Nonuniformity of the Crystallographic Texture and the Mechanical Properties of the Austenitic Steel 316L Plates Formed by Selective Laser Melting of a Powder

The steel 316L plates formed by selective laser melting of a powder are found to have a sharp texture, which is close to the {001}$$\left\langle {100} \right\rangle $$ cube texture, and the texture intensity and the deflection of texture from external plate directions change across the plate width differently in plates of different thicknesses. The mechanical properties determined by nanoindentation are also nonuniform over the plate width. The nonuniformity of texture and microhardness is assumed to be related to the changes in the plate growth conditions in printing, such as the heating and cooling rates, the direction of laser beam action, the heat removal direction in plates of different thicknesses, and the shape of the molten pool. The crystallographic texture is shown to be a sensitive indicator of all plate growth processes; therefore, it can be used to optimize the parameters that determine the properties of the plates.