Effect of Sintering Time for Aluminum / Stainless Steel Composite on Mechanical Properties

Abstract

The effect of sintering time on mechanical properties of two powder composition containing 25 wt% and 12.5 wt% 316L Austenitic Stainless Steel and the balance is Aluminum has been studied, at two sintering temperatures 500 and 530 Co for sintering time (30,60,90,120,180) minutes. Results of compression tests showed that compression strength and yield strength increase with sintering time, reaches a maximum value and then decreases gradually, for both compositions and sintering temperatures used. Hardness showed a similar relation with sintering time for both compositions and sintering temperatures, microstructure of the sintered parts showed a two phase structure, one phase was identified using XRD technique as FeAl3 , the other phase is Al matrix.