Abstract
The present study aims to understand the influence of laser parameters (applied power density and scan speed) on microstructure, surface mechanical (microhardness and wear resistance), and electrochemical (corrosion resistance) properties of AISI 316L stainless steel following laser surface melting (LSM), conducted using a 6.6 kW continuous wave diode laser with the applied power density and scan speed ranging from 58.98 to 88.46 W/mm2 and 20 to 80 mm/s, respectively. Detailed characterization included microstructure investigation, composition analysis, phase determination, and assessment of wear and corrosion resistance. The melt zone microstructure mainly comprises dendrites with the secondary arm spacing systematically varying with laser parameters. With increase in laser power density, cumulative lattice strain, dislocation density, and residual stress increased. The relationship between these properties and scan speed is just the opposite. Microhardness of the melt zone varied between 180 and 336 VHN, with higher values obtained either at higher laser power density or lower scan speed. Similarly, wear volume and wear rate after LSM also vary with the laser parameters. Detailed microstructural analysis of the worn surface was carried out to study the mechanism of wear. Interestingly, LSM recorded a corrosion resistance better than that in as-received conditions which systematically varies with the LSM parameters. Orientation imaging by electron backscattered diffraction analysis suggested that LSM with 88.46 W/mm2 power density and 20 mm/s scan speed developed a lower area fraction of high-angle grain boundaries and orientation mismatch and, hence, offered highest corrosion resistance in a 3.56 wt.% NaCl solution.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
U.I. Thomann and P.J. Uggowitzer, Wear-Corrosion Behavior of Biocompatible Austenitic Stainless Steels, Wear, 2000, 239(1), p 48–58.
D. Kuroda, S. Hiromoto, T. Hanawa, and Y. Katada, Corrosion Behavior of Nickel-Free High Nitrogen Austenitic Stainless Steel in Simulated Biological Environments, Mater. Trans., 2002, 43(12), p 3100–3104.
M.G. Fontana, N.D. Greene, and J. Klerer, Corrosion Engineering, J. Electrochem. Soc., 1968, 115(5), p 142C. https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2411256
K.G. Budinski, Surface Engineering for Wear Resistance (Retroactive Coverage), Prentice-Hall, Inc, Englewood Cliffs, 1988, p 420
J. Dutta Majumdar and I. Manna, Laser Material Processing, Int. Mater. Rev., 2011, 56(5–6), p 341–388.
S. Jannat, H. Rashtchi, M. Atapour, M.A. Golozar, H. Elmkhah, and M. Zhiani, Preparation and Performance of Nanometric Ti/TiN Multi-Layer Physical Vapor Deposited Coating on 316L Stainless Steel as Bipolar Plate for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, J. Power Sources, 2019, 435, p 226818.
T. Rajabi, M. Atapour, H. Elmkhah, and S.M. Nahvi, Nanometric CrN/CrAlN and CrN/ZrN Multilayer Physical Vapor Deposited Coatings on 316L Stainless Steel as Bipolar Plate for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Thin Solid Films, 2022, 753, p 139288.
N. Ali, J.A. Teixeira, A. Addali, M. Saeed, F. Al-Zubi, A. Sedaghat, and H. Bahzad, Supplementary Materials: Deposition of Stainless Steel Thin Films: An Electron Beam Physical Vapour Deposition Approach, Materials (Basel), 2019, 12, p 571. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12040571
W. Zhu, Z. Su, J. Guo, K. Li, K. Chen, W. Li, A. Yi, Z. Liao, Y. Luo, Y. Hu, Y. Xu, Q. Lin, and X. Meng, Preparation and Characterization of Diamond-like Carbon (DLC) Film on 316L Stainless Steel by Microwave Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition (MPCVD), Diam. Relat. Mater., 2022, 122, p 108820.
M. Sabzi, S.H. Mousavi Anijdan, and M. Asadian, The Effect of Substrate Temperature on Microstructural Evolution and Hardenability of Tungsten Carbide Coating in Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition, Int. J. Appl. Ceram. Technol., 2018, 15(6), p 1350–1357. https://doi.org/10.1111/IJAC.12905
M.H. Staia, B. Lewis, J. Cawley, and T. Hudson, Chemical Vapour Deposition of TiN on Stainless Steel, Surf. Coat. Technol., 1995, 76–77, p 231–236.
E. García, J.F. Louvier-Hernández, G. Mendoza-Leal, M. Flores-Martínez and C. Hernández-Navarro, Tribological Study of HAp/CTS Coatings Produced by Electrodeposition Process on 316L Stainless Steel, Mater. Lett., 2020, 277, p 128336.
