Effect of MnS powder additions and vibratory ball peening on corrosion resistance of sintered 316LSC stainless steels

Abstract

As sintered parts are to be machined after sintering, the MnS powder is usually added to improve the machinability. Vibratory ball peening is used for deburring and improving the surface finish of sintered components in local PM industries. The effect of the MnS powder content and vibratory ball peening on the corrosion resistance of the sintered 316LSC alloys was investigated. Experimental results show that the addition of MnS powder slightly decreases the sintered density. The weight loss rate of the sintered specimens immersed in the 10%FeCl3 corrosion test solution increases slightly with increas- ing MnS content, but decreases with increasing sintering temperature. Vibratory ball peening effec- tively decreases the weight loss rate of the sintered stainless steels. The chromium atoms actively migrate across the phase boundary and diffuse into the MnS particles during sintering. This intensive chromium diffusion affects the corrosion performance of the sintered alloys with MnS added. The surface morphology of the as sintered and the ball peened specimens before and after the corrosion test were studied with a SEM.