Corrosion behavior of selective laser melting-manufactured bio-applicable 316L stainless steel in ionized simulated body fluid

Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) is gaining increasing popularity in various fields, including biomedical engineering. Although AM enables fabrication of tailored components with complex geometries, the manufactured parts typically feature several internal issues, such as unpredictable distribution of residual stress and printing defects. However, these issues can be reduced or eliminated by post-processing via thermomechanical treatment. The study investigated the effects of combinations of AM and post-processing by the intensive plastic deformation method of rotary swaging (variable swaging ratios) on microstructures, residual stress, and corrosion behaviors of AISI 316L stainless steel workpieces; the corrosion tests were performed in an ionized simulated body fluid. The results showed that the gradual swaging process favorably refined the grains and homogenized the grain size. The imposed swaging ratio also directly influenced the development of substructure and dislocations density. A high density of dislocations positively affected the corrosion resistance, whereas annihilation of dislocations and formation of subgrains had a negative effect on the corrosion behavior. The first few swaging passes homogenized the distribution of residual stress within the workpiece and acted toward imparting a predominantly compressive stress state, which also favorably influenced the corrosion behavior. Lastly, the presence of the {111}||swaging direction texture fiber (of a high intensity) increased the resistance to pitting corrosion. Overall, the most favorable corrosion behavior was acquired for the AM sample subjected to the swaging ratio of 0.8, exhibiting a strong fiber texture and a high density of dislocations.