Metal forming is the most used technique to manufacture complex geometry pieces in the most efficient way, and the technological progress related to the various application fields requires increasingly higher quality standards. In order to achieve such a requirement, people are forced to perform quality and compliance tests finalized to guarantee that these standards are met; this often implies a waste of material and economic resources. In the case of welded stainless steel pipes, several critical points affecting the general trend of subsequent machining need to be taken into account. In this framework, the aim of the paper is to study the effects of different process parameters and geometrical characteristics on various members of the stainless steel family during finite elements method (FEM) simulations. The analysis of the simulation outputs, such as stress, strain, and thickness, is reported through mappings, in order to evaluate their variation, caused by the variation of the simulation input parameters. The feasibility of the simulated process is evaluated through the use of forming limit diagrams (FLD). An experimental validation of the model is performed by comparison with real cases. Major parameters that mainly guide the outcome of the simulations are highlighted.

In Europe EUROFER 97 has been recognised as reference steel for the nuclear costructions under high radiation density for first wall of a fast breeder reactors as well as in other high stressed primary structures such as the divertors, blanklet and vessels. Following to this a EUROFER 97 detailed knowledge of the microstructure evolution after thermo-mechanical processing is required, because the material mechanical properties are interesting also for innovative solar plants, i.e. NEXTOWER project. A detailed knowledge of process optimisation is mandatory because EUROFER 97 steel mechanical properties and microstruture are heavily influenced and improved (and easily affeted) by thermomechanical treatments. In this paper the effect of thermo-mechanical parameters on the grain refinement of EUROFER 97 has been investigated by cold rolling and heat treatment on pilot scale.

Currently, the commercial production of ferromagnetic cores involves staking thin sheets of soft magnetic material, alternating with dielectric material to reduce the eddy current losses. High silicon FeSi steels show excellent soft magnetic properties. Anyway, their workability decreases Si content increases thus imposing a technological limit in the production of thin sheets up to 3.5–4% Si. The additive manufacturing (AM) process based on laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) offers the possibility to redesign the magnetic components, compared to conventional design, allowing to act on the chemical composition of magnetic materials and on the geometry of the components. In the case of FeSi alloys, the additive technology allows to overcome the limit of Si content opening new perspectives for the production of ferromagnetic cores with high magnetic performance. In this work the feasibility study on the production of FeSi magnetic steel components by L-PBF technology is reported. Two variants of FeSi steels, with Si content of 3.0 wt.% and 6.5 wt.%, were considered. The effect of process parameters on the densification of manufactured parts was investigated. The best operating window has been identified for both steel chemical compositions, in terms of laser scan speed and power.

A welded stainless steel tube is a component used in several industrial applications. Its manufacturing process needs to follow specific requirements based on reference standards. This calls for a predictive analysis able to face some critical issues affecting the forming process. In this paper, a model was adopted taking into account the tube geometrical parameters that was able to describe the deformation process and define the best industrial practices. In this paper, the effect of different process parameters and geometric constraints on ferritic stainless steel pipe deformation is studied by finite element method (FEM) simulations. The model sensitivity to the input parameters is reported in terms of stress and tube thinning. The feasibility of the simulated process is assessed through the comparison of Forming Limit Diagrams. The comparison between the calculated and experimental results proved this approach to be a useful tool in order to predict and properly design industrial deformation processes.

In this paper we report about the possibility to process stainless steels by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) systems. Austenitic stainless steels are analysed showing the possibility to successfully process them, targeting different applications. In particular, it is shown that stainless steels can be successfully processed and their mechanical behaviour allow them to be put in service. Porosities inside manufactured components are extremely low and comparable to conventionally processed materials. Mechanical performances are even higher than standard requirements. Micro surface roughness typical of the as-built material can act as crack initiator, reducing the strength in both quasi-static and dynamic conditions.