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Advances in the development of additive manufacturing materials (AM) and the low availability of studies on the impact response of AM specimens are the main reasons for this paper. Therefore, the influence of building orientation (vertical and horizontal) and the angle of the raster (15°/-75°, 30°/-60°, 45°/-45°, and 0°/90°) on the tensile and impact strength of AM specimens was investigated. The polylactic acid (PLA)-PolyMax, Mediflex and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) filaments were chosen to provide a comprehensive characterization of AM materials with versatile mechanical properties. The experimental results of this study show that the tensile strength and toughness of PolyMax PLA specimens are comparable to ABS specimens, while Mediflex samples are characterized by their higher toughness, but lower impact force needed to break the samples. The Mediflex Charpy fracture surfaces exhibit a ductile character compared to those of brittle ABS and PLA. Furthermore, fracture surface morphology shows the allocation of voids, which helps us to understand differences in mechanical properties, and allows one to properly interpret the results of the geometrical accuracy of AM specimens with various printing settings.

Building orientation is important in selective laser melting (SLM) processes. Current studies only focus on the horizontal and vertical building orientations without considering different modes of horizontal orientations. In fact, for horizontal orientation, different surfaces of the sample that contact the substrate will affect the heat transfer mode and efficiency, and in turn affect the microstructure and material properties. In this paper, the effect of two modes of horizontal building orientations on microstructure, mechanical and surface properties of SLM Ti6Al4V was studied. Current research about building orientation is deficient because the geometry of samples or test surfaces are not strictly defined, which seriously influences the results due to their different heat transfer efficiency and mode. Therefore, the geometry of the samples and test surfaces were clearly defined, and its necessity was proved in this study. To achieve the research goal, three test samples were prepared: sample SLM-PB-S with the building orientation parallel to the substrate and the shorter side L1 contacts it, sample SLM-PB-L with the building orientation parallel to the substrate and the longer side L2 contacts it and sample SLM-VB with the building orientation vertical to the substrate. Subsequently, the microstructure, grain information, densification, residual stress, micro-hardness, tensile properties and surface topography of different samples were analyzed and compared. In the results, SLM-PB-S exhibited denser microstructure and better mechanical properties than SLM-PB-L, including smaller grain size, stronger texture, higher density, micro-hardness, tensile strength, plasticity and better surface quality. It originates from a higher cooling rate and shorter scanning time between layers during SLM-PB-S fabrication, leading to finer grains, lower porosity and better interlayer metallurgical bonding, thus resulting in better material properties. This study can provide a reference to select the proper building orientation in SLM.

The energy demand of buildings is currently central to the generation of greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels for energy. As energy demand increases, it is critical to reduce energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector. Several architectural studies have shown that building orientation is one of the primary factors that affect building performance. However, there are still many misaligned buildings where energy costs are higher than when standard methods are used. To address this discrepancy, a research study was conducted using different building profiles. Simulations were conducted as part of the research to link a building’s orientation to performance measures, such as energy use intensity (EUI), cooling load, and heating load. In addition, the impacts of solar heat gain and ventilation air exchange values on building energy performance at various orientations were demonstrated. Although building orientation affects building energy performance, the study shows that not all factors related to building efficiency are equally influenced by orientation, and the effects vary by climate zone and building size. Energy efficiency and optimization are timely topics that require further study and exploration. This study discussed the effect of a building’s orientation on its energy usage and performance using optimization techniques. Research methodology can be employed to determine the optimum orientation of buildings. The simulation was performed for two warm and cold climate zones using IES VE and Rhino/Honeybee tools. It is shown that the orientation of the building does not have a significant effect on the energy use intensity (EUI).

