Microwave Sintering of 316L Stainless Steel Fiber Felt

Sintered stainless steel fiber felt (SSSFF) is a kind of porous material promising for functional and structural applications such as energy absorption and solid/gas filtration. In this work microwave heating was used for sintering of 316L stainless steel fiber felt and the effect of microwave heating on the sintering profile, microstructure and mechanical performance of the sintered stainless steel fiber felt was investigated by μ-CT, SEM and so on. The results show that in contrast with conventional sintering method, microwave heating can sinter stainless steel fiber felt at lower temperature in a shorter time, and the higher mechanical performance of SSSFF can be achieved. The microwave field induced arcing between metal fibers may accelerate the sintering process.