L. Xu, Y. Zuo, J. Tang, Y. Tang, and P. Ju, Chromium-Palladium Films on 316L Stainless Steel by Pulse Electrodeposition and Their Corrosion Resistance in Hot Sulfuric Acid Solutions, Corros. Sci., 2011, 53(11), p 3788–3795.
F. Laroudie, C. Tassin, and M. Pons, Hardening of 316L Stainless Steel by Laser Surface Alloying, J. Mater. Sci., 1995, 30(14), p 3652–3657. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00351880/METRICS
E.S. Ghaith, S. Hodgson, and M. Sharp, Laser Surface Alloying of 316L Stainless Steel Coated with a Bioactive Hydroxyapatite-Titanium Oxide Composite, J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Med., 2015, 26(2), p 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10856-015-5399-1/FIGURES/8
J. Dutta Majumdar, A. Weisheit, B.L. Mordike, and I. Manna, Laser Surface Alloying of Ti with Si, Al and Si+Al for an Improved Oxidation Resistance, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 1999, 266(1–2), p 123–134.
M. Cabeza, G. Castro, P. Merino, G. Pena, and M. Román, Laser Surface Melting: A Suitable Technique to Repair Damaged Surfaces Made in 14 Ni (200 Grade) Maraging Steel, Surf. Coatings Technol., 2012, 212, p 159–168.
N.B. Dahotre, Laser Material Processing by W.M. Steen Springer-Verlag, London, England 206 Pages, Soft Cover, 1991, Mater. Manuf. Process., 1993, 8(3), p 399–400. https://doi.org/10.1080/10426919308934845
J. Dutta Majumdar, R. Galun, B.L. Mordike, and I. Manna, Effect of Laser Surface Melting on Corrosion and Wear Resistance of a Commercial Magnesium Alloy, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2003, 361, p 119–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-5093(03)00519-7
J. Dutta Majumdar, A.K. Nath, and I. Manna, Studies on Laser Surface Melting of Tool Steel—Part II: Mechanical Properties of the Surface, Surf. Coatings Technol., 2010, 204(9–10), p 1326–1329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2009.08.012
C.T. Kwok, H.C. Man, and F.T. Cheng, Laser Surface Melting of Tool Steels H13, O1 and D6, in 26th International Congress on Applications of Lasers Electro-Optics, ICALEO 2007—Congress Proceedings, vol. 523 (2007). https://doi.org/10.2351/1.5061197.
K.A. Qureshi, N. Hussain, J.I. Akhter, N. Khan, and A. Hussain, Surface Modification of Low Alloy Steel by Laser Melting, Mater. Lett., 2005, 59(6), p 719–722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2004.08.040
M. Paczkowska, The Evaluation of the Influence of Laser Treatment Parameters on the Type of Thermal Effects in the Surface Layer Microstructure of Gray Irons, Opt. Laser Technol., 2016, 76, p 143–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optlastec.2015.07.016
M. Li, Y. Wang, B. Han, W. Zhao, and T. Han, Microstructure and Properties of High Chrome Steel Roller after Laser Surface Melting, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2009, 255(17), p 7574–7579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2009.04.030
C.T. Kwok, F.T. Cheng, and H.C. Man, Microstructure and Corrosion Behavior of Laser Surface-Melted High-Speed Steels, Surf. Coatings Technol., 2007, 202(2), p 336–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2007.05.085
Z. Liu, P.H. Chong, P. Skeldon, P.A. Hilton, J.T. Spencer, and B. Quayle, Fundamental Understanding of the Corrosion Performance of Laser-Melted Metallic Alloys, Surf. Coatings Technol., 2006, 200(18–19), p 5514–5525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2005.07.108
Z. Liu, P.H. Chong, A.N. Butt, P. Skeldon, and G.E. Thompson, Corrosion Mechanism of Laser-Melted AA 2014 and AA 2024 Alloys, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2005, 247(1–4), p 294–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2005.01.067
H.C. Man, Z.D. Cui, and T.M. Yue, Corrosion Properties of Laser Surface Melted NiTi Shape Memory Alloy, Scr. Mater., 2001, 45(12), p 1447–1453. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-6462(01)01182-4
C.Y. Cui, Y.X. Shu, X.G. Cui, and J.D. Hu, Microstructure Evolution and Wear Behavior of AISI 304 Stainless Steel after Nd:YAG Pulsed Laser Surface Melting, Appl. Opt., 2020, 59(34), p 10862.
