Arpan Arora a, Satyavan Digole b, Tushar Borkar b, Stephen S. Raiman a a Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA b Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH 44115, USA
Abstract Components produced by Additive Manufacturing (AM) often exhibit anisotropy in their mechanical and physical properties due to the layer-by-layer fabrication. Post-processing, such as heat treatment or hot isostatic pressing (HIP), can play a crucial role in minimizing these anisotropies and enhancing the overall performance of the components. In this study, 316L austenitic stainless steel baffle bolts were designed and fabricated by Selective Laser Melting (SLM), followed by Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP). A range of AM processing parameters were employed to optimize the density and quality of the printed components. The subsequent HIP treatment was primarily aimed at eliminating internal porosity, healing microcracks and weld pool boundaries, enhancing overall densification, and improving the toughness of the material. Detailed microstructural characterization was performed both before and after HIP in both the build and scan directions, enabling a comprehensive evaluation of anisotropy. The microstructural features were systematically correlated with changes in mechanical properties. Yield strength was theoretically determined and compared with experimentally obtained tensile and irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) data, establishing a strong linkage between processing, microstructure, and performance. The actual weld pool dimensions were experimentally determined and correlated with the Additive Manufacturing (AM) process parameters to understand their influence on weld pool geometry and solidification behavior. Furthermore, grain orientation was also identified as an important factor influencing the corrosion behavior of the samples, underscoring the importance of crystallographic texture in the long-term performance of HIP-processed 316L components.
Understand the Role of Additive Manufacturing in Nuclear Applications.
Understand the Microstructure, Irradiation, Mechanical Properties, and Corrosion Correlations. A combination of (IASCC) Irradiation Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking.
Understand the advantage of post-processing technique such as Hot Isostatic Pressing and Parameters Optimization
