Harmonic structure materials are materials with a core–shell structure having a shell with a small grain size and a core with a relatively large grain size. They are in the spotlight because their mechanical properties reportedly feature strength similar to that of a sintered powder with a fine grain size and elongation similar to that of a sintered powder with a coarse grain size at the same time. In this study, the tensile properties, microstructure, and stretchflangeability of harmonic structure SUS304L made using powder metallurgy are investigated to check its suitability for automotive applications. The harmonic powders are made by mechanical milling and sintered using a spark plasma sintering method at 1173 K and a pressure of 50 MPa in a cylindrical die. The sintered powders of SUS304L having harmonic structure (harmonic SUS304L) exhibit excellent tensile properties compared with sintered powders of SUS304L having homogeneous microstructure. In addition, the harmonic SUS304L has excellent stretch-flangeability compared with commercial advanced high-strength steels (AHSSs) at a similar strength grade. Thus, the harmonic SUS304L is more suitable for automotive applications than conventional AHSSs because it exhibits both excellent tensile properties and stretch-flangeability.

In this study, effect of core-shell structure on compaction behavior of harmonic powder is investigated. Harmonic powders are made by electroless plating method on Fe powders. Softer Cu shell encloses harder Fe core, and the average size of Fe core and thickness of Cu shell are 34.3 μm and 3.2 μm, respectively. The powder compaction procedure is processed with pressure of 600 MPa in a cylindrical die. Due to the low strength of Cu shell regions, the harmonic powders show better densification behavior compared with pure Fe powders. Finite element method (FEM) is performed to understand the roll of core-shell structure. Based on stress and strain distributions of FEM results, it is concluded that the early stage of powder compaction of harmonic powders mainly occurs at the shell region. FEM results also well predict porosity of compacted materials.