This article explores the fatigue characteristics of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) components fabricated using fused filament fabrication (FFF) additive manufacturing technology. ABS is frequently used as a polymeric thermoplastic material in open-source FFF machines for a variety of engineering applications. However, a comprehensive understanding of the mechanical properties and execution of FFF-processed ABS components is necessary. Currently, there is limited knowledge regarding the fatigue behavior of ABS components manufactured using FFF AM technology. The primary target of this study is to evaluate the results of part-build directions and build orientation angles on the tensile fatigue behavior exhibited by ABS material. To obtain this target, an empirical investigation was carried out to assess the influence of building angles and orientation on the fatigue characteristics of ABS components produced using FFF. The test samples were printed in three distinct directions, including Upright, On Edge, and Flat, and with varying orientation angles ([0°, 90°], [15°, 75°], [30°, 60°], [45°]), using a 50% filling density. The empirical data suggest that, at each printing angle, the On-Edge building orientation sample exhibited the most prolonged vibrational duration before fracturing. In this investigation, we found that the On-Edge printing direction significantly outperformed the other orientations in fatigue life under cyclic loading with 1592 loading cycles when printed with an orientation angle of 15°–75°. The number of loading cycles was 290 and 39 when printed with the same orientation angle for the Flat and Upright printing directions, respectively. This result underscores the importance of orientation in the mechanical performance of FFF-manufactured ABS materials. These findings enhance our comprehension of the influence exerted by building orientation and building angles on the fatigue properties of FFF-produced test samples. Moreover, the research outcomes supply informative perspectives on the selection of building direction and building orientation angles for the design of 3D-printed thermoplastic components intended for fatigue cyclic-loading applications.

This study aims to create environmentally comfortable building designs in hot and dry steppe climates using more effective approaches. The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between mean radiant temperature (MRT) and indoor air temperature (Tia), taking into account the orientation of buildings, for better building thermal performance. For this purpose, residential buildings with different orientations were selected in the study region ‘Garmian—northern Iraq’, and their thermal performance was evaluated. The results show how MRT contributes to the buildings’ thermal comfort. The outcomes of this research provide innovative empirical quantification of the correlation of MRT-Tia, as the regression coefficient (β) represents the rate of change in Tia per unit increase in MRT and ranges by orientation in the study area. The findings demonstrate that north-facing buildings buffer radiant heat gain (β~0.52), resulting in a 0.5 °C increase in indoor air temperature for each 1 °C rise in MRT. Moreover, west orientation delivers promising winter passive heating (MRT up to 22 °C and indoor air temperature up to 22.8 °C with a β of ~0.82). However, south-facing buildings perform poorly in the winter, with low MRT and a weak β (~0.44), contrasting with passive solar design strategies that favor south-facing buildings in the northern hemisphere. Furthermore, in the summer, the MRT is always higher than Tia, while it is lower in winter, indicating poor envelope and fenestration thermal insulation properties, which lead to excessive energy usage to maintain thermal comfort. Finally, the study suggests the novel quantified MRT-Tia mathematical correlation responds to the orientations for such climates, offering both diagnostic and predictive tools for thermal comfort performance optimization. This study is the first to empirically quantify orientation-specific MRT–Tia relationships in BSh climates, offering a novel diagnostic tool for sustainable building design. This study involved field observations in 36 residential row houses across four orientations. Key environmental and personal variables measured included mean radiant temperature (MRT), indoor air temperature (Tia), air velocity, relative humidity, metabolic rate, and clothing insulation.

This study was conducted at SPINLab. The full-scale experiments were performed using two experimental spaces of identical specifications to investigate the effects of electrochromic film (OG + ECON or OG + ECOFF) on indoor environment and air conditioning electricity consumption in buildings with different orientations (East and West). The electricity-saving effects are more pronounced on the building’s west-facing side than on its east-facing side. For the east-facing side, the average electricity savings for OG + ECON and OG + ECOFF were 4.5%, and 5.1%, respectively. For the west-facing side, the average electricity savings increased to 9.2% and 9.4% for OG + ECON and OG + ECOFF. The research results on thermal comfort indicate (PMV) that applying electrochromic film (OG + ECON or OG + ECOFF) significantly improved indoor thermal comfort compared to using clear glass (OG) alone. The visual comfort analysis results indicate that the opaque (OG + ECOFF) and transparent (OG + ECON) states of electrochromic film could reduce daylight glare probability (DGP) values. However, due to the light-scattering properties of the liquid crystal droplets, the OG + ECOFF and OG + ECON states of the electrochromic film increased DGP values in 26.5% and 41.5% of the cases, respectively, when sunlight directly entered the interior.

