The influence of the sintering conditions on the properties of the stainless steel reinforced with TiB2 ceramics

Purpose: The paper analyzes the influence of the temperature and pressure on the properties and structure of the austenitic AISI 316L stainless steel reinforced with 1% vol.TiB2 ceramics. Design/methodology/approach: The sintered austenitic AISI 316L stainless steel reinforced with 1% vol.TiB2 were obtained using the high temperature-high pressure (HT-HP) method at pressure of 5.0 and 7.5 š 0.2 GPa and temperatures 900°C, 1150°C and 1300°C. The duration of sintering was 60 seconds. Young's modulus measurements were carried out using ultrasonic method. Mechanical properties were determined by Vickers hardness test. For microstructure observation scanning electron microscope JEOL JSM-6460LV was used. Findings: The decrease of the hardness of the sintered austenitic AISI 316L stainless steel with the increasing temperature of sintering was observed. However, the Young's modulus increases with the growth of the temperature of sintering. The results showed that the hardness increased with increasing pressure. The microstructural investigations indicated that the TiB2 ceramics were distributed along grain boundaries. Practical implications: The obtained results show that the temperature and pressure have influence on the mechanical and physical properties of the investigated steel reinforced with 1% vol.TiB2. These results may be used to design new materials i.e. austenitic stainless steel reinforced with TiB2 ceramics. Originality/value: The results from this work can be useful in determining conditions for sintering the austenitic AISI 316L stainless steel reinforced with various volume fractions of TiB2 ceramics.