Sintering and characterization of YAG dispersed ferritic stainless steels

The present study investigates the effect of yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) addition on the densification, mechanical, tribological and corrosion behaviour of ferritic (434L) stainless steels. The composites were sintered at both solid-state (1200 °C) and supersolidus (1400 °C) sintering conditions. Supersolidus sintering results in superior densification, hardness and corrosion resistance of both straight 434L stainless steel as well as YAG reinforced 434L stainless steels. The addition of YAG to 434L stainless steels at supersolidus sintered conditions improves the strength and wear resistance of 434L stainless steels without significantly degrading the corrosion performance.