Fatigue‐life prediction of additively manufactured material: Effects of heat treatment and build orientation

In this study, the crack‐growth approach is used to predict the fatigue life of 17‐4 precipitation hardening (PH) stainless steel (SS) fabricated via an additive manufacturing (AM) system in different orientations (ie, vertical and horizontal) before and after heat treatment. To perform fatigue‐life calculations, the effective stress intensity factor as a function of crack‐growth rate was obtained from testing modified compact specimens with different crack orientations in as‐built and heat‐treated conditions. The plasticity‐induced crack closure model, FASTRAN, was used to calculate fatigue lives based on the size of process‐induced defects. Results indicated that in the presence of large voids (ie, lack‐of‐fusion defects), the total fatigue life of AM 17‐4 PH SS in as‐built and heat‐treated conditions is dominated by crack growth. Effect of build orientation on fatigue life of AM 17‐4 PH SS was also captured based on the size of defects projected on a plane perpendicular to the loading direction.     

Study of the effect of heat treatment on fatigue crack growth behaviour of 316L stainless steel produced by selective laser melting

This study is focused on stainless steel type 316L produced by selective laser melting (SLM). This steel is very resistant to corrosion in acidic environments and has extremely good strength properties at elevated temperatures. It is also characterized by a very good weldability. These properties allow for various applications of 316L in different fields. The widespread application of 316L opens up various possibilities for production of parts using SLM. Therefore, it is important to characterize the fatigue crack growth behaviour. In the present paper, the crack growth behaviour of SLM 316L stainless steel has been investigated in its as‐built condition and in different heat treatment conditions. The effect of build orientation on the crack growth path is also studied by performing fatigue crack growth tests on compact tension specimens built at 0° and 45° orientations relative to the build direction. A heat treatment above the recrystallization temperature followed by quenching is shown to create compressive residual stresses that improve the resistance against crack propagation considerably. The 45° build orientation shows crack propagation at an angle to the initial notch plane, which reveals that anisotropy still persists after heat treatment.     

Creep properties and design curves for nitrogen enhanced grade of 316LN stainless steel

Abstract

316L(N) stainless steel (SS) containing 0·02–0·03 wt-% carbon and 0·06–0·08 wt-% nitrogen is the principal material for the high temperature structural components of the prototype fast breeder reactor in India. In order to increase the economic competitiveness of sodium cooled fast reactors (SFRs), there is a strong desire to increase the design life from the current level of 40 years to at least 60 years for the future reactors. As a part of the efforts to develop materials with superior mechanical properties suitable for longer design life, the influence of nitrogen at concentrations higher than 0·07 wt-%, on the high temperature mechanical properties of type 316L(N) SS is being studied. Four heats of 316L(N) SS, containing 0·07, 0·11, 0·14 and 0·22 wt-% nitrogen have been evaluated extensively in terms of their tensile, creep, low cycle fatigue and creep fatigue interaction properties. Based on these studies, the nitrogen content has been optimised at 0·14 wt-%. This nitrogen enhanced grade of steel (NE316LN SS) was found to have significantly better tensile, creep, low cycle fatigue and creep-fatigue properties as compared to the PFBR grade of 316L(N) SS. This paper presents the influence of nitrogen on the creep deformation, damage and fracture behaviour of NE316LN SS. Design of high temperature SFR components is made on the basis of RCC-MR design code. The creep properties of NE316LN SS have been analysed in terms of the procedures for generation of the design code. Time–dependent design curves have been generated.     

Comparative evaluation of strain controlled low cycle fatigue behaviour of solution annealed and prior cold worked 316L(N) stainless steel

The effect of 20% prior cold work on low cycle fatigue (LCF) behaviour of type 316L(N) stainless steel (SS) was studied at 873 K by conducting total axial strain controlled tests in air with strain amplitudes in the range ±0.25% to ±1.0%. The cyclic deformation behaviour of 20% prior cold worked (PCW) material was compared with the LCF response of solution annealed (SA) alloy tested under similar conditions. The cyclic stress response (CSR) of 316L(N) SS in the PCW condition was characterized by a short period of hardening followed by prolonged softening prior to failure, whereas SA material exhibited a significant hardening regime followed by stress saturation. Interrupted tests on PCW material were carried out at different stages of CSR in order to determine the underlying mechanisms as reflected in substructural changes. The fatigue life in the solution annealed condition was similar to that of the PCW material at higher strain amplitudes of testing (≥±0.5%) while at lower strain amplitudes, the PCW material exhibited longer life.     

