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This paper aims to present the way of modifying surfaces of 316L stainless steel elements that were manufactured in the selected laser melting (SLM) technology and then subjected to mechanical and electrolytic processing (electropolishing [EP]). The surface of the as-generated and commercial produced parts was modified by grinding and EP, and the results were compared. The authors also present an example of the application of EP for the final processing of a sample technological model – an initial prototype of a 316L steel implant manufactured in the SLM technology.

The analyzed properties included surface topography, roughness, resistance to corrosion, microhardness and the chemical composition of the surface before and after EP. The roughness described with the Ra, Rt and Rz was determined before and after EP of samples manufactured from 316L steel with use of traditional methods and additive technologies.

EP provides us with the opportunity to process elements with a complex structure, which would not be possible with use of other methods (such as milling or grinding). Depending on the expected final surface of elements after the SLM process, it is possible to reduce the surface roughness with the use of EP (for t = 20 min, Ra = 3.53 ± 0.37 µm and for t = 40 min, Ra = 3.23 ± 0.22 µm) or mechanical processing and EP (for t = 4 min, Ra = 0.13 ± 0.02 µm). The application of the EP method to elements made from 316L steel, in a bath consisting of sulfuric acid (VI), H2SO4 (35 Vol.%), phosphoric acid (V), H3PO4 (60.5 Vol.%) and triethanolamine 99 per cent (4.5 Vol.%), allows us to improve the surface smoothness and to obtain a value of the Ra parameter ranging from 0.11 to 0.15 µm. The application of a current density of 20 A/dm2 and a bath temperature of 55ºC results in an adequate smoothing of the surface (Ra < 0.16 µm) for both cold rolled and SLM elements after grinding. The application of EP, to both cold rolled elements and those after SLM, considerably improves the resistance to corrosion. The results of potentiodynamic corrosion resistance tests (jkor, EKA and Vp) of the 316L stainless steel samples demonstrate that the values of Vp for elements subjected to EP (commercial material: 1.3·10-4 mm/year, SLM material: 3.5·10-4 mm/year) are lower than for samples that were only ground (commercial material: 4.0·10-4 mm/year, SLM material: 9.6·10-4 mm/year). The microhardness was found to be significantly higher in elements manufactured using SLM technology than in those cold rolled and ground. The ground 316L steel samples were characterized by a microhardness of 318 HV (cold rolled) and 411 HV (SLM material), whereas the microhardness of samples subjected to EP was 230 HV (commercial material) and 375 HV (SLM material).

The 316L samples were built by SLM method. The surface of the SLM samples was modified by EP. Surface morphological changes after EP were studied using optical methods. Potentiodynamic tests enabled to notice changes in the corrosion resistance of 316L. Microhardness results after electropolished 316L stainless steel were shown. The chemical composition of 316L surface samples was presented. The smoothening of the surface amounted to Ra = 0.16 µm.

Aims to investigate the effect of chlorine on corrosion behaviours of stainless steels.

Very complicated thermodynamic calculations are needed to establish the E‐pH diagrams of commercial alloys, because they comprise of many elements. To avoid these complex calculations and facilitate corrosion prevention of AISI 316L stainless steel, the potentiodynamic method was used to construct the E‐pH diagram. The polarization curves were carefully experimented at the scan rate of 0.1 mV/s. The experimental conditions were aqueous solutions saturated with air (oxygen concentration 7.8‐8.5 ppm) containing chloride 0, 50, 500 and 5,000 ppm, pH 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12, and at 25°C. The transpassive or pitting potential, the protection potential, the primary passive potential and the corrosion potential were determined from the polarization curves and plotted with respect to the pH of the solution. The ions in solution were investigated by qualitative chemical analysis and stated in the E‐pH diagrams.

The constructed E‐pH diagrams showed clearly the effect of chloride concentration in the tested conditions on the transpassive or pitting potential, the protection potential of AISI 316L stainless steels. The ion states after pitting corrosion were different at low and high pH. This may be useful information for further investigation of pitting corrosion mechanisms.

