A dataset of the in-situ ODS 304L stainless steel processed by laser powder bed fusion through oxygen content regulation and the effect on microstructure and mechanical properties

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is a widely used and well-developed additive manufacturing approach. To meet the higher material performance requirements for the fourth-generation nuclear power reactors, LPBF processing combined with oxide dispersion strengthening (ODS) is currently of interest among new materials designs and developments by dispersing nanoscale Y2O3 particles into the feeding powders to obtain the LPBF- ODS materials. Oxygen exposure and its introduction in the solvation cell, on the other hand, are usually considered detrimental but impossible to eliminate completely during the LPBF process. The understanding of this unavoidable process, however, is still limited. Here we develop a new LPBF-ODS design approach based on in-situ oxygen content regulation during the LPBF process. The oxygen content of the environment chamber was artificially adjusted through an online monitoring system to activate the reaction between oxygen and metal elements, thus forming the dispersed oxide particles in situ. Four batches of LPBFed 304L stainless steel samples were successfully processed under different oxygen levels to investigate the reinforcing effect of in-situ chemical alloying.