Influence of Several Heat Treatments on Residual Stress in Laser Powder Bed-Fused Maraging 18Ni-300 Steel

In laser powder bed fusion, process-inherited thermal residual stress is developed due to the thermal strain misfit between each layer. Detailed analysis and a prediction of the residual stress are needed because it can induce distortions of the components and, in some serious cases, stress-induced defects such as cracking. In this work, the effects of heat treatment conditions on residual stress in maraging 18Ni-300 steel, fabricated by laser powder bed fusion, were investigated. Cantilever-shaped specimens were used to experimentally analyze residual stress caused by the distortions of the specimens while cutting them from the supporters. The cantilever samples showed complex distortion behavior in the as-built state. They bent downward while cutting them from the supporter when the thickness was relatively thin, and the bending deformation became upward instead of downward with increasing thickness. Interpreting this behavior by finite element simulation showed that the downward bending was due to the compressive stress state at the top layer of the maraging steel. When the cantilever specimens were aging heat treated, the distortions were significantly reduced, implying that the process-inherited residual stress was diminished.