Evaluating impact performance of a selective laser melted 304L stainless steel with weak texture

Despite the excellent tensile properties with both high strength and ductility reported in as-fabricated selective laser melted (SLMed) austenitic stainless steel, the mechanical properties of the SLMed austenitic stainless steel after solution annealing, which is also important to the energy industry, remains unknown. In this study, we have investigated the correlations between the mechanical performance, which includes tensile and impact performance, and the microstructure of a SLMed 304L with a very low porosity in the solution annealed state. A weak texture was formed and contributed to the small mechanical property anisotropy. Excellent tensile properties with a relatively poor impact performance were achieved in the SLMed 304L after solution annealing treatment. The presence of fine oxide nanoinclusions and small spherical pores could be identified and was considered as the main factors for the poor impact properties.