The E‐pH diagram was originally based on thermodynamic equilibrium. The potentiodynamic method was kinetically controlled and not in equilibrium. However, the experiments were kept at near stationary state as much as possible. The investigated E‐pH diagrams were limited for the solutions saturated with air containing chloride 0, 50, 500 and 5,000 ppm and at 25°C. The effects of temperature and other ions such as Fe³⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, etc. on the transpassive or pitting potential, the protection potential, the primary passive potential and the corrosion potential should be further investigated, because natural water may contain those ions and is at high temperatures which could affect on the corrosion of AISI 316L stainless steels.

The investigated E‐pH diagrams may be applicable to avoid corrosion of AISI 316L stainless steels in similar conditions. The useful application may be for fields where natural water is not able to be treated, as is carried out in industry.

There have been several investigations on the effect of chloride on the corrosion behaviours of AISI 316L stainless steels. However, those investigations were carried out in different conditions. Very few experimental E‐pH diagrams of AISI 304L have been found, but not for AISI 316L stainless steels. The investigated diagrams showed also the ion states in pitting corrosion region which were influenced by pH. This may indicate the different pitting corrosion mechanism at different pH.

The purpose of the paper is to study effect of the implantation of oxygen and helium ions on the corrosion performance of the AISI3l6L stainless steel. It presents useful new results which allows one to draw conclusions as to the suitability of the helium and oxygen ion implanted AISI 316L stainless steel for biomedical use in the body.

The implantation of oxygen and helium ions was done on AISI 316L SS at an energy level of 100 keV at a dose of 1×10¹⁷ ions/cm², at room temperature. In order to simulate the natural tissue environment, an electrochemical test using cyclic polarization was done in a 0.9 percent sodium chloride solution at a pH value of 6.3 at 37°C. This was carried out on both the virgin and implanted AISI 316L stainless steel for the purpose of comparing performance. In addition to this, the hardness of the virgin and implanted samples was also studied using Vickers microhardness tester with varying loads. Besides, the surface morphologies of the implanted samples and the corroded samples were studied with XRD and SEM.

From the study the following findings are made. First, the XRD and SEM results were found to be in accordance with the corrosion test results. Second, the general corrosion behavior showed a significant improvement in the case of both helium implanted (icorr=0.0689 mA/cm²) and oxygen implanted (icorr=1.104 mA/cm²), when compared to the virgin AISI 316L SS (icorr=1.2187 mA/cm²). The pitting corrosion showed a significant improvement for helium implanted (Epit=230 mV) when compared to virgin material (Epit=92 mV). The oxygen implanted has not shown any improvement (Epit=92 mV). The surface hardness is found to be 1202 HV for helium implanted and 1020 HV for oxygen implanted, while it is found to be 195 HV for the virgin material. The hardness of the helium and oxygen implanted samples is found to be increased by about 600 percent and 500 percent, respectively, when compared to the virgin samples. Helium implanted samples show better performance in terms of corrosion resistance and hardness when compared to those of the oxygen implanted samples.

Although a number of authors have conducted many research on AISI 316L stainless steel, this work has original experimental results in terms of the oxygen and helium ion implantation parameters used and the specific tests: microhardness, electrochemical corrosion test, SEM and XRD that were used. It thus presents useful new results which allows one to draw conclusions as to the suitability of the Helium and Oxygen ion implanted AISI 316L stainless steel for biomedical use.

The extrusion-based additive manufacturing method followed by debinding and sintering steps can produce metal parts efficiently at a relatively low cost and material wastage. In this study, 316L stainless-steel metal filled filaments were used to print metal parts using the extrusion-based fused filament fabrication (FFF) approach. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of common FFF printing parameters on the geometric and mechanical performance of FFF manufactured 316L stainless-steel components.

