Influence of silicon addition on the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of low-alloy steel

Abstract

The addition of silicon to low-alloy steel allows to modify the materials’ microstructure and thus to improve their corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. The influence of adding different amounts of silicon on the properties (density, transverse rupture strength, microhardness and corrosion resistance) and microstructure of low-alloy steel was investigated. Samples were prepared via the mechanical alloying process, which is the most useful method to homogeneously introduce silicon to low-alloy steel. Sintering was performed by using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. After the SPS process, half of each of the obtained samples was heat-treated in a vacuum furnace. The results show that high-density materials were achieved, and a homogeneous and fine microstructure was obtained. The investigated compositions containing 1 wt% of silicon had better corrosion resistance than samples with 3 wt% of silicon addition. Furthermore, corrosion resistance as well as the mechanical and plastic properties of the samples with 1 wt% of silicon can be further improved by applying heat treatment.