Effect of annealing and strain rate on the microstructure and mechanical properties of austenitic stainless steel 316L manufactured by selective laser melting

  • Zhi-Ping Zhou ,
  • Zhi-Heng Tan ,
  • Jin-Long Lv ,
  • Shu-Ye Zhang ,
  • Di Liu
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  • 1. Sino-French Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, 519082, Guangdong, People's Republic of China;
    2. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, People's Republic of China;
    3. Aerospace Science and Industry Defense Technology Research and Test Center, Beijing, 100854, People's Republic of China

Received date: 2023-12-09

  Revised date: 2024-02-16

  Online published: 2025-09-19

Supported by

This research was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2020YFE0205300), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. U21A20128), the Chengdu Xianhe Semiconductor Technology Co., Lt., China (Grant No. 45000-71020047), and the Chengdu Rihe Xianrui Technology Co., Ltd., China (Grant No. 45000-71020048).

Abstract

New insights are proposed regarding the α′-martensite transformation and strengthening mechanisms of austenitic stainless steel 316L fabricated using selective laser melting (SLM-ed 316L SS). This study investigates the effects of annealing on the microstructural evolution, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance of SLM-ed 316L SS specimens. The exceptional ultimate tensile strength (807 MPa) and good elongation (24.6%) of SLM-ed 316L SS was achieved by SLM process and annealing treatment at 900 ℃ for 1 h, which was attributed to effective dislocation strengthening and grain boundary strengthening. During tensile deformation, annealed samples exhibited deformation twinning as a result of the migration from high-angle grain boundaries to low-angle grain boundaries, facilitating the α′-martensite transformation. Consequently, a deformation mechanism model is proposed. The contribution of dislocation strengthening (~61.4%) is the most important strengthening factor for SLM-ed 316L SS annealed 900 ℃ for 1 h, followed by grain boundary strengthening and solid solution strengthening. Furthermore, the corrosion resistance of SLM-ed 316L SS after annealing treatment is poor due to its limited re-passivation ability.

The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-024-00528-7

Cite this article

Zhi-Ping Zhou , Zhi-Heng Tan , Jin-Long Lv , Shu-Ye Zhang , Di Liu . Effect of annealing and strain rate on the microstructure and mechanical properties of austenitic stainless steel 316L manufactured by selective laser melting[J]. Advances in Manufacturing, 2025 , 13(3) : 634 -654 . DOI: 10.1007/s40436-024-00528-7

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