How to model print orientation effects in a 3D-printed tensile test without the AM plugin?

[wahira]

Hello!
I’m working on simulating a 3D-printed tensile test specimen to evaluate its mechanical properties. I understand that plugins like the Additive Manufacturing (AM) module in Abaqus could simplify this process, but I don’t have access to it.

My challenge is representing the anisotropic behavior introduced by the printing orientation (e.g., layers parallel vs. perpendicular to the tensile load) manually. I have the material’s datasheet (attached below), but it lacks experimental data for orientation-dependent properties, which makes it difficult to define accurate anisotropic parameters.

Currently, I’m considering two approaches to approximate these effects using standard FEM tools:

• Shell elements with ply orientation to explicitly model the printed layers.
• Solid elements with manually defined anisotropic material properties.

In addition to advice on these methods, if anyone has examples of similar simulations with other materials (even approximate ones), I would greatly appreciate it. I’ve looked into several papers, but they often don’t explain what to do in cases where the datasheet lacks this information.

Thank you in advance for your help

 

[FEA way]

The AM Modeler plug-in only helps simulate the printing process itself and calculate the thermal stresses/strains. You will need a different approach here. Sometimes solid models including infill patterns are simulated when testing such simple samples. But you could do it on an even more simplified model (cube representing the infill pattern) as a form of RVE approach.

 

[wahira]

The AM Modeler plug-in only helps simulate the printing process itself and calculate the thermal stresses/strains. You will need a different approach here. Sometimes solid models including infill patterns are simulated when testing such simple samples. But you could do it on an even more simplified model (cube representing the infill pattern) as a form of RVE approach.

Thank you for your response. I appreciate your suggestion about using the RVE approach for analyzing complex infill patterns. While I understand its potential applications, I believe my case might differ slightly.

I am interested in developing a material model that captures the mechanical response of a 3D-printed specimen depending on the orientation of the printed layers. Based on tensile experiments I conducted, I observed that the stress-strain curve varies significantly with the layer angle. My specimen is a rectangular sample composed of multiple layers, each with the same or different orientations (raster angles).

Since my sample does not have any infill patterns (just longitudinal or transversal lines), the RVE approach would not be applicable here. I have already tried modeling the material as a laminate with anisotropic plasticity and using a ply stack (as a composite), but the results do not align well with the experimental data, particularly in terms of failure behavior, which differs significantly from what I observed in testing.
My goal is to develop a model that better captures the anisotropic and layer-dependent behavior of the material. Would you have any suggestions for alternative approaches or tools that might be more suitable for this scenario?

 

[FEA way]

Can you share a picture of the test specimen ? Maybe it can be just modeled as a solid with layers or otherwise represented with the whole printed pattern.