Hydrogen Embrittlement of AISI 316L steel produced by Selective Laser Melting

Abstract

Selective laser melting (SLM) is one of the common methods of additive manufacturing and it can be employed to customize components with complex geometry expected to work in hydrogen atmospheres. However, more studies are still needed to characterize the behavior of printed mechanical components intended to work in contact with hydrogen. In this study, smooth and notched tensile samples were precharged in an acid solution with 8 mA/cm2 for 24h time. Hydrogen damage was more marked in the notched samples, especially at 0.005 mm/min, where fracture micromechanism changed from ductile in the absence of hydrogen to quasi-brittle in the presence of internal hydrogen. The role of the strain-induced martensite is also highlighted.