Texture evolution in stainless steel processed by selective laser melting and annealing

ABSTRACT

This work analyses the texture and microstructure gradients emerging in a 316L stainless steel processed by selective laser melting, using an island scan strategy, followed by annealing. Laser processing leads to the alignment of different crystallographic directions with the build direction at the mid and top layers, as well as to gradual structural coarsening. Annealing triggers discontinuous recrystallisation at highly strained regions, such as grain boundaries and laser track centre lines, resulting in the onset of new texture gradients. The development of the mentioned texture gradients is rationalised based on a competition between thermal gradient-driven growth and epitaxial growth.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Selective laser melting
• 316L steel
• microstructure
• texture
• grain boundaries
• recrystallisation

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ahmed El Ghazaly for his valuable support and input.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Consejería de Educación, Juventud y Deporte, Comunidad de Madrid, Grant number S2013/MIT-2775.