The effects of cold rolling and building orientation on sensitization of laser powder bed fused 316L stainless steel

The effects of cold rolling, building orientation and sensitization annealing time on the microstructures and corrosion resistance of laser powder bed fused 316L stainless steel were studied. Normal direction face showed higher sensitization level than build direction face. The cold rolling significantly suppressed sensitization of laser powder bed fused samples. Longer sensitization time had little influence on sensitization degree of cold rolled laser powder bed fused samples. Refined grains and high-density dislocations promoted diffusion of Cr and Mo elements into depletion region and effectually inhibited the sensitization.