On R ratio dependence of threshold stress intensity factor range for fatigue crack growth in type 316(N) stainless steel weld

Abstract

The influence of R ratio in the range 0·05–0·4 on the ambient temperature fatigue crack growth behaviour of an austenitic stainless steel weld, SS 316(N), has been studied. Results indicate that the cyclic threshold stress intensity factor ΔK_th increases with decreasing R ratio. The data are compared with those for SS 316, SS 316L and SS 316L(N) base materials from the literature, and various approaches dealing with the R ratio effects are examined. Zhang’s model considering the contribution of the crack tip plasticity to the fundamental fatigue crack propagation process does provide a consistent interpretation for the data.     

Fatigue of additively manufactured 316L stainless steel: The influence of porosity and surface roughness

The fatigue behaviour of additively manufactured (AM) 316L stainless steel is investigated with the main emphasis on internal porosity and surface roughness. A transition between two cases of failure are found: failure from defects in the surface region and failure from the internal defects. At low applied load level (and consequently a high number of cycles to failure), fatigue is initiating from defects in the surface region, while for high load levels, fatigue is initiating from internal defects. Porosities captured by X‐ray computed tomography (XCT) are compared with the defects initiating fatigue cracks, obtained from fractography. The fatigue data are synthesised using stress intensity factor (SIF) of the internal and surface defects on the fracture surface.     

A simple energy‐based model for nonproportional low‐cycle multiaxial fatigue life prediction under constant‐amplitude loading

From the literature concerning the traditional nonproportional (NP) multiaxial cyclic fatigue prediction, special attentions are usually paid to multiaxial constitutive relations to quantify fatigue damage accumulation. As a result, estimation of NP hardening effect decided by the entire history path is always proposed, which is a challenging and complex task. To simplify the procedure of multiaxial fatigue life prediction of engineering components, in this paper, a novel effective energy parameter based on simple material properties is proposed. The parameter combines uniaxial cyclic plastic work and NP hardening effects. The fatigue life has been assessed based on traditional multiaxial fatigue criterion and the proposed parameter, which has been validated by experimental results of 316 L stainless steel under different low‐cycle loading paths.     

Initiation and propagation behaviour of fatigue cracks in hard-shot peened Type 316L steel in high cycle fatigue

Observations of fatigue crack growth behaviour were made during rotating‐bend testing of hard‐shot peened Type 316L steel. From the results of these observations, the crack that developed in the axial direction was observed and the mechanism of the fatigue crack properties was clarified as follows: (1) Small circumferential surface fatigue cracks were detected at 60% of the fatigue lifetime. These cracks propagated very slowly in both the circumferential and radial directions. (2) When a radial crack reached a depth of between 150 and 350 μm, axial fatigue cracks were formed. (3) In the next stage, either the radial or the axial fatigue cracks continued propagating, or an inwards growing radial crack formed from the axial crack. (4) In the final stage, the circumferential surface crack began to grow rapidly and resulted in fracture. (5) The fracture type of hard‐shot peened Type 316L is a particular type of surface fracture.     

The Effect of Hydrogen on Fatigue Properties of Metals used for Fuel Cell System

The effect of hydrogen on the fatigue properties of alloys which are used in fuel cell (FC) systems has been investigated. In a typical FC system, various alloys are used in hydrogen environments and are subjected to cyclic loading due to pressurization, mechanical vibrations, etc. The materials investigated were three austenitic stainless steels (SUS304, SUS316 and SUS316L), one ferritic stainless steel (SUS405), one martensitic stainless steel (0.7C-13Cr), a Cr-Mo martensitic steel (SCM435) and two annealed medium-carbon steels (0.47 and 0.45%C). In order to simulate the pick-up of hydrogen in service, the specimens were charged with hydrogen. The fatigue crack growth behaviour of charged specimens of SUS304, SUS316, SUS316L and SUS405 was compared with that of specimens which had not been hydrogen-charged. The comparison showed that there was a degradation in fatigue crack growth resistance due to hydrogen in the case of SUS304 and SUS316 austenitic stainless steels. However, SUS316L and SUS405 showed little degradation due to hydrogen. A marked increase in the amount of martensitic transformation occurred in the hydrogen-charged SUS304 specimens compared to specimens without hydrogen charge. In case of SUS316L, little martensitic transformation occurred in either specimens with and without hydrogen charge. The results of S-N testing showed that in the case of the 0.7C–13Cr stainless steel and the Cr–Mo steel a marked decrease in fatigue resistance due to hydrogen occurred. In the case of the medium carbon steels hydrogen did not cause a reduction in fatigue behaviour. Examination of the slip band characteristics of a number of the alloys showed that slip was more localized in the case of hydrogen-charged specimens. Thus, it is presumed that a synergetic effect of hydrogen and martensitic structure enhances degradation of fatigue crack resistance.     

