Production of 316L Stainless Steel Used In Biomedical Applications By Powder Metallurgy

Stainless steels (SS) are commonly used in biomedical materials due to their excellent corrosion resistance and biocompatibility properties. Stainless steels are generally produced by conventional casting technologies. In the current study, AISI 316L as stainless steel material was fabricated by a powder metallurgical route. 316L powders were sintered at two different temperatures (950 and 1050 oC) for 30 minutes under 50 MPa pressure. All samples were processed under a vacuum environment. Firstly, the density of the produced compacts were measured, later on they prepared metallographically and then their mechanical characterization were carried out. Microstructural characterization of the samples were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Hardness and dry sliding wear tests were applied to the samples to determine their mechanical properties. The test results were analyzed for comparison with the AISI 316L stainless steel material produced by conventional casting method.