Applications of Wrought Austenitic Stainless Steel Corrosion Testing to Laser Powder Bed Fusion 316L

Recent developments in the 3D printing of austenitic stainless steels have led to the need for standardization of electrochemical techniques used to assess the corrosion performance of these alloys. Currently, ASTM standards for austenitic stainless focus on assessing their resistance to different modes of corrosion such as pitting, crevice, and intergranular corrosion. Due to the complexity of the additive process, selective corrosion occurs in microstructural features such as cellular structures and melt pool boundaries. Standardized corrosion testing needs to incorporate these microstructural features. This study characterizes the corrosion behavior of laser powder bed fusion stainless steel in a variety of ASTM standards with special attention to melt pool boundary dissolution, cellular structures, and intergranular corrosion.