PSI - Issue 83

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ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 83 (2026) 57–62

The fourth European Conference on the Structural Integrity of Additively Manufactured Materials (ESIAM26) Behavior of welded additively manufactured steel AISI 316L in the

natural marine environment Goran Vukeli ć a, *, Benjamin Mihaljec a a University of Rijeka, Faculty of Maritime Studies, Studentska 2, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia

© 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Abstract This study examines the effects of the natural marine environment on the properties of welded AISI 316L stainless steel produced by additive manufacturing. The welding of 3D-printed components is of growing importance to the maritime industry, where additive manufacturing is being explored as a viable solution for the repair and maintenance of ships and offshore structures. Three types of welded specimens were evaluated: additively manufactured (AM-AM) joints, hybrid joints combining AM and conventionally manufactured (CM) parts, and CM-CM joints serving as references. The specimens were immersed in seawater for one, three, and six months. After retrieval, changes in mass, tensile strength, and surface morphology were assessed. The results indicate that conventionally manufactured steel exhibited superior retention of tensile strength during the initial exposure periods. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis confirmed notable environmental influence, highlighting the importance of in-situ testing under real marine conditions. The study’s novelty lies in its extended natural exposure period and comparative evaluation of various welded configurations of AISI 316L stainless steel.

Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the ESIAM26 organizers Keywords: AISI 316L; additive manufacturing; 3D printing; corrosion; AISI 316L

1. Introduction Additive manufacturing (AM) of metallic materials, particularly stainless steels, has attracted increasing attention for use in demanding marine applications such as offshore infrastructure, marine engineering systems, and underwater

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +385 51 338 411. E-mail address: goran.vukelic@pfri.uniri.hr

2452-3216 © 2026 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the ESIAM26 organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2026.07.007