Investigation on Porosity and Microhardness of 316L Stainless Steel Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting

Shahir Mohd Yusuf; Yifei Chen; Richard Boardman; Shoufeng Yang; Nong Gao

doi:10.3390/met7020064

Metals (Feb 2017)

Investigation on Porosity and Microhardness of 316L Stainless Steel Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting

Shahir Mohd Yusuf,
Yifei Chen,
Richard Boardman,
Shoufeng Yang,
Nong Gao

Affiliations

Shahir Mohd Yusuf: Materials Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
Yifei Chen: Materials Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
Richard Boardman: VIS X-Ray Imaging Centre, Faculty of Engineering and The Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1 BJ, UK
Shoufeng Yang: Materials Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
Nong Gao: Materials Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/met7020064
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 7, no. 2
p. 64

Abstract

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This study investigates the porosity and microhardness of 316L stainless steel samples fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM). The porosity content was measured using the Archimedes method and the advanced X-ray computed tomography (XCT) scan. High densification level (≥99%) with a low average porosity content (~0.82%) were obtained from the Archimedes method. The highest porosity content in the XCT-scanned sample was ~0.61. However, the pores in the SLM samples for both cases (optical microscopy and XCT) were not uniformly distributed. The higher average microhardness values in the SLM samples compared to the wrought manufactured counterpart are attributed to the fine microstructures from the localised melting and rapid solidification rate of the SLM process.

Published in Metals

ISSN: 2075-4701 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Mining engineering. Metallurgy
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/metals

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