真空烧结制备316L不锈钢纤维/HA复合生物材料及其理化性能

用真空烧结成功制备了不同成分316L不锈钢纤维/HA复合生物材料和316L不锈钢纤维/HA-ZrO₂ (CaO) 复合生物材料,并通过金相显微镜、SEM、EDXA分析了材料的微观结构、断裂性能和微区元素含量。结果表明:不锈钢纤维和纳米ZrO₂ (CaO) 粒子对复合材料具有增强和增韧的作用。综合考虑认为,20% 316L不锈钢纤维/HA-ZrO₂ (CaO) 复合材料的性能最优,其抗弯强度和抗压强度分别为140.1MPa和348.9MPa。316L不锈钢纤维/HA-ZrO₂ (CaO) 复合材料抗弯强度随316L 不锈钢纤维直径和长度减小而增大,且纤维长度对抗弯强度的影响略大于纤维直径的影响。复合材料微观组织随HA粉末和316L不锈钢纤维成分变化呈规律性变化,没有出现明显的裂纹或孔隙,HA和316L不锈钢纤维结合紧密,界面平整,两相融合程度较高。5% 316L不锈钢纤维复合材料表现为脆性断裂,而10%、20%、40% 316L不锈钢纤维复合材料均表现为韧性断裂,且韧性程度随316L不锈钢纤维含量依次增加。基体与韧化相均相对独立,二者之间不发生任何化学反应,基体HA中发生微量的Fe元素扩散,但在316L不锈钢中不发生基体的扩散。      

Fatigue life prediction of additively manufactured material: Effects of surface roughness,defect size,and shape

In this paper, the effects of process‐induced voids and surface roughness on the fatigue life of an additively manufactured material are investigated using a crack closure‐based fatigue crack growth model. Among different sources of damage under cyclic loadings, fatigue because of cracks originated from voids and surface discontinuities is the most life‐limiting failure mechanism in the parts fabricated via powder‐based metal additive manufacturing (AM). Hence, having the ability to predict the fatigue behaviour of AM materials based on the void features and surface texture would be the first step towards improving the reliability of AM parts. Test results from the literature on Inconel 718 fabricated via a laser powder bed fusion (L‐PBF) method are analysed herein to model the fatigue behaviour based on the crack growth from semicircular/elliptical surface flaws. The fatigue life variations in the specimens with machined and as‐built surface finishes are captured using the characteristics of voids and surface profile, respectively. The results indicate that knowing the statistical range of defect size and shape along with a proper fatigue analysis approach provides the opportunity of predicting the scatter in the fatigue life of AM materials. In addition, maximum valley depth of the surface profile can be used as an appropriate parameter for the fatigue life prediction of AM materials in their as‐built surface condition.     

Friction and wear behaviors of a gradient nano-grained AISI 316L stainless steel under dry and oil-lubricated conditions

A gradient nano-grained (GNG) surface layer was fabricated on an AISI 316L stainless steel (SS) by using the surface mechanical rolling treatment (SMRT). Reciprocating dry and oil-lubricated sliding tests of the GNG 316L SS in air at room temperature were conducted in comparison with the coarse-grained (CG) counterpart. Worn surface morphologies and subsurface microstructures were investigated for both 316L SS samples. 316L SS with a GNG surface layer shows a significantly improved wear resistance, especially under oil-lubricated condition. The notably wear resistance enhancement of the GNG 316L SS is attributed to the GNG surface layer with high strain accommodation ability and high hardness, which can reduce the wear volume in the running-in stage effectively.     

