The Additive Manufacturing Benchmark (AM-Bench) test series was established to provide rigorous measurement test data for validating additive manufacturing (AM) simulations for a broad range of AM technologies and material systems. AM-Bench includes extensive in situ and ex situ measurements, simulation challenges for the AM modeling community, and a corresponding conference series. In 2018, the first round of AM-Bench measurements and the first AM-Bench conference were completed, focusing primarily upon laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) processing of metals, and both LPBF and material extrusion processing of polymers. In all, 46 blind modeling simulations were submitted by the international AM community in comparison with the in situ and ex situ measurements. Analysis of these submissions provides valuable insight into existing AM modeling capabilities. The AM-Bench data are permanently archived and freely accessible online.

One of the primary barriers for adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) has been the uncertainty in the performance of AM parts due to residual stresses/strains. The rapid heating and cooling rates from the thermal history of the laser melting process result in high residual stresses/strains that produce significant part distortion. Efforts to mitigate residual stresses using post-process heat treatments can significantly impact the microstructures of the AM part which may lead to further issues. Therefore, the ability to accurately predict the residual stresses in as-built AM parts is crucial, and rigorous benchmark measurements are needed to validate such predictions. To fill this need, the AM-Bench aims to provide high-fidelity residual stress and strain benchmark measurements in well-characterized AM bridge-shaped parts. The measurements reported here are part of the residual elastic strain benchmark challenge CHAL-AMB2018-01-RS. Residual strains and stresses in this work were measured using neutron diffraction, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, and the contour method. Part deflection measurements were performed using a coordinate measurement machine after the part was partially separated from the build plate. These independently measured results show a high degree of agreement between the different techniques.