AISI 310 Stainless Steel Formed by Gelcasting: An Alternative Manufacturing Method

This work evaluates the microstructure and the yield strength under compression at room temperature and at 800°C of specimens prepared with AISI 310 stainless steel powder (D50 = 10 μm), manufactured by gelcasting. Parts were vacuum sintered in a single batch at 1280°C. At room temperature, specimens presented average yield strength of 270 MPa, and at 800°C, 105 MPa. Microstructure analysis involved the measurement of grain size along the vertical axis of cylindrical specimens, with special attention to the effect of particles settling, and was conducted using scanning electron and optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Settling effect was assessed considering the position where the specimen was taken and was negligible: both density and yield strength did not vary significantly along the vertical axis.