Publication Date
10-30-2017
Department
Ames Laboratory
Campus Units
Ames Laboratory
OSTI ID+
1418906
Report Number
IS-J 9562; LLNL-JRNL-736774
DOI
10.1038/NMAT5021
Journal Title
Nature Materials
Volume Number
17
Issue Number
1
First Page
63
Last Page
71
Abstract
Many traditional approaches for strengthening steels typically come at the expense of useful ductility, a dilemma known as strength–ductility trade-off. New metallurgical processing might offer the possibility of overcoming this. Here we report that austenitic 316L stainless steels additively manufactured via a laser powder-bed-fusion technique exhibit a combination of yield strength and tensile ductility that surpasses that of conventional 316L steels. High strength is attributed to solidification-enabled cellular structures, low-angle grain boundaries, and dislocations formed during manufacturing, while high uniform elongation correlates to a steady and progressive work-hardening mechanism regulated by a hierarchically heterogeneous microstructure, with length scales spanning nearly six orders of magnitude. In addition, solute segregation along cellular walls and low-angle grain boundaries can enhance dislocation pinning and promote twinning. This work demonstrates the potential of additive manufacturing to create alloys with unique microstructures and high performance for structural applications.
DOE Contract Number(s)
AC52-07NA27344
Language
en
Department of Energy Subject Categories
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Publisher
Iowa State University Digital Repository, Ames IA (United States)