Defect Analysis of 316 L Stainless Steel Prepared by LPBF Additive Manufacturing Processes

The 316 L stainless-steel samples were prepared by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). The effects of processing parameters on the density and defects of 316 L stainless steel were studied through an orthogonal experiment. The density of the samples was measured by the Archimedes method, optical microscopy (OM) and X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT). The microstructures and defects under different LPBF parameters were studied by OM and SEM. The results show that the energy density has a significant effect on the defect and density of the structure. When the energy density is lower than 35.19 J/mm3, the density increases significantly with the increase of energy density. However, when the energy density is larger than this value, the density remains relatively stable. The process parameter with the greatest influence on energy density is the hatch distance D, followed by laser power P, scanning speed V and rotation angle θ. In this paper, the optimum parameters consist of P = 260 W, V = 1700 mm, D = 0.05 mm and θ = 67°, in which the density is as high as 98.5%. In addition, the possibility and accuracy of the XCT method in detecting the discontinuity and porosity of 316 L stainless steel were discussed. The results show that XCT can provide the whole size and variation trend of pores in the different producing direction of LPBF.

PLGA Coatings and PLGA Drug-Loading Coatings for Cardiac Stent Samples: Degradation Characteristics and Blood Compatibility

PLGA (Poly lactic-co-glycolic acid) and PLGA drug-loading coatings were prepared on 316 L stainless steel by electrostatic spray deposition (ESD). The surface morphology, three-dimensional morphology, and crystal structures of the coatings were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Thermal properties, molecular weight, and coating composition were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and NMR. The degradation behaviors of the coatings were studied by mass changes, relative molecular mass and distributions, polymer compositions, thermal properties, and surface morphologies. The blood compatibilities of the coatings were investigated by platelet adhesion testing and dynamic coagulation times. SEM results indicated the drug-loading coating with 33% RAPA had the smoothest and most compact morphology. Addition of RAPA decreased the Tg of the PLGA coating, accompanied by partial crystallization that slowed the degradation rate of the drug-loaded coating. Microscopically, the morphology of the PLGA drug-loaded coating was coarser than the PLGA coating. The average surface roughness values of line and surface scannings were 16.232 nm and 39.538 nm, respectively. The surface of the drug-loading coating was micro uneven, and the macro smooth and micro multiphase separation structure helped improve its blood compatibility.

Spectroscopic Investigations of 316L Stainless Steel under Simulated Inflammatory Conditions for Implant Applications: The Effect of Tryptophan as Corrosion Inhibitor/Hydrophobicity Marker

In this paper, the conformational changes of tryptophan (Trp) on the corroded 316 L stainless steel (SS) surface obtained under controlled simulated inflammatory conditions have been studied by Raman (RS) and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy methods. The corrosion behavior and protective efficiency of the investigated samples were performed using the potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) technique in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution acidified to pH 3.0 at 37 °C in the presence and absence of 10−2 M Trp, with different immersion times (2 h and 24 h). The amino acid is adsorbed onto the corroded SS surface mainly through the lone electron pair of the nitrogen atom of the indole ring, which adopts a more/less tilted orientation, and the protonated amine group. The visible differences in the intensity of the Fermi doublet upon adsorption of Trp onto the corroded SS surface, which is a sensitive marker of the local environment, suggested that a stronger hydrophobic environment is observed. This may result in an improvement of the corrosion resistance, after 2 h than 24 h of exposure time. The electrochemical results confirm this statement—the inhibition efficiency of Trp, acting as a mixed-type inhibitor, is made drastically higher after a short period of immersion.

Revisiting the ring hoop test in additively manufactured metal tubes

This paper is focussed on the mechanical and formability characterisation of wire-arc additive manufactured (WAAM) AISI 316-L stainless-steel tubes. The methodology to be presented involved carrying out tension and ring hoop tension tests on specimens extracted from the tube longitudinal, transverse and inclined directions. The force evolutions, acquired from the load cells, and the strain measurements, retrieved from digital image correlation and from thickness measurements along the cracks, allowed obtaining the stress-strain curves, the strain paths and the onset of failure by fracture for the three different tube directions. Special attention was paid to the ring hoop test, which was revisited to determine the appropriateness of using ring specimens with one or two dumbbell geometries. The originality of using the ring hoop tension test in WAAM tubes with strong anisotropic behaviour allowed obtaining strain loading paths that range from plane strain to pure shear deformation conditions. Resort to commercial AISI 316-L stainless-steel tubes during the presentation is included for reference purposes.

Effect of the variation of the electrodeposition time of hydroxyapatite/chitosan coatings on AISI 316L SS

Type AISI 316 L Stainless Steel (316 L SS) plays a crucial role in bone replacement surgery due to its excellent mechanical features, availability at low cost, and ease of fabrication, but its performance is low when in contact with the aggressive conditions of the human body fluids. Chitosan (CTS) is a biopolymer that blended with hydroxyapatite (HAp) could form coatings to improve surface properties of a metallic orthopedic prosthesis, i.e., corrosion-resistance to the base metal and biocompatibility of the ceramic on the metal surface. This work aims to obtain and evaluate HAp/CTS composite coatings deposited on the surface of AISI 316 L SS substrate by electrophoretic deposition (EDP) technique. The influence of the time of deposition on the coating’s characteristics and properties was characterized and discussed. The coatings were structural, elemental, and chemically characterized using X-Ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. HV values in a range of 64.7 to 111.5 were observed, showing the lowest HAp/CTS-30.0 coating values for all the loads applied. The lowest HV value was nearby to the reported value for human bone’s hardness, around 47HV; considering that the coating will be in constant contact motion with the bone surface, the contact with a softer surface could decrease the wear on the human bone. The hardness decreases with the coating thickness’s increment because the coating presented a higher plastic deformation than the 316 L SS surfaces. A decrease in the roughness average (Ra) was well noticed as the deposition time increased; meanwhile, the thickness increased as the deposition time increased.