being made for characterisation and
standardisation.
At the same time, approaches for calculation and dimensioning are being developed, as these cannot
yet be assigned to a standard, which makes it impossible for planners to use 3D printed components.
On the one hand, the focus is on the applicable strengths for the static and fatigue-relevant case as
well as on questions of the stability of the components, which are often very thin-walled as a result
of optimisation. On the other hand, strategies must be developed to achieve as little distortion and
residual stress as possible. Finally, it should be said that the innovative manufacturing method could
only achieve its breakthrough through the use of digital planning and manufacturing processes, in
particular modern robotics.
6 ACKNOWLEDEGMENT
Parts of the presented investigations were conducted in the Collaborative Research Centre SFB1120
“Precision Melt Engineering” at RWTH Aachen University and funded by the German Research
Foundation (DFG). For the sponsorship and the support, we wish to express our sincere gratitude.
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NORDIC STEEL 2019

The 14th Nordic Steel Construction Conference,

Keywords: 3D Printing, WAAM, robotic welding, surface roughness

2 DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH FIELDS IN THE PROCESS TECHNOLOGY OF

Fig. 2. GMAW-Multi-wire welding at ISF (RWTH Aachen) (4)

3 DESIGN AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR STEEL CONSTRUCTION

T-joint rectangular hollow profiles

K-joints from round hollow profiles

Connection round hollow profile to I-

4.1 WAAM-manufactured cross-sections

4.2 Influence of surface roughness

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