Microstructural evaluation of fatigue damage in SA533-B1 and type 316L stainless steels

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examinations were made on fatigued SA533-B1 low alloy steel and Type 316L stainless steel specimens with the intention to investigate the mis-orientation changes among dislocation cells and the evolution of dislocation structures. Contrary to what might be expected for the cell structures, no clear relationship between fatigue damage and the mis-orientation changes of cell walls (or subgrain boundaries) was found in the fatigued samples of SA533-B1 steel (a bcc structure); however, significant changes of dislocation structures were observed in the fatigued samples of Type 316L stainless steel (an fcc structure). This could be accounted for by their different structures as well as complicated defect structures such as subgrain boundaries, small carbides, and dislocations inhomogeneously distributed in the SA533-B1 steel. It is interesting to note that at room temperature dislocations of fatigued SS316L specimens were observed to arrange themselves on {111} slip planes, in contrast, at 300°C the dislocations tend to move from their slip planes into subgrain boundaries in the surface layers rather than in the cross sectional layers.     

Combined effect of process variables on the plastic behaviour of 316L stainless steel printed by L-PBF

The metal additive manufacturing (AM) is a technology that is rapidly spreading in the industrial sector with its enormous potential in making components with complex shapes and low weight, ensuring a high structural strength. However, the mechanical properties of the components depend on the printing process, and the interactions between the process variables and the final material behaviour is still not totally understood. In this work, 12 different types of tensile specimen were built by AM using the laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) technique; the used material is the 316L stainless steel. The specimens have the same geometry and the same process parameters in terms of layer thickness, hatch space, laser power, spot diameter, scanning speed and platform preheating temperature, while different laser scan strategies and building orientations are evaluated. The scope is to characterize the plastic behaviour of such specimens and study the differences due to distinct printing strategies. Stereo digital image correlation (stereo-DIC) was used to evaluate the deformation state and analyse the material anisotropy. Finally, the microstructure and presence of defects were investigated through the optical microscopy (OM) and the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The analysis shows how the plastic behaviour and the formation of defects are remarkably influenced by the laser scan strategy and by the building orientation.     

Tribology of laser modified surface of stainless steel in physiological solution

The laser surface treatment of stainless steel (SS) 316L, an important alloy for biomedical applications, was used to improve its corrosion and wear-corrosion resistance in bio-environment. Microstructural and X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern analysis showed presence of an austenitic phase in both untreated and laser-treated SS316L. Laser melting produced homogenized and refined microstructure on the surface with higher hardness (143–171 HV) compared to untreated SS316L (131 HV). Increase in intensity of γ (200) peaks in XRD pattern for laser-treated (>800 W) SS316L indicated possible crystallographic orientation along γ (200) plane. Passive currents were reduced to <2.8 μA/cm² and pitting potentials was increased to >+344 mV for samples laser surface treated at greater than 1200 W. The volume-loss and wear-rate of laser-treated SS316L were significantly reduced compared to untreated sample. Abrasive wear was the main wear mechanism for both untreated and laser surface treated SS316L. Wear particles/debris were found to be cold welded on the surface of SS316L and showed brittle cracking with further wear-straining.     

Effect of substrate pre-treatment on the low cycle fatigue performance of tungsten carbide-cobalt coated additive manufactured 316 L substrates

Numerous studies already identified that the fatigue strength of 316 L parts processed by laser beam melting (LBM) is distinctly affected by the surface integrity. Among others, surface defects as well as residual stresses are of crucial importance. Despite new findings in the field of surface engineering of laser beam melting (LBM) parts, the low cycle fatigue strength of thermally sprayed additively manufactured substrates has not been in the focus of research to date. This study aims at evaluating the effect of different pre-treatments onto 316 L substrates processed by laser beam melting (LBM) prior to the deposition of a high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) sprayed tungsten carbide-cobalt coating and their effect on the low cycle fatigue strength. Therefore, 316 L substrates were examined in their as-built state as well as after grit blasting with regards to the surface roughness, strain hardening effects, and residual stresses. To differentiate between topographical effects and residual stress related phenomena, stress-relieved 316 L substrates served as reference throughout the investigations. The tungsten carbide-cobalt coated and differently pre-treated 316 L substrates were mechanically tested under quasi-static and dynamic load conditions. Besides the low cycle fatigue strength, the fracture toughness as well as the fracture mechanism were identified based on fracture surface analysis.     

