Abstract
The development of advanced alloys capable of operating in extreme environments is critical for nuclear and energy systems. Alloy prototyping via additive manufacturing techniques provides a fast and flexible pathway to design and evaluate new material compositions without relying on traditional processing. In this study, alloy prototyping of stainless steel 316 (SS316) through controlled nickel addition was explored to enhance its performance and manufacturability for high-demand applications. As a preliminary step, porosity analysis of 3D-printed SS316 under various laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) conditions was performed to select suitable baseline printing parameters. Using the optimized powder, multiple sample sets under varying printing parameters were fabricated. A combination of macrostructure evaluation and chemical/microstructural characterization techniques was used to investigate homogeneity, Ni distribution, porosity, and molten-region stability across the different sets. These multi-scale evaluations provide insight into how different factors, such as printing parameter selection, collectively control compositional/microstructural homogeneity under LPBF’s rapid solidification conditions. The findings establish a clear framework for optimizing LPBF alloy prototyping procedures of compositionally enhanced advanced materials, highlighting the cost-effectiveness, compositional flexibility, and accelerated development cycle that alloy prototyping brings to alloy design for extreme-environment applications.