Microstructure and mechanical properties of high-nitrogen 16Cr-2Ni-Mn-Mo-xN stainless steel obtained by powder metallurgy techniques

16Cr-2Ni-Mn-Mo-xN (wt%) stainless steel powders were synthesized by mechanical alloying from elemental metal and chromium nitride (Cr2N) powders. Compaction of resulting powders was carried out using spark plasma sintering technology. The X-Ray diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy analysis showed that chemical homogeneity improves with increasing alloying time and decreasing nitrides powder content. Analysis of sintering samples showed the formation of alpha and gamma-phase solid solution with nitrogen-containing samples containing undissolved nitrogen inclusions. The results of high-temperature tensile tests showed an increase of tensile stress for the sample containing 50% Cr2N. Furthermore, the microhardness was increased with an increase in the amount of Cr2N. (c) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Materials Science: Composites, Alloys and Materials Chemistry.