Effect of warm compaction and microwave sintering on the densification, tribological and electrochemical properties of TiC/316L composites

Abstract

In this study, TiC/316L stainless steel composites were fabricated by combining warm compaction and microwave sintering (WMS). X-ray diffraction analysis was used to identify the phases in the material. Microstructure characteristics of composites were performed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Density, microhardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance were evaluated at room temperature. Results revealed that TiC/316L composites with higher relative density and finer properties can be obtained by WMS, compared with conventional powder metallurgy process. For all the tested species, the hardness of the composites prepared by WMS is higher than that of the composites prepared by conventional powder metallurgy (P/M). Wear tests showed that the WMS species exhibited significantly good wear resistance. Furthermore, it is found that the composites prepared by WMS were not only has high mechanical properties but also better corrosion resistance compared with the conventional P/M species.

Keywords

• powder metallurgy
• properties
• stainless steel
• titanium carbide