The microstructural characteristics of the metal filled filament, three-dimensional (3D) printed green parts and final sintered parts were analysed. In addition, the dimensional accuracy of the green parts was evaluated, as well as the hardness, tensile properties, relative density, part shrinkage and the porosity of the sintered samples. Moreover, surface quality in terms of surface roughness after sintering was assessed. Predictive models based on artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used for characterizing dimensional accuracy, shrinkage, surface roughness and density. Additionally, the response surface method based on ANNs was applied to represent the behaviour of these parameters and to identify the optimum 3D printing conditions.

The effects of the FFF process parameters such as build orientation and nozzle diameter were significant. The pore distribution was strongly linked to the build orientation and printing strategy. Furthermore, porosity decreased with increased nozzle diameter, which increased mechanical performance. In contrast, lower nozzle diameters achieved lower roughness values and average deviations. Thus, it should be noted that the modification of process parameters to achieve greater geometrical accuracy weakened mechanical performance.

Near-dense 316L austenitic stainless-steel components using FFF technology were successfully manufactured. This study provides print guidelines and further information regarding the impact of FFF process parameters on the mechanical, microstructural and geometric performance of 3D printed 316L components.

The purpose of this paper was to gain a better understanding of wear behaviour of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) in contact with 316L stainless steel under different conditions (dry condition, distilled water and Ringer's solution). PMMA is commonly used in low-stress sliding application against metal. The effects of applied load and frequency on the wear rate of PMMA against 316L stainless steel were examined.

Tests were conducted under dry condition, in distilled water and in Ringer’s solution by using reciprocating wear machine. Worn surface morphology and composition was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy.

PMMA wear rate increases with the increase in applied load, naturally. An increase in sliding frequency increases the wear rate under dry condition, but it decreases the wear rate in water and in Ringer’s solution.

The objective of the present work was to gain a better understanding of the wear behaviour of PMMA in contact with 316L stainless steel under different conditions (dry condition, distilled water and Ringer's solution). The effects of applied normal load and frequency on the wear rate of PMMA against 316L stainless steel at various conditions were examined experimentally. This information may have future implications for the design of materials which have a contact with physiological fluid in orthopeadic implants.

This paper aims to investigate the effects of plasma nitriding and Ti-C:H coating deposition on AISI 316L and to find the best tribological performance of various specimens.

An experimental investigation is performed into the effects of plasma nitriding and Ti-C:H sputtering on the tribological properties of AISI 316L biomedical stainless steel. Five samples are prepared, namely, original AISI 316L stainless steel (code: 316L), nitrided 316L (code: N316), 316L and N316 sputtered with Ti-C:H (codes: D316 and DN316, respectively) and polished N316 sputtered with Ti-C:H (DN316s). The microstructure, mechanical properties and coating adhesion strength of the various samples are investigated and compared. The tribological properties of the samples are then evaluated by means of reciprocating wear tests performed in 8.9 Wt.% NaCl solution against three different counterbodies, namely, a 316L ball, Ti₆Al₄V ball and Si₃N₄ ball.

It is shown that plasma nitriding followed by Ti-C:H deposition (DN316s) improves the tribological properties of AISI 316L; the sample provides the best tribological performance of the various specimens and has a wear rate approximately 156 times lower than that of the original 316L substrate.

The results suggest that nitriding followed by polishing and Ti-C:H sputtering provides an effective means of improving the service life of AISI 316L biomedical implants.

This paper aims to construct the E-pH diagrams for AISI 316L stainless steel in chloride solutions containing SO₄²⁻ ions and therefore investigate the role of SO₄²⁻ ions on pitting corrosion of stainless steel.

A cyclic potentiodynamic polarisation method was performed to obtain polarisation curves at different pH. From these curves, corrosion, primary passivation, pitting and repassivation potentials were determined and plotted as a function of pH giving the E-pH diagram.

