Additive manufacturing (AM) is an emerging fabrication technology that offers unprecedented potential for manufacturing end-to-end complex shape customized products. However, building products with high performance by AM presents a technological challenge. Inadequate processing parameters, fabrication environment or changes in powder properties may lead to high defect density in the part and poor mechanical properties. Microstructure, defect structure, and mechanical properties of AISI 316L stainless steel pieces, additively manufactured by the laser powder bed fusion method using three different volume energy densities (VEDs), were investigated and compared with those of a commercial wrought AISI 316L sheet. Scanning and transmission electron microscopies were employed for characterization of grain and defect structures, and mechanical properties were determined by tensile testing. It was found that the number of defects such as pores and lack of fusion in AM specimens did not affect the strength, but they impaired the post-uniform elongation, more significantly when processed with the low VED. Twinning was found to be an active deformation mechanism in the medium and high VED specimens and in the commercially wrought material in the later stage of straining, but it was suppressed in the low VED specimens presumably because the presence of large voids limited the strain attained in the matrix.
Keywords: 316L stainless steel; additive manufacturing; defect structure; energy density; laser-powder bed fusion; tensile properties.