Abstract
This study examines the corrosion resistance of additively manufactured 316L stainless steel (SS) for nuclear applications across three environments: pressurized water reactor primary water (PWR PW), hot concentrated nitric acid, and seawater. Wire-feed laser additive manufacturing (WLAM) specimens showed oxidation behavior similar to wrought 316L SS in PWR PW, though stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility varied with heat treatment. In nitric acid testing, laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) specimens demonstrated superior corrosion resistance compared to conventional SS, primarily due to improved intergranular corrosion resistance resulting from cleaner feedstock powder and rapid solidification rates that minimized grain boundary segregation. Laser metal deposition (LMD) repair studies in seawater environments successfully produced dense, crack-free repairs with good metallurgical bonding that matched the substrate’s mechanical properties while maintaining corrosion resistance. These results emphasize the importance of corrosion testing for additively manufactured components and understanding how their unique microstructures affect performance.
