Enhancement of fatigue resistance of additively manufactured 304L SS by unique heterogeneous microstructure

Selective laser melting (SLM), as a revolutionary technology for metal manufacturing, attracts tremendous attention because it can produce complex components to benefit the customised production. Here we report that additively manufactured 304L austenitic stainless steel (SS) with low stacking fault energy (SFE) show superior fatigue resistance than its conventional counterparts due to the unique heterogeneous microstructure despite containing relatively high porosity. A series of detailed microstructural characterisations were applied to systematically disclose the fatigue enhancement mechanism of additively manufactured parts. Direct evidence is offered to show the obvious progressive work hardening and strain rate hardening caused by the heterogeneous microstructure during cyclic deformation, thus enhancing the fatigue crack initiation resistance. The microstructural results reveal that the cellular substructure plays a decisive role in regulating the dislocation motion during cyclic deformation, resulting in the intergranular fatigue cracking along HAGBs rather than twin boundaries.