Improving fatigue behavior of selective laser melted 316 L stainless steel by ultrasonic-assisted burnishing

PurposeIn this study, two postprocessing techniques, namely, conventional burnishing (CB) and ultrasonic-assisted burnishing (UAB), were applied to improve the fatigue behavior of 316 L stainless steel fabricated through selective laser melting (SLM). The effects of these processes on surface roughness, porosity, microhardness and fatigue performance were experimentally investigated. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of ultrasonic-assisted burnishing as a preferred post-processing technique for enhancing the fatigue performance of additively manufactured components.Design/methodology/approachAll samples were subjected to a sandblasting process. Next, the samples were divided into three distinct groups. The first group (as-Built) did not undergo any additional postprocessing, apart from sandblasting. The second group was treated with CB, while the third group was treated with ultrasonic-assisted burnishing. Finally, all samples were evaluated based on their surface roughness, porosity, microhardness and fatigue performance.FindingsThe results revealed that the initial mean surface roughness (Ra) of the as-built sample was 11.438 mu m. However, after undergoing CB and UAB treatments, the surface roughness decreased to 1.629 and 0.278 mu m, respectively. Notably, the UAB process proved more effective in eliminating near-surface pores and improving the microhardness of the samples compared to the CB process. Furthermore, the fatigue life of the as-built sample, initially at 66,000 cycles, experienced a slight improvement after CB treatment, reaching 347,000 cycles. However, the UAB process significantly enhanced the fatigue life of the samples, extending it to 620,000 cycles.Originality/valueAfter reviewing the literature, it can be concluded that UAB will exceed the capabilities of CB in terms of enhancing the surface roughness and, subsequently, the fatigue performance of additive manufactured (AM) metals. However, the actual impact of the UAB process on the fatigue life of AM products has not yet been thoroughly researched. Therefore, in this study, this paper used the burnishing process to enhance the fatigue life of 316 L stainless steel produced through the SLM process.