In the rapidly evolving field of additive manufacturing (AM), the predictability of part properties is still challenging due to the inherent multiphysics complexity of the technology. This results in time-consuming and costly experimental guess-and-check approaches for manufacturing each individual design. Through synthesising advancements in the field, this review argues that numerical modelling is instrumental in mitigating these challenges by working in tandem with experimental studies. Unique hierarchical microstructures induced by extreme AM process conditions– including melt pool patterns, grains, cellular–dendritic substructures, and precipitates—affect the final part properties. Therefore, the development of microstructure-informed mechanical models becomes vital. Our review of numerical studies explores various modelling approaches that consider the microstructural features explicitly and offers insights into multiscale stress–strain analysis across diverse materials fabricated by powder bed fusion AM. The literature indicates a growing consensus on the key role of multiscale integrated process–structure–property–performance (PSPP) modelling in capturing the complexity of AM-produced materials. Current models, though increasingly sophisticated, still tend to relate only two elements of the PSPP chain while often focusing on a single scale. This emphasises the need for integrated PSPP approaches validated by a solid experimental base. The PSPP paradigm for AM, while promising as a concept, is still in its infantry, confronting multifaceted challenges that require in-depth, multidisciplinary expertise. These challenges range from accounting for multiphysics phenomena (e.g., advanced laser–material interaction) and their interplay (thermo-mechanical and microstructural evolution for simulating Type II residual stresses), accurately defined assumptions (e.g., flat molten surface during AM or purely epitaxial solidification), and correctly estimated boundary conditions for each element of the PSPP chain up to the need to balance the model’s complexity and detalisation in terms of both multiphysics and discretisation with efficient multitrack and multilayer simulations. Efforts in bridging these gaps would not only improve predictability but also expedite the development and certification of new AM materials.

This work studies the formation and evolution of residual stresses in metal matrix composites with different volume fractions and sizes of reinforcement particles. The investigation was performed on hot-pressed samples of pure aluminum with boron and titanium carbide particles. The samples were subjected to mechanical compression tests to study their fracture behavior. Residual stresses were measured after cooling, as well as at different degrees of deformation of the composites. Some samples were subjected to electron beam processing. The phase composition and size of boron carbide particles in their recast surface layers, which were formed by recrystallization from the liquid phase during irradiation, were examined by X-ray diffraction. The cooling process followed by mechanical loading of the composites was simulated by simultaneously taking into account the fracture of the matrix and particles. The formation of residual stresses in composites with different particle volume fractions was numerically investigated.

This paper considers the deformation of Al/B ₄ C and NiTi/TiC composites and 6061T6 aluminum alloy with double-layer composite coatings reinforced by B ₄ C and TiC particles. Three- and two-dimensional dynamic problems are solved numerically using Abaqus/Explicit. The thermomechanical behavior of homogeneous aluminum matrices and substrates is modeled by an isotropic elastic-plastic formulation. The nitinol matrix implies the possibility of a completely reversible elastic phase transition from austenite to martensite upon reaching the critical equivalent strains. The fracture of particles in the composite coating is modeled using the Huber criterion, taking into account the stress mode type. The study also examines the effects of the volume fraction of boron carbide particles and the phase transition in NiTi on the magnitude of residual stresses and strains in composites after cooling and under mechanical loads. The influence of the arrangement of composite layers on the strength of the material with a double-layer coating is evaluated theoretically and experimentally. The results of the experiments qualitatively confirm the simulation results.

Experimental and numerical studies were conducted on AlSi12 alloy fabricated by wire-feed electron beam additive manufacturing to examine the structure, thermomechanical behavior and fracture of a eutectic microvolume at the scale of several microns. Dynamic boundary value problems were solved under plane strain conditions. The composite structure of the eutectic phase consisting of an aluminum matrix and silicon particles was taken into account explicitly in the calculations. Isotropic models of the thermoelastoplastic matrix and elastic-brittle particles were implemented in ABAQUS/Explicit. Composite deformation was calculated both with and without allowance for residual stresses caused by cooling of the composite after its fabrication. It was shown that after the cooling of the eutectic, silicon particles are compressed, and the aluminum matrix is under both bulk compressive and tensile as well as under pure shear stresses. It was found that residual stresses play a negative role at the stages of intense deformation of the composite. The fracture strain of the eutectic strongly depends on the yield point of the matrix, while the ultimate fracture stress varies but only slightly. Favorable morphology of silicon particles was determined which prevents early fracture of the eutectic.

The article presents a microstructure-based mechanical model of hexagonal close-packed (hcp) α-titanium representative of the mesoscale and analyzes the contribution of a pyramidal slip to plastic deformation. We discuss the size of a representative volume element (RVE) enabling mesoscale phenomena to be correctly reproduced, focusing on deformation-induced surface roughening (DISR) and plastic strain localization. It is shown that the ignorance of a pyramidal slip in simulations leads to overestimated stress values in an hcp material. A polycrystalline model is capable of reproducing the mesoscale phenomena until plastic strain begins to localize at the length scale comparable to the model size.