The Fe-Cr-Al alloy system shows an excellent heat resistance because of the formation of an Al2O3 film on the metal surface in an oxidizing atmosphere at high temperatures up to 1400oC. The Fecralloy needs an additive that can act as a binder because of its bad compactability. In this study, the green compacts of STS434L and Al powder added to Fecralloy are oxidized at 950oC for up to 210 h. Fecralloy and Al is mixed by two types of ball milling. One is vented to air and the other was performed in a sealed jar. In the case of Al addition, there are no significant changes in the electrical resistance. Before the oxidation test, Al oxides are present in the Fecralloy surface, as determined from the energy dispersive spectroscopy results. The addition of Al improves the compactability because of an increased density, and the addition of STS434L increases the electrical resistivity by forming a composite oxide.
A lean alloy is defined as a low alloy steel with a minimum amount of the alloying element that maintains the characteristics of the sintered alloy. It is well known that the addition of elements such as Cr, P, Si, or Mn improves the mechanical characteristics of the alloy, but decreases the sinterability. The mother alloy is used to avoid an oxidation reaction with the alloying elements of Cr, P, Si or Mn. The purpose of this study is to determine the change in the mechanical properties of Fe-P-Mo and Fe-P-Mn alloys as a result of the addition of Si. In this article, the Fe-P-Mo and Fe-P-Mn alloys to which Si is added are compacted at 7.0 g/cm3 and then sintered in H2-N2 at 1120℃. The P around the macropores and large grains reduces due to the formation of SiO2 as the Si content increases. This is caused by the increase in strength owing to reducing intergranular fracture by suppressing the reaction with oxygen.
In order to improve the high-temperature oxidation stability, sintered 434L stainless steel is studied, focusing on the effect of the addition of metallic oxides to form stable oxide films on the inner particle surface. The green compacts of Fecralloy powder or amorphous silica are added on STS434L and oxidized at 950oC up to 210 h. The weight change ratio of 434L with amorphous silica is higher than that of 434L mixed with Fecralloy, and the weight increase follows a parabolic law, which implies that the oxide film grows according to oxide diffusion through the densely formed oxide film. In the case of 434L mixed with Fecralloy, the elements in the matrix diffuse through the grain boundaries and form Al2O3 and Fe-Cr oxides. Stable high temperature corrosion resistance and electrical resistivity are obtained for STS434L mixed with Fecralloy.