S. Jafar, M. Kadhim, and S. Faayadh, Effect of Laser Surface Melting on Chromium Carbide of 304 Stainless Steels, Eng. Technol. J., 2018, 36(3A), p 344–349.
A. Mahanti Ghosal, R.K. Gupta, K. Chandra, V. Bhardwaj, B.N. Upadhyaya, P. Ganesh, R. Kaul, and V. Kain, Laser Surface Melting of 304L SS: Increase in Resistance to Transpassive Dissolution and Pitting Corrosion, Corros. Eng. Sci. Technol., 2023, 58(5), p 508–520. https://doi.org/10.1080/1478422X.2023.2212466
O.V. Akgun and O.T. Inal, Laser Surface Melting and Alloying of Type 304 L Stainless Steel Part I Microstructural Characterization, J. Mater. Sci., 1995, 30, p 6097–6104.
N. Parvathavarthini, R.V. Subbarao, S. Kumar, R.K. Dayal, and H.S. Khatak, Elimination of Intergranular Corrosion Susceptibility of Cold-Worked and Sensitized AISI 316 SS by Laser Surface Melting, J. Mater. Eng. Perform., 2001, 10(1), p 5–13.
C.T. Kwok, H.C. Man, and F.T. Cheng, Cavitation Erosion and Pitting Corrosion of Laser Surface Melted Stainless Steels, Surf. Coat. Technol., 1998, 99(3), p 295–304.
J. Ghorbani, J. Li, and A.K. Srivastava, Application of Optimized Laser Surface Re-melting Process on Selective Laser Melted 316L Stainless Steel Inclined Parts, J. Manuf. Process., 2020, 56, p 726–734.
F. Vilchez, F. Pineda, M. Walczak, and J. Ramos-Grez, The Effect of Laser Surface Melting of Stainless Steel Grade AISI 316L Welded Joint on Its Corrosion Performance in Molten Solar Salt, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells, 2020, 213(November 2019), p 110576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2020.110576
V.K. Balla, S. Dey, A.A. Muthuchamy, G.D. JanakiRam, M. Das, and A. Bandyopadhyay, Laser Surface Modification of 316L Stainless Steel, J. Biomed. Mater. Res. Part B Appl. Biomater., 2018, 106, p 569–577. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.b.33872
A. Kumar, S.K. Roy, S. Pityana, and J. Dutta Majumdar, Surface Characterization and Wear Behavior of Laser Surface Melted AISI 316L Stainless Steel, Lasers Eng., 2012, 24, p 147.
J.D. Majumdar, A. Kumar, S. Pityana, and I. Manna, Laser Surface Melting of AISI 316L Stainless Steel for Bio-Implant Application, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. India Sect. A Phys. Sci., 2018, 88(3), p 387–403. https://doi.org/10.1007/S40010-018-0524-4/FIGURES/24
C.T. Kwok, K.H. Lo, F.T. Cheng, and H.C. Man, Effect of Processing Conditions on the Corrosion Performance of Laser Surface-Melted AISI 440C Martensic Stainless Steel, Surf. Coat. Technol., 2003, 166(2–3), p 221–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0257-8972(02)00782-X
C.T. Kwok, K.H. Lo, W.K. Chan, F.T. Cheng, and H.C. Man, Effect of Laser Surface Melting on Intergranular Corrosion Behaviour of Aged Austenitic and Duplex Stainless Steels, Corros. Sci., 2011, 53(4), p 1581–1591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2011.01.048
A. Ebrahimi, M. Sattari, A. Babu, A. Sood, G.W.R.B.E. Römer, and M.J.M. Hermans, Revealing the Effects of Laser Beam Shaping on Melt Pool Behaviour in Conduction-Mode Laser Melting, J. Mater. Res. Technol., 2023, 27(November), p 3955–3967. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2023.11.046
L. Han and F.W. Liou, Numerical Investigation of the Influence of Laser Beam Mode on Melt Pool, Int. J. Heat Mass Transf., 2004, 47(19–20), p 4385–4402.
