Sintering behavior of 316L stainless steel micro-nanopowder compact fabricated by powder injection molding

The densification and grain growth behavior of powder injection molded 316L stainless steel micro-nanopowder were investigated in terms of microstructural development. The sintered density of the micro-nanopowder sample increased remarkably in the temperature range of 1000 to 1100 degrees C due to the sintering effect of nanopowders which increased the number of grain boundaries acting as high material transport path. A near full density of 98% TD was obtained after sintering at 1100 degrees C for 5 h with the average grain size less than 10 pm, indicating that there was no drastic grain growth. The presence of nanopowders in micro-nanopowder played decisive role in the entire sintering process by enhancing densification but suppressing grain growth. These effects open up the possibility of using micro-nanopowder feedstock to control the sintering behavior of powder injection molding products with full density and fine microstructure. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.We would like to acknowledge the financial support from the R&D Convergence Program of MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning) and ISTK (Korea Research Council for Industrial Science and Technology) of Republic of Korea (Grant B551179-12-02-00). This research was also supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning, (Grant 2013R1A1A2008874)