Effect of heating mode and Y₂O₃ addition on electrochemical response on austenitic and ferritic stainless steels

Abstract

The present study compares the effect of Y₂O₃ addition and heating mode on the electrochemical response on austenitic (316L) and ferritic (434L) stainless steel during solid state sintering. Up to 12 vol.-%Y₂O₃ was added to 316L and 434L stainless steel. The compacts were sintered at 1350°C for 60 min. The sintered samples were characterised for their density and hardness. The effect of heating mode and Y₂O₃ addition on the microstructural evolution and electrochemical (corrosion) response for the microwave sintered samples are compared with conventionally sintered samples. The density of stainless steel samples sintered through the microwave sintering was higher than that of conventional sintering.

Keywords:

• Powder metallurgy
• Sintering
• Hardness
• Electrochemical techniques

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Ametek Specialty Metals Products, USA for supplying the powder used for this investigation. The financial support from the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), New Delhi for this study is gratefully acknowledged.