Achieving uniform distribution of nanoparticles in oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) SS316L through laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF)

Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) SS316L is a promising candidate for the nuclear industry for its enhanced irradiation resistance and high temperature strength. Additionally, additive manufacturing enables the design flexibility of components. Achieving a uniform distribution of oxides in ODS SS316L is one of the remaining challenges in additive manufacturing. In this paper, we investigated the effects of printing parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of ODS SS316L (SS316L + 0.5 wt% Y₂O₃) through laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) additive manufacturing. The results showed that plate-like Y-Si-rich oxides (∼50 μm) were observed along the molten pool boundary in the ODS SS316L printed with nominal parameters (48.5 J/mm³) for pure SS 316L, resulting from inadequate heat input in molten pool due to the reduced laser absorption rate of powder feedstock. Through higher volumetric energy density (76.2 J/mm³) and remelting, a bimodal distribution of oxides, including nanoparticles and fine spherical oxide (∼2.5 μm), was achieved. Consequently, this contributed to increased ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and strain of ODS SS316L from 685.2.6 ± 31.4 MPa and 27.8 ± 6.2 % to 706.6 ± 36.2 MPa and 33.0 ± 6.1 %, respectively. The exploration of parameters optimization provides valuable insights into the additive manufacturing of ODS alloys with uniformly distributed nanoparticles.