Wire and arc additive manufacturing of 308L stainless steel components: Optimization of processing parameters and material properties

Abstract

In the current study, wire and arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) of thin-walled 308L stainless steel components was reported. Firstly, the influence of the welding current, the voltage, and the travel speed in the WAAM process on the geometry of single weld beads was investigated. These parameters were also optimized for the deposition of 308L steel walls. Secondly, the microstructure and the mechanical characteristic of WAAM 308L steel walls have been explored. The obtained results reveal the optimized that parameters giving the desirable geometry of single weld beads for building 308L walls by the WAAM process. The microstructure of WAAM 308L steel walls mainly features the dendrites of austenite growing vertically and residual ferrite existing in grain boundaries of the austenite matrix. The microhardness of the built material is about 163 HV0.1. The UTS, YS and elongation of WAAM 308L walls are 532–553 MPa, 344–353 MPa, and 40–54%, respectively, which are relatively similar to those of wrought 308L stainless steel (UTS: 530–650 MPa, YS: 360–480 MPa, and elongation: 35–45%). Thus, the mechanical properties of WAAM 308L steel walls are considered to be adequate for industrial applications.