Microwave sintering of 316L stainless steel: Influence of sintering temperature and time

This study deals about the influence of sintering temperature and holding time on microwave sintered PM stainless steel 316L microstructure, hardness and self-limiting characteristics. The samples exhibited increasing theoretical density upon increase in sintering temperature and superior density of 89.77% theoretical achieved at 1300 °C of 60 min holding time. Grain size distribution of microwave sintered SS316L at three different sintering temperatures (1200 °C, 1250 °C and 1300 °C) was compared, almost 68% to 75% uniformity in grain size was noticed and the largest grain (115 µm) was observed at 1300 °C with 60 min holding time. Self-limiting characteristics of microwave absorption analysed by time-temperature graph at different sintering temperatures. The effect of soaking time influenced the grain size, i.e., higher the soaking time larger the grain size. After maximum microwave absorption in core region, from outer surface region SiC susceptor play a role in contributing heat (20 °C/min) at the temperature beyond 1130 °C to achieve maximum sintering temperature.