Effect of heat treatment on the recrystallisation of thin-walled stainless steel 316L fabricated by laser beam powder bed fusion
Additive Manufacturing (AM), particularly laser beam powder bed fusion (LB-PBF), enables fabrication of complex thin-wall geometries, yet post-processing studies on such structures are limited. This work investigates heat-treatment annealing of thin-walled stainless steel 316L (SS316L) built via LB-...
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Elsevier
2025-10-01
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| Series: | Materials & Design |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127525010123 |
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| author | Charlie Bevan Nicholas Barnard Thomas Jones Robert Lancaster |
| author_facet | Charlie Bevan Nicholas Barnard Thomas Jones Robert Lancaster |
| author_sort | Charlie Bevan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Additive Manufacturing (AM), particularly laser beam powder bed fusion (LB-PBF), enables fabrication of complex thin-wall geometries, yet post-processing studies on such structures are limited. This work investigates heat-treatment annealing of thin-walled stainless steel 316L (SS316L) built via LB-PBF. A novel build geometry with wall thicknesses from 0.2–1.8 mm was used to examine microstructures before and after heat-treatment (HT) at 1050 °C and 1150 °C. In the as-built state, thinner walls showed grains oriented in <001> toward the wall centre, while thicker walls exhibited a <101> orientation due to a central band of preferential grain growth, typical of larger LB-PBF SS316L parts. Annealing at 1150 °C produced partial recrystallisation in all samples, reaching 86 % in the thickest walls, whereas 1050 °C annealing had little effect. Analysis of geometrically necessary dislocation density, low-angle boundaries (LAB), and high-angle boundaries (HAB) showed no correlation with recrystallisation behaviour. The primary factor limiting recrystallisation was Mn- and Si-based oxide distributions, which impeded grain boundary migration. This caused a stop-and-go growth mechanism, leading to abnormal grain growth in some cases. Findings highlight that chemical segregation, rather than dislocation structure, controls recrystallisation in thin-walled LB-PBF SS316L. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6ba7c0a6910f4bfbb1e7682eae0d0854 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0264-1275 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| spelling | doaj-art-6ba7c0a6910f4bfbb1e7682eae0d08542025-08-22T04:54:53ZengElsevierMaterials & Design0264-12752025-10-0125811459210.1016/j.matdes.2025.114592Effect of heat treatment on the recrystallisation of thin-walled stainless steel 316L fabricated by laser beam powder bed fusionCharlie Bevan0Nicholas Barnard1Thomas Jones2Robert Lancaster3Institute of Structural Materials, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN Northern Ireland, United KingdomInstitute of Structural Materials, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN Northern Ireland, United KingdomRolls-Royce plc., Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9FX United KingdomInstitute of Structural Materials, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN Northern Ireland, United Kingdom; Corresponding author.Additive Manufacturing (AM), particularly laser beam powder bed fusion (LB-PBF), enables fabrication of complex thin-wall geometries, yet post-processing studies on such structures are limited. This work investigates heat-treatment annealing of thin-walled stainless steel 316L (SS316L) built via LB-PBF. A novel build geometry with wall thicknesses from 0.2–1.8 mm was used to examine microstructures before and after heat-treatment (HT) at 1050 °C and 1150 °C. In the as-built state, thinner walls showed grains oriented in <001> toward the wall centre, while thicker walls exhibited a <101> orientation due to a central band of preferential grain growth, typical of larger LB-PBF SS316L parts. Annealing at 1150 °C produced partial recrystallisation in all samples, reaching 86 % in the thickest walls, whereas 1050 °C annealing had little effect. Analysis of geometrically necessary dislocation density, low-angle boundaries (LAB), and high-angle boundaries (HAB) showed no correlation with recrystallisation behaviour. The primary factor limiting recrystallisation was Mn- and Si-based oxide distributions, which impeded grain boundary migration. This caused a stop-and-go growth mechanism, leading to abnormal grain growth in some cases. Findings highlight that chemical segregation, rather than dislocation structure, controls recrystallisation in thin-walled LB-PBF SS316L.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127525010123Laser beam powder bed fusion (LB-BPF)Stainless steel 316L (SS316L)Post-processingHeat-treatment (HT)Recrystallisation |
| spellingShingle | Charlie Bevan Nicholas Barnard Thomas Jones Robert Lancaster Effect of heat treatment on the recrystallisation of thin-walled stainless steel 316L fabricated by laser beam powder bed fusion Materials & Design Laser beam powder bed fusion (LB-BPF) Stainless steel 316L (SS316L) Post-processing Heat-treatment (HT) Recrystallisation |
| title | Effect of heat treatment on the recrystallisation of thin-walled stainless steel 316L fabricated by laser beam powder bed fusion |
| title_full | Effect of heat treatment on the recrystallisation of thin-walled stainless steel 316L fabricated by laser beam powder bed fusion |
| title_fullStr | Effect of heat treatment on the recrystallisation of thin-walled stainless steel 316L fabricated by laser beam powder bed fusion |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of heat treatment on the recrystallisation of thin-walled stainless steel 316L fabricated by laser beam powder bed fusion |
| title_short | Effect of heat treatment on the recrystallisation of thin-walled stainless steel 316L fabricated by laser beam powder bed fusion |
| title_sort | effect of heat treatment on the recrystallisation of thin walled stainless steel 316l fabricated by laser beam powder bed fusion |
| topic | Laser beam powder bed fusion (LB-BPF) Stainless steel 316L (SS316L) Post-processing Heat-treatment (HT) Recrystallisation |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127525010123 |
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