Abstract
The increasing demand for accurate fatigue modeling of powder metallurgy components in automotive, aerospace, and medical industries necessitates improved knowledge of composition-microstructure interactions. Variations in feedstock composition and thermomechanical history can produce unique microstructures whose impact on fatigue performance has not been adequately quantified. When characterizing additively manufactured 316L that is within nominal standard chemistry limits, oxide and nitride species were observed preferentially in the specimen contour region. Thermodynamic simulations provide evidence of segregation of the low manganese and high nitrogen composition driving this precipitation of these phases. When present in the specimen, they promoted brittle fracture mechanisms during fatigue.
