aDepartment of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, UP 208016, India
bMaterials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Abstract:
This study compares the effect of heating mode on the densification, microstructure, strength and hardness of austenitic and ferritic stainless steel. The compacts were sintered in a radiatively heated (conventional) and a 2.45 GHz microwave furnace. Both 316L and 434L compacts couple with microwaves and heat up to the sintering temperature rapidly (45 °C/min). The overall processing time was reduced by about 90% through microwave sintering. While the microwave sintered compacts exhibit a finer microstructure, there is no corresponding improvement in densification and mechanical properties. This has been correlated with elongated and irregular pore structure.