Experimental characterization of YAG and SiC added P/M ferritic (434L) stainless steel sintered in hydrogen (H2) atmosphere

The experimental investigation explores the sintering behavior of ferritic (434L) stainless steel in reducing (H2) atmosphere. Yttria alumina garnet (YAG) and silicon carbide (SiC) were added up to 10 wt.% and 1 wt.% respectively in ferritic (434L) stainless steel. Solid-state and supersolidus liquid-phase sintering (SLPS) has been carried out at 1100 °C and 1300 °C respectively. The effect on the microstructural evolution of sintering and YAG, SiC addition in supersolidus liquid phase sintered samples, is compared with that obtained through solid-state sintering. The density and mechanical properties such as hardness, ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation have been observed. Through the supersolidus route, the density was higher than that of solid-state-sintered samples. L051 samples showed much higher hardness, ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and elongation compared to the L000, L031 and L101 stainless steel in both supersolidus and solid-state conditions.