Influence of annealing temperature on the Charpy fracture characteristics of selective laser melted 316L steel at ambient and cryogenic temperatures

Editorial Board PCSS Journal; Bohdan Efremenko; Yuliia Chabak; Elena Tsvetkova; Inna Oleinyk; Vasily Efremenko; Antonina Dzherenova

doi:10.15330/pcss.26.4.844-851

Authors

Bohdan Efremenko Pryazovskyi State Technical University, Dnipro, Ukraine
Yuliia Chabak Institute of Materials Research of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Kosice, Slovakia; Pryazovskyi State Technical University, Dnipro, Ukraine
Elena Tsvetkova Pryazovskyi State Technical University, Dnipro, Ukraine
Inna Oleinyk Pryazovskyi State Technical University, Dnipro, Ukraine
Vasily Efremenko Institute of Materials Research of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Kosice, Slovakia; Priazovskyi State Technical University, Dnipro, Ukraine
Antonina Dzherenova Pryazovskyi State Technical University, Dnipro, Ukraine

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15330/pcss.26.4.844-851

Keywords:

316L, Selective Laser Melting, annealing, impact toughness, absorbed energy, microstructure

Abstract

The effect of high-temperature annealing on the Charpy fracture properties of 316L stainless steel manufactured via Selective Laser Melting (SLM) was studied at ambient (25 ^oC) and cryogenic (–196 ^oC, LNT) temperatures. Charpy V-notched specimens (5×10×55 mm) were built along the Z-axis and annealed (5 h) at 900^oC, 1050^oC, or 1200^oC, followed by water quenching. Impact tests were performed with the force-displacement curves recording. Microstructure was analysed using OM, SEM, EBSD, and EDX. The SLM-316L exhibited impact toughness (KCV) of one-third that of rolled 316L due to SLM’s cellular structure and specific micro-defects. Annealing at 900 ^oC removed the cellular structure, slightly improving impact toughness, while annealing at 1200 ^oC reduced it by a factor of 1.5 due to (MnCrSiAl)O₃ precipitation. At –196 ^oC, absorbed energy decreased compared to 25 ^oC by a factor of 1.7-2.2. At 25^oC, crack propagation energy (KV_prop) exceeded crack initiation energy (KV_ini) across all conditions. At –196 ^oC, the KV_prop fraction in annealed samples decreased because of deformation-induced martensitic transformation. The cellular structure of as-printed steel promoted a higher KV_prop fraction at –196 ^oC. Ratio KCV_LNT/KCV_RT (0.46-0.59) indicates no ductile-brittle transition threshold, supporting the suitability of SLM-316L steel for cryogenic applications.

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