A novel approach to fabricating SUS 316L steel foam using material extrusion additive manufacturing technology

초록

This study introduces a novel method for manufacturing porous SUS316L using the metal material extrusion (MEX) process and examines the effects of the powder particle size on the pore structure, gas flowability, and mechanical properties. SUS316L foams were fabricated using powders with average sizes of 50 mu m and 8 mu m. Open pore diameters were approximately 10 mu m for the 50 mu m foam and 2 mu m for the 8 mu m foam. Gas flowability measurements revealed that the 50 mu m foam exhibited slope values suitable for filtration applications, whereas the 8 mu m foam showed lower flowability due to a reduced pore fraction and size. Compressive testing indicated yield strengths of 82.57 MPa and 141.33 MPa for the 50 mu m and 8 mu m foams, respectively, demonstrating superior strength-to-weight ratios compared to SUS316L foams fabricated by conventional methods and surpassing the mechanical performance of commercial 316L filters manufactured by powder metallurgy process. These findings highlight the capability of MEX in producing porous SUS316L structures with tunable pores and mechanical properties for various applications.

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