Effect of Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Behavior of Cu-Bearing 316L Stainless Steel Produced by Selective Laser Melting

doi:10.1007/s40195-023-01643-3

Abstract

Abstract:

Cu-bearing stainless steels (SSs) with high strength, excellent plasticity, and effective antimicrobial properties hold significant potential for applications in the marine industry. In this study, Cu-bearing SSs with copper ranging from 0 to 6.0 wt% were successfully prepared using selective laser melting (SLM) technology. For the Cu-bearing SSs with different copper contents, the effect of heat treatment on the microstructural and mechanical behaviors was studied systematically. Microstructural observations revealed that the subgrain size of Cu-bearing SSs increased with heat treatment at 500 °C and 700 °C for 6 h. Furthermore, the tensile strength and elongation increased after the heat treatment temperature due to the combined effect of dislocations, twins, and ε-Cu precipitated phases. Notably, after heat treatment at 700 °C, the SLM4.5Cu sample exhibited an abnormal rise in tensile strength and elongation. This finding suggests that the diffusion strengthening caused by ε-Cu precipitates exceeded the stacking fault energy. Consequently, the tensile strength and elongation reached 693.32 MPa and 56.94%, respectively. This work provides an efficient approach for preparing Cu-bearing SSs with exceptional strength and plasticity.

Key words: Selective laser melting, Cu-bearing stainless steel (SS), Heat treatment, Mechanical properties

Huan Yang, Ying Liu, Jianbo Jin, Kunmao Li, Junjie Yang, Lingjian Meng, Chunbo Li, Wencai Zhang, Shengfeng Zhou. Effect of Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Behavior of Cu-Bearing 316L Stainless Steel Produced by Selective Laser Melting[J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2024, 37(1): 169-180.

Figures/Tables 11

Table 1 Chemical composition of 316L stainless steel powder (wt%)

Cr	Ni	Si	Mn	C	O	Fe
16.96	10.72	0.51	0.73	0.01	0.06	Bal.

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of cutting a tensile sample from a sample prepared by SLM

Fig. 2 Microstructures of SLM-produced copper-bearing 316L SS: a SLM0Cu, b SLM3.0Cu, c SLM4.5Cu, d SLM6.0Cu (subscript 1, 2 and 3 represent without heat treatment, 500 °C heat treatment and 700 °C heat treatment)

Fig. 3 Average grain size statistics of SLM-produced samples

Fig. 4 XRD patterns of SLM-produced copper-bearing 316L stainless steel before and after heat treatment: a SLM0Cu, b SLM3.0Cu, c SLM4.5Cu, d SLM6.0Cu

Fig. 5 Strength a and elongation b of SLM-produced copper-bearing 316L stainless steel before and after heat treatment

Fig. 6 Summary of ultimate tensile strength and elongation for copper-bearing 316L SS [35]

Fig. 7 Fracture morphologies of SLM4.5Cu: a without heat treatment, b 500 °C heat treatment, c 700 °C heat treatment (subscript 2 is an enlarged picture of subscript 1)

Fig. 8 TEM images of SLM4.5Cu after the tensile test: a without heat treatment sample, b 500 °C heat treatment sample, c 700 °C heat treatment sample, and d copper-rich precipitation in a 700 °C heat-treated sample

Fig. 9 TEM images of SLM4.5Cu tensile deformation samples after 700 °C heat treatment: a the cellular structure, b the ε-Cu nanoparticle sheared by dislocation, c schematic diagram of the interaction between twins and dislocations, d TEM images highlighting some stacking faults along the slip directions

Fig. 10 Schematic illustration of the relationship between deformation substructures, deformation mechanisms, and stress-strain curves in copper-bearing 316L stainless steel during plastic deformation before and after heat treatment

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