Review on corrosion-related aspects of metallic alloys additive manufactured with laser powder bed-fusion (LPBF) technology

Additive manufacturing (AM) has become one of the most effective, affordable, and environmentally friendly methods for designing and producing metallic materials. 3D printing offers many benefits, including improved strength, simplified designs, scalable profitability, faster production, moderate surface finish, affordability, etc. The present article describes the corrosion and corrosion inhibition aspects of 3D-printed metallic parts. The corrosion resistance of metallic 3D-printed materials is related to their surface characteristics, elemental composition, residual stress, and microstructure inherent in the AM process. An in-depth understanding of these characteristics and their application in 3D printing will enable designers to produce corrosion-resistant metallic materials for long-term industrial applications. This review article describes the corrosion-resistant characteristics of several alloys such as low-carbon 316 stainless steel (SS316L), 304 stainless steel (SS304), titanium, aluminium, and vanadium (Ti-6Al-4 V; Ti64), nickel Alloy 718 (Inconel 718), aluminium-magnesium alloyed with silicon (AlSi10Mg), and more. The impact of processing parameters and microstructure on the corrosion of alloys produced through 3D printing is also discussed in this work, in addition to how surface tailoring, alloying to prevent microgalvanic corrosion, surface finishing, and corrosion inhibitors increase corrosion resistance. This review also discusses the challenges, possibilities, prospects for the future and knowledge gaps related to the corrosion-resistant properties of metallic 3D-printed materials.