Effects of surface finishes, heat treatments and printing orientations on stress corrosion cracking behavior of laser powder bed fusion 316L stainless steel in high-temperature water

Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of laser powder bed fusion 316 L stainless steel in oxygenated high-temperature water environments with chloride addition at 288 °C was studied. The influences of surface finishes (as-built, mechanically polished, Hirtisation® and shot peened), heat treatments (solution annealing at 1066 and 1150 °C and hot isostatic pressing) and the printing orientations on SCC were evaluated. Hirtisation resulted in a lower SCC susceptibility than as-built or polished surface while shot peening showed the lowest apparent SCC resistance. A high annealing temperature decreases SCC resistance. The effect of printing orientation is material and environment dependent.