Microstructure and wear behavior of a porous nanocrystalline nickel-free austenitic stainless steel developed by powder metallurgy

This paper investigates the microstructure and dry sliding wear characteristics of a porous Cr–Mn–N austenitic stainless steel prepared by powder metallurgy. The densification of the mechanically alloyed 18Cr–8Mn–0.9N stainless steel powder is performed by sintering at 1100 °C for 20 h and subsequently water-quenching. This procedure gives rise to the development of a nanostructured austenitic stainless steel with a relative density of 85%. The porous biocompatible stainless steel exhibits an outstanding wear resistance compared with AISI 316L stainless steel samples. This is attributed to its considerable intrinsic hardness and its specific configuration of pores.