Effect of Heat Treatment on Microstructural Evolution in Additively Manufactured 316L Stainless Steel

316L stainless steel samples were prepared by selective laser melting (SLM) and annealed at 1000 °C for durations of between 1 6 h to investigate both the kinetics microstructural evolution during heat treatment effect annealing on mechanical properties. The as-printed materials contain a high density oxide particles dislocations, forming dislocation cell substructure that shows thermal stability treatment. Moreover, coarsened act as pinning barriers moving dislocations grain boundaries, thus extending recovery recrystallization process. process can be effectively tracked measuring low-angle misorientation boundaries associated with characterized high-resolution EBSD. properties strong relationship observed changes, suggesting possible optimization strength ductility SLM-prepared metal use appropriate treatments.