The fatigue behaviour of additively manufactured (AM) 316L stainless steel is investigated with the main emphasis on internal porosity and surface roughness. A transition between two cases of failure are found: failure from defects in the surface region and failure from the internal defects. At low applied load level (and consequently a high number of cycles to failure), fatigue is initiating from defects in the surface region, while for high load levels, fatigue is initiating from internal defects. Porosities captured by X‐ray computed tomography (XCT) are compared with the defects initiating fatigue cracks, obtained from fractography. The fatigue data are synthesised using stress intensity factor (SIF) of the internal and surface defects on the fracture surface.

The enhanced carbon footprint of the construction sector has created the need for CO₂ emission control and mitigation. CO₂ emissions in the construction sector are influenced by a variety of factors, including raw material preparation, cement production, and, most notably, the construction process. Thus, using biobased constituents in cement could reduce CO₂ emissions. However, biobased constituents can degrade and have a negative impact on cement performance. Recently, carbonised biomass known as biochar has been found to be an effective partial replacement for cement. Various studies have reported improved mechanical strength and thermal properties with the inclusion of biochar in concrete. To comprehend the properties of biochar-added cementitious materials, the properties of biochar and their effect on concrete need to be examined. This review provides a critical examination of the mechanical and thermal properties of biochar and biochar-added cementitious materials. The study also covers biochar’s life cycle assessment and economic benefits. Overall, the purpose of this review article is to provide a means for researchers in the relevant field to gain a deeper understanding of the innate properties of biochar imparted into biochar-added cementitious materials for property enhancement and reduction of CO₂ emissions.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of adding nanoparticles to the adhesive layer on the shear strength and elongation at failure of adhesively bonded single lap joints (SLJs). Two different toughening particles including the silica nanoparticles (SNPs) and the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were considered for reinforcing the adhesive joints. The experimental results showed that the highest improvements in the SLJ shear strength and elongation at failure were obtained for 0.2 and 0.8 wt% of MWCNTs and SNPs, respectively. The fractography results indicated that adding nanoparticles improved the failure mode from adhesive to dominant cohesive representing improved adhesion between the adhesive and adherends. Moreover, different damage mechanisms were observed for the adhesives reinforced with different toughening particles. Several mechanisms including crack growth deviation, shear yielding, plastic deformation, and pull out phenomena were observed from scanning electron microscope (SEM) fractography of the fracture surfaces of the joints reinforced by MWCNTs. While in the case of reinforcing by SNPs, the shear yielding, the particle debonding, and subsequent void growth were found as the effective energy absorbing mechanisms.

Additive manufacturing (AM) offers the potential to economically produce customized components with complex geometries in a shorter design-to-manufacture cycle. However, the basic understanding of the fatigue behavior of these materials must be substantially improved at all scale levels before the unique features of this rapidly developing technology can be used in critical load bearing applications. This work aims to assess the fatigue strength of Ti–6Al–4V smooth and circular notched samples produced by selective laser melting (SLM). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the fracture surface of the broken samples in order to identify crack initiation points and fracture mechanisms. Despite the observed fatigue strength reduction induced by circular notched specimens compared to smooth specimens, notched samples showed a very low notch sensitivity attributed both to hexagonal crystal lattice characteristics of tempered alpha prime grains and to surface defects induced by the SLM process itself.