Tensile mechanical behavior of additively manufactured 316L austenitic stainless steels in liquid lead-bismuth eutectic and in air

Abstract

In this work, tensile mechanical behavior of 316L steels fabricated by three different processing methods (casting, powder extrusion printing (PEP) and laser powder bed fusion (LPBF)) was studied in the presence of liquid lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) and air at 350 °C. The results show that all three steels tested in LBE are not subjected to evident degradation of tensile elongation to failure and strength compared to those tested in air, suggesting that LME does not occur regardless of the processing methods. The LPBF 316L steel exhibits the highest yield strength (420–435 MPa), followed by casting 316L (∼242 MPa) and PEP 316L (146–165 MPa). Ultimate tensile strength of three steels is comparable and ranges from 427 to 485 MPa. The PEP and casting 316L steels have similar total elongation to failure (i.e., 40.0%–43.8%), whereas this property decreases markedly to 18.6%–19.5% for the LPBF 316L steel. The superior strength and relatively low ductility of the LPBF 316L steel can be attributed to nanosized dislocations trapped at cell structures which can produce a remarkable strengthening effect to the steel matrix. By contrast, due to massive residual micropores, the PEP 316L steel has the lowest strength.

Keywords

316L steel / liquid lead-bismuth eutectic / tensile properties / powder extrusion printing / laser powder bed fusion

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