Sintered Steels Supersolidus Sintering of Boron Doped Stainless Steel Powder Compacts

Supersolidus liquid phase sintering was used to attain a high density in austenitic 316L stainless steel. The effect of boron additions and sintering temperatures on the densification and mechanical properties has been investigated. Higher densification was achieved with compacts with higher boron content. Ultimate tensile strength upwards of 450 MPa was obtained for 316L powders with 0.8 wt. % boron sintered at 1225°C for 30 minutes. The amount of boron and sintering temperature needs to be controlled in order to achieve full densification without distortion and optimal mechanical properties