Effect of heating mode and Y2O3addition on electrochemical response on austenitic and ferritic stainless steels

The present study compares the effect of Y2O3 addition and heating mode on the electrochemical response on austenitic (316L) and ferritic (434L) stainless steel during solid state sintering. Up to 12 vol.-%Y2O3 was added to 316L and 434L stainless steel. The compacts were sintered at 1350°C for 60 min. The sintered samples were characterised for their density and hardness. The effect of heating mode and Y2O3 addition on the microstructural evolution and electrochemical (corrosion) response for the microwave sintered samples are compared with conventionally sintered samples. The density of stainless steel samples sintered through the microwave sintering was higher than that of conventional sintering.