TY - JOUR A1 - Suárez Ocaño, Patricia A1 - Ávila Calderón, Luis A1 - Agudo Jácome, Leonardo A1 - Rehmer, Birgit A1 - Mohr, Gunther A1 - Evans, Alexander A1 - Skrotzki, Birgit T1 - Effect of 700–900 °C heat treatments and room and high temperature tensile deformation on the microstructure of laser powder bed fused 316L stainless steel N2 - The effect of post-processing heat treatments on the hierarchical microstructure evolution and mechanical strength of the austenitic stainless steel 316L produced by laser powder bed fusion has been investigated. Heat treatments between 700 and 900 ◦C and 0.5 to 3 h, were applied to samples treated at 450 ◦C for 4 h. The results showed a stable microstructure at all studied temperatures and times in terms of grain size, morphology, aspect ratio, density of low-angle grain boundaries, and texture. However, temperature and time promoted the diffusion of segregated elements together with a reduction in dislocation density and disappearance of the cellular structure. This was associated with a reduction in hardness and tensile proof strength at both room and high temperature. In addition, microstructural characterization coupled with thermodynamic CALPHAD-based equilibrium calculations showed that the formation of carbides and intermetallic phases was already visible after annealing at 800 ◦C for 3 hours, although these intermetallics did not affect the tensile properties at this level. Analysis of the microstructure evolution after tensile deformation showed differences in the deformation mechanisms at room and high temperature, with twinning and martensitic transformation occurring at room temperature, the latter not widely reported for additively manufactured 316L. Finally, comparisons with similar materials produced under comparable conditions showed differences in the tensile properties, attributed to differences in chemical composition and the associated presence of stacking faults in the undeformed state. KW - Additive manufacturing KW - 316L stainless steel KW - Heat treatments KW - Tensile properties KW - Microstructure PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-632471 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2025.148469 SN - 0921-5093 VL - 939 SP - 1 EP - 24 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-63247 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -