Gas atomization and laser additive manufacturing of nitrogen-alloyed martensitic stainless steel

Nitrogen as an alloying element can improve the corrosion resistance and the mechanical properties of stainless steels. Therefore, nitrogen-alloyed martensitic stainless steels, such as X30CrMoN151, have been developed in recent decades and conventional processing of this steel by casting or powder metallurgy is well understood. However, only very few attempts to process nitrogen-alloyed martensitically hardenable stainless steels containing more than 0.2 mass-% of carbon by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) have been reported so far. In this study, X30CrMoN15-1 steel powder has been produced from quasi nitrogen-free X30CrMo15-1 steel by gas atomization using N-2 as the process gas to introduce nitrogen into the steel. The gas-atomized powder was characterized in terms of nitrogen content, particle size distribution, particle morphology, and flow properties. The powder was then processed by L-PBF under an N2 gas atmosphere, and microstructural investigations were performed on the L-PBF-built samples using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray computed tomography. Additionally, a first impression of the mechanical properties of the L-PBF-built steel in the as-built and quenched and tempered condition was obtained by means of fatigue tests. It was shown that a nitrogen content of 0.16 mass-% could be introduced into the steel during gas atomization. The resulting powder was successfully processed by means of L-PBF, and specimens with a high density were produced. During fatigue testing, a large amount of retained austenite in the as-built condition resulted in a greater damage tolerance of the specimens compared to the heat-treated condition.