Influence of Sintering under Nitrogen Atmosphere on Microstructures of Powder Metallurgy Duplex Stainless Steels

Duplex stainless steels (SS) obtained through powder metallurgy (PM) from austenitic AISI 316L and ferritic AISI 430L powders were mixed in different amounts to obtain a biphasic structure with an austenite/ferrite ratio of 50/50, 65/35, and 85/15. Prepared powders were compacted at 750 MPa and sintered in N2-H2 (95 pct–5 pct) at 1250 °C for 1 hour. Some samples sintered in vacuum were taken as references. Optical metallography, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive analysis of X-rays were used for microstructural characterization. Powder metallurgy base materials, AISI 430L and 316L, showed a single lamellar constituent after sintering in nitrogen. A mixed constituent was identified in PM duplex SS sintered in nitrogen and in vacuum. However, coarse and fine lamellar constituents were only present in PM duplex SS sintered in nitrogen. The effects of annealing solution heat treatment (1150 °C) on microstructures were evaluated. Homogeneous structures were obtained for the PM base materials, while for PM duplex SS, annealing dissolved lamellar constituents but mixed constituent were still present.