Effect of the Dispersion of Nanosized Carbides (NbC - TaC) in the Sintered Microstructure of the Stainless Steel 316L

Abstract

Sintered stainless steel has a wide range of applications mainly in the automotive industry. Properties such as wear resistance, density and hardness can be improved by addition of nanosized particles of refractory carbides. The present study compares the behavior of the sintering and hardness of stainless steel samples reinforced with NbC or TaC (particles size less than 20 nm) synthesized at UFRN. The main aim of this work was to identify the effect of the particle size and dispersion of different refractory carbides in the hardness and sintered microstructure. The samples were sintered in a vacuum furnace. The heating rate, sintering temperature and times were 20°C/min, 1290°C and 30, 60 min respectively. We have been able to produce compacts with a relative density among 95.0%. The hardness values obtained were 140 HV for the reinforced sample and 76 HV for the sample without reinforcement.

Effect of the Additives of Nanosized Nb and Ta Carbides on Microstructure and Properties of Sintered Stainless Steel

“…Recently a possibility to produce very homogeneous compacts with relative density among 95% without exaggerated grain growth was reported. These results were attributed to the incorporation of nanosized carbides' particles into stainless steel matrixes (Gomes et al, 2007).…”

Study on the Dissolution and Precipitation Behavior of Self-Designed (NbTi)C Nanoparticles Addition in 1045 Steel

“…Therefore, the particles used as modifiers generally have a high thermal stability, high melting point, high elastic modulus, and are nano-sized. For this reason, TiC, NbC, TiCN, and other nanoparticles are often used as agents to be added to carbon steels [7][8][9][10]. The results of related research show that nanoparticles can become effective nucleation cores, resulting in significant grain refinement and crystal morphology alteration, thereby obtaining modified steel with excellent mechanical properties [10].…”

Recycling of Steel AISI 52100 Gotten by the Route of Powder Metallurgy

“…Sintering is a non-equilibrium thermodynamic process in which a system of particles comes to assume a solid structure coherent. Through diffusion at the atomic level where atoms of particles are into contact diffuse with each other decreasing the surface area and consequently the volume [16]. The sintering temperature used is about 0.8 of the melting temperature of the material.…”