Micromechanical characterization of bulk composite prepared by sintering of mechanically alloyed aluminum-316 stainless steel (35 wt%) powder blend

Present study concerns deformation behavior of the ball milled and consolidated powder blend comprising 316 stainless steel and elemental Al (65 wt%), studied by the micro- and nano-indentation techniques. With an aim to examine the strain hardening behavior of the consolidated samples, nano-indentation measurements have been carried out by applying variable load at multiple spots and cyclic load at the single spot. Similar experiments have been carried out for the bulk 316-stainless steel plate to compare the results with those obtained from the consolidated samples. The consolidated samples exhibited much higher hardness values than the plate along with high elastic recovery and appreciable work hardening.