Microstructure and dry sliding wear performance of oxide dispersion strengthened austenitic stainless steel

Abstract: The oxide dispersion strengthening (ODS) material are candidates for structural materials in nuclear reactors due to high density of small oxide particles dispersed in the matrix. In this study, the microstructure and wear performance of ZrO₂ stabilized with Y₂O₃ reinforced AISI 316L austenitic stainless steels was investigated. The ODS-316L steel powders were sintered using spark plasma sintering technique. The surface structure and composition of the sintered samples were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The experimental results were compared with the untreated 316L material. Tribological tests were performed on a ball-on-disc wear tester under dry condition at different applied loads from 5 to 35 N. The sliding distance was 2 mm for 1000 s. A tungsten carbide (WC) ball was used as a counterface material. Results showed that addition of ZrO₂ significantly improved the microhardness values while the presence of ZrO2 phase in the 316L matrix reduces the friction coefficient and increased resistance to sliding wear