SUMMARY

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is an area of high interest to the aerospace, construction, and energy industries due to its high production rate, cost-effectiveness, and environmental friendliness. Its ability to produce large-scale parts with minimal amounts of material gives this process a significant advantage over traditional manufacturing methods. However, variations in its deposition beads’ geometries due to heat accumulation make it difficult to predict WAAM parts’ final dimensions, and can cause builds to fail. The proposed study will focus on three objectives: (1) identifying relationships between build parameters, bead geometries, and process conditions in WAAM, (2) formulating model-based build geometry control approaches, and (3) investigating the generalizability of these approaches. This research will further researchers’ understanding of the process conditions which occur during wire arc additive manufacturing, provide a rigorous evaluation of several approaches for controlling bead geometry, and lay the groundwork for further study and implementation of bead geometry control strategies.