Multiple heat isothermal stress rupture correlations for type 316L(N) stainless steel and their use Part 1 – Development of reference correlations

Abstract

A low carbon, nitrogen alloyed version of stainless steel type 316 (SS 316L(N)) is the current choice as structural material for fast breeder reactors, and there is a need to derive reliable stress rupture correlations for life extrapolation. The present paper demonstrates the success of the heat correlation proposed by Ray, Sasikala and Rodriguez in deriving multiple heat isothermal correlations for stress rupture data for a large number of heats of SS 316L(N) from the European Commission's Working Group. This method of using multiple heat data as the knowledge base allows reliable correlations and extrapolations also for individual heats, even when the available data are inadequate for meaningful single heat stress rupture correlations. It is also shown, concatenating data for SS 316L(N) heats with those for two groups of SS 316 grade material (from the National Research Institute of Metals), that as far as heat dependence of stress rupture life is concerned, it is possible to consider SS 316L(N) heats as belonging to the SS 316 group. The isothermal 'reference' correlations thus derived are robust because of the large number of heats and the volume of data in the concatenated database for SS 316 and SS 316L(N) grades.     

Additive manufacturing of copper-stainless steel hybrid components using laser-aided directed energy deposition

Combining dissimilar materials in a single component is an effective solution to integrate diverse material properties into a single part.Copper-stainless steel hybrid components are attracting more and more attention since the high thermal conductivity of copper can greatly enhance the thermal performance of stainless steel,which benefits its applications in many industries.However,direct joining of copper and stainless steel such as SS316 L is challenging since they preserve significant dissimilarities in physical,chemical,and thermo-mechanical properties.This paper aims to fabricate well-bonded copper-SS316 L hybrid parts using a laser-aided directed energy deposition (DED) process.A nickel-based alloy Deloro 22 (D22) is introduced between copper and SS316 L to address the detrimental issues in copper-SS316 L direct joints.Using this technique,defect-free interfaces are achieved at both the D22-SS316 L and copper-D22 transition zones.Tensile testing of Cu-D22-SS316 L and D22-SS316 L hybrid parts shows the fracture occurs at pure copper and SS316 L region,respectively,indicating an excellent bonding at the interfaces.Ascending in the building direction,a transition of grain structure is observed.A significant diffusion zone is obtained at both the D22-SS316 L and the Cu-D22 interfaces.The large diffusion distance results in a smooth variation in microhardness over the dissimilar materials.The microhardness increases from SS316 L to D22 with the highest value of 240 HV and then decreases from D22 to Cu with the lowest value of 63 ± 4 HV.Testing of thermophysical properties of the Cu-D22-SS316 L system indicates there is a ～300 ％ increase in thermal diffusivity and a ～200 ％ increase in thermal conductivity when compared to pure SS316 L.The significant increase in thermal diffusivity and conductivity validates the enhanced thermal performance of SS316 L when it is joined with pure copper.     

An effective approach to activate 316L stainless steel for biomimetic coating of calcium phosphate: electrochemical pretreatment

In this paper, an electrochemical (EC) method to activate 316L stainless steel (denoted as 316L) surface for biomimetic calcium phosphate (Ca–P) coatings was reported. After EC treatment, a gel-like Ca–P film with a thickness of 150 nm was generated on the stainless steel surface after treatment, which was composed of amorphous phase of calcium phosphate with a large number of crystal nuclei of octacalcium phosphate (OCP) inside. This Ca–P thin film is the main factor that causes Ca–P formation under biomimetic condition. The effectiveness of EC treatment was also compared with alkali heat (AH) pretreatment in producing biomimetic coating on 316L. A uniform Ca–P coating formed on EC treated samples after samples were immersed in saturated calcium solution (SCS) for several hours, while only some island-like deposits were found on the sample surface with AH treatment followed by immersion in SCS for several days. This work has explored a novel and effective pretreatment method to activate 316L implant surface, which can be expected to be applied to activate other metal implants.     

Low cycle fatigue and creep–fatigue interaction behavior of 316L(N) stainless steel and life prediction by artificial neural network approach

Low cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior of solutionized 316L(N) stainless steel (SS) has been studied at various temperatures, strain amplitudes, strain rates, hold times and in 20% prior cold worked condition. The alloy in general showed a reduction in fatigue life with, increase in temperature, increase in strain amplitude, decrease in strain rate, an increase in duration of hold time in tension and with prior cold work. The LCF and creep–fatigue interaction (CFI) behavior of the alloy was explained on the basis of several operative mechanisms such as dynamic strain ageing, creep, oxidation and substructural recovery. The capability of artificial neural network (ANN) approach to life prediction under LCF and CFI conditions has been assessed by using the data generated in the present investigation. It is demonstrated that the prediction is within a factor of 2.