Intrinsic strain aging, Σ3 boundaries, and origins of cellular substructure in additively manufactured 316L

The observation of sub-grained cellular features in additively manufactured (AM)/selectively laser melted (SLM) 316L stainless steel components has remained an interesting, though incompletely understood phenomenon. However, the recently observed correlation linking the presence of these features with significantly enhanced mechanical strength in SLM 316L materials has driven a renewed interest and effort toward elucidating the mechanism (s) by which they are formed. To date, the dominant hypothesis, cellular solidification followed by dislocation-solute entanglement, remains incompatible with the ensemble of reported observations from multiple independent studies. This effort offers direct evidence of a previously unrecognized interaction of phenomena, that, when acting in concert, give rise to this commonly observed substructure. These phenomena include SLM-induced intrinsic strain-aging, Cottrell atmosphere formation, and twin-boundary enhanced mass diffusion to structural defects. Furthermore, evidence is provided to support the proposed theory that the observed chemical heterogeneity coincident with dislocation cell structures is actually the result of local, strain energy density induced solid state diffusion.