Effect of Cryogenic Treatment on the Wear Behavior of Additive Manufactured 316L Stainless Steel

In this research work, an investigation is done to study the effect of cryogenic treatment on 316L SS fabricated using Direct Metal Laser Sintering process. Cryogenic treatment is done at -196°C for 24 hours in a chamber filled with liquid nitrogen. The post effects of this cryogenic treatment over the properties of the material such as hardness, wear behaviour and microstructure have been studied. The result showed that the porosity present in additive manufactured 316L SS is greatly reduced after cryogenic treatment. Tribological properties were analyzed, using zirconia pin-on- additive manufactured 316L SS disc, the result showed that the treatment has considerable effect on decreasing coefficient of friction. Wear track surface morphologies shows the evidence for the indentation of the abrasives in pores in the untreated AM sample. Hardness increases significantly due to strain-induced phase change in the sample after cryogenic treatment.