Influence of Adjusted Melt Pool Geometries on Residual Stress in 316L LPBF-Processes

Residual stress remains a significant challenge in the widespread adoption of the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) process, due to their detrimental impact on dimensional accuracy, post-processing requirements and hindered further processing with methods such as welding. Vari-ous strategies have already been explored to reduce or mitigate these stresses, including pre-heating, scan strategies, and heat treatments. In this study, a less commonly investigated ap-proach is examined: the influence of melt pool geom-etry—specifically layer height and track width—on the residual stresses in LPBF-manufactured 316L stainless steel. By systematically varying these parameters, the resulting internal stress states are analyzed to determine potential correlations and mechanisms of influence. The findings aim to contribute to a deeper under-standing of process-structure-property relationships in LPBF and to offer a new avenue for stress control through geometrical process parameter optimization.