Investigation of Tensile Properties of Bulk and Slm Fabricated 304l Stainless Steel Using Various Gage Length Specimens

The complex solidification dynamics and thermal cycling during Selective Laser Melting process is expected to result in non-equilibrium material characteristics. There is an essential need for characterization techniques which are critical towards the estimation of anisotropies. The current investigation is targeted towards establishing tensile testing methodologies and their relation to differing gage lengths. Dog-bone shaped specimen designs with gage lengths of 1”, 0.3” and 0.12” were employed in this research. The characterization was performed on hot rolled-annealed 304 stainless and SLM fabricated 304L stainless. It was theorized that smaller gage length specimens would be instrumental in mapping material property anisotropy at a better spatial resolution. The ultimate tensile and yield strength data were used to identify the material property distribution and assess the anisotropy. The material property distributions were used to successfully assess the testing methodologies and material characteristics.