Selective Laser Melting of Duplex Stainless Steel Powders: An Investigation

Selective laser melting gained substantial momentum in the recent past and quite a few alloy systems have been researched and made available for commercial use; titanium, aluminum, stainless and tool steels, cobalt chrome, and Inconel being the most popular examples. Despite the application potential, and the successful processing of powder forms by traditional powder metallurgy methods, selective laser melting of duplex stainless steels was not attempted so far. The response of a duplex stainless steel alloy to processing by selective laser melting with varying process conditions is evaluated in the current research. Experimental results ascertained that the complete cycle starting from duplex powders, consolidating into 3D forms by selective laser melting and then post-process heat treatment to bring the microstructures back to duplex forms is feasible. Within the current experimental domain, the multi-layer samples are close to 90% density and showed a maximum dimensional variation of 2-3%, while the austenite to ferrite ratio is 45:55 after the post-process heat treatment.