PSI - Issue 82

J. Blankenhagen et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 82 (2026) 37–43

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Blankenhagen et al. / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2026) 000–000

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2. Experimental setup

2.1. Used materials

The materials investigated in this study are additively manufactured 316L stainless steel (PBF-LB / M / 316L) and Printdur ® HSA (PBF-LB / M / Printdur ® HSA). 316L is an austenitic stainless steel commonly employed in PBF-LB / M due to its excellent processability, high corrosion resistance, and reliable mechanical performance. The additively manufactured alloy typically exhibits a yield strength of 455 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 611 MPa, and an elongation at fracture of 54 % (Diller et al. (2022)). Printdur ® HSA is a high-strength, corrosion-resistant, fully austenitic (C + N) stainless steel specifically developed for additive manufacturing (Deutsche Edelstahlwerke Specialty Steel GmbH & Co. KG (2020)). The gas-atomized powder shows good processability in the PBF-LB / M process and is completely nickel-free, thereby reducing occu pational safety risks during powder handling and eliminating potential nickel-induced allergic reactions (Deutsche Edelstahlwerke Specialty Steel GmbH & Co. KG (2020); Masoumi et al. (2023)). The alloy exhibits a yield strength of 927 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 1153 MPa, a hardness of 328 HV1, and an elongation at fracture of 38 % (Blankenhagen et al. (2025)). These superior mechanical properties result primarily from interstitial solid-solution strengthening by carbon and nitrogen (Riedner (2011); Schymura (2017); Mu´jica Roncery (2010); Shanina et al. (2002); Berns et al. (2013)). The chemical composition and corresponding mechanical properties of both alloys are summarized in Table 1.

® HSA (Blankenhagen et al. (2025)) and 316L

Table 1: Chemical composition and material properties of the used materials PBF-LB / M / Printdur

(Diller et al. (2022))

Material

Yield strength Ultimate tensile Elongation at

Chemical composition in wt. %

R p0.2 in MPa strength in MPa fracture in % C Si

Mn

Cr

Ni

Mo N

® HSA 927.0

PBF-LB / M / Printdur PBF-LB / M / 316L

1153.3

38.1 54.0

0.41 0.24 18.77 18.10 0.14 2.04 0.41 0.015 0.582 1.379 17.85 10.02 2.021 -

455.0

611.0

Printdur ® HSA belongs to the class of Austenitic High-Interstitial Steels (AHIS), characterized by a simultaneous alloying with carbon and nitrogen to achieve a balanced combination of strength and ductility (Riedner (2011); Schy mura (2017); Mu´jica Roncery (2010); Shanina et al. (2002); Berns et al. (2013)). Similar to Austenitic High-Nitrogen Steels (AHNS), these alloys exhibit a low stacking-fault energy, which promotes planar slip and deformation twinning (Riedner (2011); Berns et al. (2010); Gavriljuk et al. (2008)). Both mechanisms enhance strain hardening and fatigue resistance. The interstitial atoms of carbon and nitrogen induce local lattice distortions that impede dislocation motion and increase the flow stress (Riedner (2011); Mu´jica Roncery (2010)). Moreover, the high electron density of these Fe-based alloys stabilizes the austenitic lattice, thereby improving the strength–ductility synergy (Riedner (2011); Schymura (2017)). The fracture mechanics properties of PBF-LB / M / 316L have been investigated in several studies. Crack propagation behavior was examined in Riemer et al. (2016), Suryawanshi et al. (2017), Fergani et al. (2018), Reschetnik et al. (2019), and Kluczyn´ski et al. (2020), while fracture toughness was reported by Suryawanshi et al. (2017), and Alsalla et al. (2018). These studies consistently demonstrated a dependence of crack growth behavior on the orientation of the notch, respectively the crack direction to the build orientation, with vertically ( ⊥ ) notched specimens showing superior performance compared to horizontally ( ∥ ) notched ones. In the present terminology, vertical specimens have the notch direction parallel to the build direction (Fig. 1 (a)), whereas horizontal compact-tension (CT) specimens have a notch direction perpendicular to the build direction (Fig. 1 (b)). In contrast, no prior investigations on the crack propagation behavior of additively manufactured Printdur ® HSA are currently available. Only a limited number of studies have addressed conventionally manufactured alloys of similar chemical composition, as seen in the work of Schymura (2017).