Oxygen Effects on Solidification Behavior of Gas Tungsten Arc-Welded Laser Powder Bed Fusion-Fabricated 304L Stainless Steel

The laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process inherently accumulates interstitial gas elements during powder fabrication and laser deposition processes. Such elements can lead to localized variations in the weld pool and affect the solidification behavior (when compared with its wrought equivalent), in addition to chemical microsegregation within the fabricated material. This study was conducted to characterize the solidification behavior of gas tungsten arc (GTA) welds made on L-PBF 304L stainless steel. The effect of surface active elements on the local solidification rates was studied. An emphasis was placed on the role local solidification rates and temperature gradients throughout the weld play on the resultant weld solidification structure and microsegregation. It was determined that gas tungsten arc welds on L-PBF 304L stainless steel exhibited a vermicular ferrite solidification structure compared with a mix of vermicular and lathy ferrite structure in wrought 304L. The varying convective thermal gradients in the weld pool affected the solidification modes and partitioning of elements, leading to fluctuations of microsegregation in the L-PBF 304L. Macroscopically, such partitioning affected the surface tension within the weld pool, producing asymmetric weld pool geometries. The compositional differences between wrought and L-PBF fabricated 304L stainless steels resulted in irregular solidification behaviors during welding affecting the final weld microstructure.