Numerous studies already identified that the fatigue strength of 316 L parts processed by laser beam melting (LBM) is distinctly affected by the surface integrity. Among others, surface defects as well as residual stresses are of crucial importance. Despite new findings in the field of surface engineering of laser beam melting (LBM) parts, the low cycle fatigue strength of thermally sprayed additively manufactured substrates has not been in the focus of research to date. This study aims at evaluating the effect of different pre‐treatments onto 316 L substrates processed by laser beam melting (LBM) prior to the deposition of a high velocity oxy‐fuel (HVOF) sprayed tungsten carbide‐cobalt coating and their effect on the low cycle fatigue strength. Therefore, 316 L substrates were examined in their as‐built state as well as after grit blasting with regards to the surface roughness, strain hardening effects, and residual stresses. To differentiate between topographical effects and residual stress related phenomena, stress‐relieved 316 L substrates served as reference throughout the investigations. The tungsten carbide‐cobalt coated and differently pre‐treated 316 L substrates were mechanically tested under quasi‐static and dynamic load conditions. Besides the low cycle fatigue strength, the fracture toughness as well as the fracture mechanism were identified based on fracture surface analysis.

Different studies have been demonstrated that the surface integrity of substrate bulk materials to be coated has a significant impact on the adhesion of thermally sprayed coatings. It is known that the surface integrity of parts processed by selective laser melting (SLM) differs from those obtained from bulk materials. Although 316L stainless steel is among the most investigated material for SLM, the adhesion of thermally sprayed coatings on 316L stainless steel substrates processed by SLM has not been studied yet. This study aims at evaluating the effect of various mechanical pre-treatments onto 316L stainless steel substrates processed by SLM and their effect on the adhesion of high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF)-sprayed WC-Co coatings. To differentiate between topographical effects and residual stress-related phenomena, a stress-relief heat treatment of the SLM substrates served as a reference throughout the investigations. The differently pre-treated SLM substrates were investigated with regard to the surface roughness and residual stresses. For the HVOFsprayed SLM composites, Vickers interfacial indentation tests were conducted to assess the resulting coating adhesion. The findings demonstrated that the HVOFsprayed WC-Co coatings predominantly exhibit good adhesion to the SLM 316L substrates. However, it was found that the stress state in the SLM 316L substrate surface is more likely to affect the adhesion of the WC-Co coating, while the substrate surface roughness showed a marginal effect.

Purpose The currently existing restrictions regarding the deployment of additively manufactured components because of poor surface roughness, porosity and residual stresses as well as their influence on the low-cycle fatigue (LCF) strength are addressed in this paper. Design/methodology/approach This study aims to evaluating the effect of different pre- and post-treatments on the LCF strength of additively manufactured 316L parts. Therefore, 316L specimens manufactured by laser powder bed fusion were examined in their as-built state as well as after grinding, or coating with regard to the surface roughness, residual stresses and LCF strength. To differentiate between topographical effects and residual stress-related phenomena, stress-relieved 316L specimens served as a reference throughout the investigations. To enable an alumina coating of the 316L components, atmospheric plasma spraying was used, and the near-surface residual stresses and the surface roughness are measured and investigated. Findings The results have shown that the applied pre- and post-treatments such as stress-relief heat treatment, grinding and alumina coating have each led to an increase in LCF strength of the 316L specimens. In contrast, the non-heat-treated specimens predominantly exhibited coating delamination. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of the correlation between the LCF behavior of additively manufactured uncoated 316L specimens in comparison with additively manufactured 316L specimens with an alumina coating.

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