The addition of SO₄²⁻ ions to 10,650 ppm NaCl solution up to 3,000 ppm widened the passivation regime of the E-pH diagram mainly by shifting the pitting corrosion potential to the noble direction. This indicated the inhibiting role of SO₄²⁻ on the nucleation of new pits in the transpassive region. It also stabilised the pitting corrosion potential at the pH ranging from 5 to 11. However, at pH 7, it caused the pit area to increase, implying the catalytic role of SO₄²⁻ on the pit growth. Finally, it did not change the types of ions dissolved in solutions after pitting.

The diagrams can be used as a guideline in industries to determine the passivation regime of the AISI 316L stainless steel in chloride- and sulphate-containing solutions.

This paper reported the E-pH diagrams for the AISI 316L stainless steel in chloride solutions containing SO₄²⁻ ions. The roles of pH and SO₄²⁻ ions on pitting corrosion were innovatively discussed using a point defect model.

Until recently, chlorine used to be an important chemical in bleaching process in paper industry, but as a result of environmental concerns, it is being replaced by chlorine dioxide. However, chlorine dioxide is more corrosive in certain conditions. Plant personnel, therefore need to better understand the reactions taking place in the changed media and search for more resistant materials. It is with this in mind that the present work was undertaken. The paper reports the electrochemical polarisation measurements performed on stainless steels 316L, 317L, 2205 and 254SMO in chlorine dioxide solutions to observe localised corrosion. The results have been analysed with reference to Pourbaix diagrams, taking into account the various chemical species present in the bleach solutions. Conclusions drawn from electrochemical tests have been compared with those from long‐term laboratory and plant tests. Materials options are proposed on the optimal choice of materials for bleach plants, in a context of probable corrosion performance, capital cost and mechanical strength.

The tribological properties such as surface hardness, friction and wear have been studied for AISI 316L stainless steel substrates which were co‐ion implanted with zirconium and oxygen ions. It is found that the wear resistance for AISI 316L stainless steel substrates implanted with zirconium and oxygen ions increased quite a lot. It is concluded that the increase in surface microhardness and the decrease in friction coefficient of AISI 316L stainless steel substrates play an important role in improving the wear resistance, and the relationship between relative wear volume and microhardness is correlated for zirconium and oxygen co‐ion implantation.

This paper aims to report the production of 316L-1 Wt.% NiB cubes by using the selective laser melting (SLM) process. The laser used was pulsed, millisecond Nd:YAG system with maximum average power 100 W.

Densification under different processing conditions (pulse energy, average laser power, laser scan speed, powder layer thickness, pulse frequency) was investigated. Morphology, macro and microstructure of laser melted samples were characterized by digital camera images and by scanning electron microscope. Density of the cubes was determined by Archimedes method in water. Vickers microhardness of samples was determined under the load of 25 g. Corrosion behavior of 316L and 316L-NiB samples was conducted in 5 per cent HCl solution at the testing temperature of 20°C during 240 h.

Using laser power of ∼60-70 W, lower beam overlap and powder layer thickness of 200 µm, 3D cubical samples were obtained with significant balling in individual layers and an overall porosity being around 30 per cent. By increasing laser power to ∼80 W, with higher beam overlap and lower powder layer thickness of 100 µm, SLM parts with no balling and the presence of small pores of up to 4 per cent (20 Hz) and 9 per cent (40 Hz) were obtained. With further increase of laser power to 90 W, overall porosity rose to around 12 per cent. The addition of 1 Wt.% NiB to stainless steel negligibly lowered its corrosion resistance in 5 per cent HCl solution.

A part from 316L stainless steel with balling-free structure and good density was successfully obtained through pulsed-SLM process with the aid of 1 Wt.% of NiB addition. Aside from significant influence on the improved structure of cubes, NiB had a favorable effect on microhardness values while practically not affecting the corrosion resistivity of the base material in an aggressive surrounding.