The Journal of
the Korean Journal of Metals and Materials

The Journal of
the Korean Journal of Metals and Materials

Monthly
  • pISSN : 1738-8228
  • eISSN : 2288-8241

Editorial Office

Title Localised Corrosion Behaviour of PBF 316L Stainless Steel Heat-Treated at 900°C
Authors 이준섭(Jun-Seob Lee) ; 주티앤유앤(Tian-Yuan Zhu) ; 이정미(Jeongmi Lee) ; 김성윤(Seong-Yoon Kim)
DOI https://doi.org/10.3365/KJMM.2026.64.6.504
Page pp.504-511
ISSN 1738-8228(ISSN), 2288-8241(eISSN)
Keywords Localised corrosion; Chloride ion; Additive manufacturing; Electrochemical techniques
Abstract In this study, the localised corrosion behaviour of the type 316L stainless steel manufactured by powder bed fusion (PBF) and heat-treated at 900°C for 2 h was examined in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution by cyclic potentiodynamic polarisation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Three-dimensional defects were observed on both the building-direction (BD) and transverse-direction (TD) planes. Microstructural observations revealed melt-pool features and boundaries, whereas sub-cellular solidification features were not clearly distinguished. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) indicated orientation partitioning by melt-pool boundaries, with local misorientation concentrated near boundaries and defect sites. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping results confirmed the absence of macroscopic Cr?Mo segregation, and the matrix was identified as single-phase face-centred cubic without detectable σ-phase or δ-ferrite phase. The polarisation response was characterised by a gradual and irregular rise in anodic current during anodic scanning, rather than a stable passive-current region. SEM observations after polarisation confirmed localised corrosion around and inside defects. The Bode plot contained both capacitive and low-frequency inductive components, and the impedance behaviour was similar irrespective of the specimen build direction. These results indicate that occluded reactions associated with three-dimensional defects can dominate the measured electrochemical response in PBF components and can govern the apparent localised corrosion resistance. The key contribution of this study is the direct linkage between exposed three-dimensional defects and localised corrosion features identified by electrochemical testing and post-test surface observation.