The 3D printing process offers several advantages to the medical industry by producing complex and bespoke devices that accurately reproduce customized patient geometries. Despite the recent developments that strongly enhanced the dominance of additive manufacturing (AM) techniques over conventional methods, processes need to be continually optimized and controlled to obtain implants that can fulfill all the requirements of the surgical procedure and the anatomical district of interest. The best outcomes of an implant derive from optimal compromise and balance between a good interaction with the surrounding tissue through cell attachment and reduced inflammatory response mainly caused by a weak interface with the native tissue or bacteria colonization of the implant surface. For these reasons, the chemical, morphological, and mechanical properties of a device need to be designed in order to assure the best performances considering the in vivo environment components. In particular, complex 3D geometries can be produced with high dimensional accuracy but inadequate surface properties due to the layer manufacturing process that always entails the use of post-processing techniques to improve the surface quality, increasing the lead times of the whole process despite the reduction of the supply chain. The goal of this work was to provide a comparison between Ti6Al4V samples fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) and electron beam melting (EBM) with different building directions in relation to the building plate. The results highlighted the influence of the process technique on osteoblast attachment and mineralization compared with the building orientation that showed a limited effect in promoting a proper osseointegration over a long-term period.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present research work based on the authors’ conceptual framework reported in the VRAP Conference 2013. It is related with an efficient method to obtain an optimal part build orientation for additive manufacturing (AM) by using AM features with associated AM production knowledge and multi-attribute decision-making (MADM). The paper also emphasizes the importance of AM feature and the implied AM knowledge in AM process planning. Design/methodology/approach To solve the orientation problem in AM, two sub-tasks, the generation of a set of alternative orientations and the identification of an optimal one within the generated list, should be accomplished. In this paper, AM feature is defined and associated with AM production knowledge to be used for generating a set of alternative orientations. Key attributes for the decision-making of the orientation problem are then identified and used to represent those generated orientations. Finally, an integrated MADM model is adopted to find out the optimal orientation among the generated alternative orientations. Findings The proposed method to find out an optimal part build orientation for those parts with simple or medium complex geometric shapes is reasonable and efficient. It also has the potential to deal with more complex parts with cellular or porous structures in a short time by using high-performance computers. Research limitations/implications The proposed method is a proof-of-concept. There is a need to investigate AM feature types and the association with related AM production knowledge further so as to suite the context of orientating parts with more complex geometric features. There are also research opportunities for developing more advanced algorithms to recognize AM features and generate alternative orientations and refine alternative orientations. Originality/value AM feature is defined and introduced to the orientation problem in AM for generating the alternative orientations. It is also used as one of the key attributes for decision-making so as to help express production requirements on specific geometric features of a desired part.

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, particularly Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and Digital Light Processing (DLP), offer viable solutions for producing Auxetic materials characterized by their negative Poisson’s ratio. This study investigates the influence of build orientation and loading direction on the mechanical behavior of re-entrant honeycomb auxetic structures fabricated using both FDM- and LCD-based DLP techniques. Specimens were produced in three principal build orientations (X, Y, and Z) and subjected to compression along two directions (X and Y) to capture the anisotropic mechanical response. Standard PLA filament was used for FDM, while standard and tough resins were used for DLP. Uniaxial compression tests were conducted to evaluate maximum compressive stress, Poisson’s ratio, and energy absorption behavior. The results reveal significant anisotropy in mechanical performance depending on build orientation and printing technology. DLP-printed specimens exhibited more isotropic behavior compared to FDM due to superior interlayer adhesion. Furthermore, build orientation was found to have a pronounced effect on auxetic response and load-bearing capacity. This study highlights the critical importance of considering build orientation and loading direction during the design and manufacturing of auxetic structures, especially for applications requiring targeted mechanical performance.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of window films on indoor environmental conditions and electricity consumption of air conditioning. The research focused on the performance of different window films (HAG, RG), taking into account variations from different building orientations. The findings of this research indicated that building orientation could significantly influence the duration of direct sunlight entering the interior, with the areas closer to the glass being more susceptible to the effects of outdoor temperature and solar radiation. The clear glass with heat-absorbing film (HAG) and reflective film (RG) both reduced the indoor temperature and indoor illuminance while increasing indoor comfort. The RG could accumulate less heat on the glass surface compared with the HAG. The glass temperature of the RG will be lower than the HAG. The electricity-saving ratios of the HAG were 1.4%, 1.9%, 1.4%, and 1.2%, respectively, when facing the east, south, west, and northwest orientations compared with the clear glass (OG). The electricity-saving ratios of the RG were 3%, 4.2%, 4.2%, and 10.3%, respectively.