Development of a 430 ferritic stainless steel strengthened with alumina and tungsten particles by powder metallurgy

This work aims to study the milling parameters for the preparation of a metal matrix composite material, using an AISI 430 ferritic stainless steel as matrix, reinforced with alumina (AC) and tungsten (AM) particles, and its effect on the structural and thermal properties. The structural characterization of the powders was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), the morphology and particle size were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) was carried out at 1100 °C. The results showed that the smallest crystallite sizes were reached at a speed of 500 rpm for 4 h, 22.6 and 21.65 nm for the AC and AM systems, respectively. At these milling conditions, the particle sizes of the systems were 10 (AC) and 11 µm (AM). Thermal analysis revealed that the optimum temperature for performing the sintering heat treatment on all systems was 1000 °C.

Development of a 430 ferritic stainless steel strengthened with alumina and tungsten particles by powder metallurgy.