Ferritic-induced high-alloyed stainless steel produced by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) of 2205 duplex stainless steel: Role of microstructure, corrosion, and wear resistance

Abstract

Stainless steels are dominant in application where combination of corrosion and mechanical resistances are requested. They have gained scientific attention in additive manufacturing (AM) field, and stainless steel products produced by AM find use in a wide array of applications. This study aims to evaluate the microstructure, the wear and corrosion resistances of a high-alloyed ferritic-induced stainless steel (FSS) obtained by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), from a duplex stainless steel (DSS) precursor, SAF 2205, used to produce gas-atomized powders. No heat treatment was applied to the ferritic-induced L-PBF stainless steel to restore the duplex structure. The L-PBF FSS was dense and high alloyed with Cr, Mo, and N (pitting resistance equivalent number, PREn, ~33), presenting a negligible corrosion current density in the order of 10−7 A.cm−2, with an enlarged passivation window ~ 1.2 V with respect to the corrosion potential, restraining the current density at the passivation plateau below 10−4 A.cm−2. Also, double-loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (DL-EPR) tests indicated unsensitized L-PBF FSS, with negligible degree of sensitization caused by the cyclic heat input during building up of the specimen. Besides be corrosion-resistant, the L-PBF FSS was hard (290 HV0.5) and wear-resistant against sliding wear, with a reduced specific wear rate of 5 × 10−4 mm3·N−1·m−1. The corrosion resistance of the L-PBF specimen (almost fully ferritic microstructure) was comparable to its hot-rolled precursor that displayed a duplex microstructure, albeit slight inferior. The L-PBF FSS was harder and more wear resistant than the DSS precursor. These results point out to the formation of a new high-alloyed ferritic-induced stainless steel, which are corrosion-resistant in chloride-rich medium and wear resistant in sliding conditions.