Effects of processing parameters on creep behavior of 316L stainless steel produced using selective laser melting

The selective laser melting (SLM) method is being increasingly applied in the aerospace and power industries for the production of high temperature critical components. The effects of SLM processing parameters, such as laser power, scanning speed, and energy density on the creep properties were investigated for 316L stainless steel (SS316L). The effect of building direction was also studied. The creep resistance was influenced by the manufacturing direction. The vertical specimen demonstrated a longer creep life and higher creep resistance than the horizontal specimen. The creep resistance remained constant when the energy density was kept constant during manufacturing. If insufficient energy density was used for manufacturing, internal defects, such as voids and unmelt powder were generated, and lowered the creep resistance. However, if sufficient energy density higher than a minimum value was employed, the material creep properties mainly depended on the level of the energy density.