A. Aggarwal, S. Patel, and A. Kumar, Selective Laser Melting of 316L Stainless Steel: Physics of Melting Mode Transition and Its Influence on Microstructural and Mechanical Behavior, JOM Miner. Met. Mater. Soc., 2019, 71(3), p 1105–1116. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11837-018-3271-8/TABLES/2
J. Wu, C. Zhang, P. Jiang, C. Li, H. Cao, and S. Shi, A Prediction Approach of Fiber Laser Surface Treatment Using Ensemble of Metamodels Considering Energy Consumption and Processing Quality, Green Manuf. Open, 2022, 1(1), p 3. https://doi.org/10.20517/GMO.2022.04
S. Mishra, K. Narasimhan, and I. Samajdar, Deformation Twinning in AISI 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel: Role of Strain and Strain Path, Mater. Sci. Technol., 2007, 23(9), p 1118–1126. https://doi.org/10.1179/174328407X213242
C. Carboni, P. Peyre, G. Béranger, and C. Lemaitre, Influence of High Power Diode Laser Surface Melting on the Pitting Corrosion Resistance of Type 316L Stainless Steel, J. Mater. Sci., 2002, 37(17), p 3715–3723. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016569527098/METRICS
R.K. Rajan, S. Bontha, M.R. Ramesh, M. Das, and V.K. Balla, Laser Surface Melting of Mg-Zn-Dy Alloy for Better Wettability and Corrosion Resistance for Biodegradable Implant Applications, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2019, 480(18), p 70–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.02.167
J.D. Hunt, Steady State Columnar and Equiaxed Growth of Dendrites and Eutectic, Mater. Sci. Eng., 1984, 65(1), p 75–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-5416(84)90201-5
M.A. Martorano, C. Beckermann, and C.-A. Gandin, A Solutal Interaction Mechanism for the Columnar-to-Equiaxed Transition in Alloy Solidification, Metall. Mater. Trans. A, 2003, 34(8), p 1657–1674. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-003-0311-x
S. Anandan, S. Pityana, and J. Dutta Majumdar, Structure-Property-Correlation in Laser Surface Alloyed AISI 304 Stainless Steel with WC+Ni+NiCr, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2012, 536, p 159–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2011.12.095
H. Ali, H. Ghadbeigi, and K. Mumtaz, Processing Parameter Effects on Residual Stress and Mechanical Properties of Selective Laser Melted Ti6Al4V, J. Mater. Eng. Perform., 2018, 27(8), p 4059–4068.
H. Savaloni, E. Agha-Taheri, and F. Abdi, On the Corrosion Resistance of AISI 316L-Type Stainless Steel Coated with Manganese and Annealed with Flow of Oxygen, J. Theor. Appl. Phys., 2016, 10(2), p 149–156.
G. Abbas, Z. Liu, and P. Skeldon, Corrosion Behaviour of Laser-Melted Magnesium Alloys, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2005, 247(1), p 347–353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2005.01.169
A. Biswas, L. Li, T.K. Maity, U.K. Chatterjee, B.L. Mordike, I. Manna and J. Dutta Majumdar, Laser Surface Treatment of Ti-6Al-4V for Bio-Implant Application, Lasers Eng., 2007, 17(1–2), p 59–73.
H.-B. Wu, T. Wu, T. Li, R.-Y. Sun, and Y. Gu, Effect of the Frequency of High-Angle Grain Boundaries on the Corrosion Performance of 5 wt.%Cr Steel in a CO2 Aqueous Environment, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 2018 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-018-1575-x
M. Vishnukumar, V. Muthupandi, and S. Jerome, Effect of Post-Heat Treatment on the Mechanical and Corrosion Behaviour of SS316L Fabricated by Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing, Mater. Lett., 2022, 307, p 131015.
Acknowledgments
I.M. would like to acknowledge partial financial support from DST sponsored Projects ‘JCP’ (SR/S2/JCB-16/2012. Dt.16-10-2017) and ‘DGL’ (DST/TSG/AMT/2015/636/G, Dt.18-06-2018), ISRO sponsored Project ‘ONC’ (IIT/KCSTC/CHAIR/NEW/P/18-19/01, Dt.24-05-2018), Ministry of Education sponsored Project ‘LSL_SKI’ (SPARC/2018-2019/P723/SL, Dt.31-05-2019), Science and Engineering Research Board, N. Delhi (POWER Fellowship, SPF/2021/000073, Dt. 11-03-2021) and Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India (under IMPRINT-2, sanction letter IMP/2018/001162, Dt. 02-01-2019).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Anishetty, S., Bera, T., Karak, S.K. et al. Microstructure and Properties of Laser Surface Melted AISI 316L Stainless Steel. J. of Materi Eng and Perform (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-024-09461-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-024-09461-z