Fabrication of functionally graded 316L austenitic and 2205 duplex stainless steels by spark plasma sintering

Abstract

Spark plasma sintering (SPS) is a type of electric discharge sintering technique used to consolidate metallic/ceramic powders. This technique could also be used to join dissimilar materials and build functionally graded materials. In this study, spark plasma sintering was used to fabricate two different stainless steel powders; 316 L austenitic (ASS) and 2205 duplex stainless steels (DSS). The parameters that influence the sintering process such as sintering temperature, heating time and pressure have been investigated. Results show that different sintering processes influenced the sintered relative density, hardness and microstructure of the sintered samples. Also, the structure of the sintered materials was well densified after the SPS process. The relative density increased with the increment of sintering temperature. Microhardness values at the interface were indifferent with no visible cracks or delamination at the interface.