Process for the manufacture of an optimised steel material

A process for manufacturing a steel material, the process comprising:

• consolidating a steel powder, thereby forming the steel material;
• or
• coating a support with the steel powder, thereby producing the support coated with a coating comprising the steel material,
• wherein the steel powder comprises particles comprising a matrix and precipitates incorporated into the matrix, the precipitates being distributed in the matrix with an average density in a range of from 2 to 100 precipitates/μm3,
• wherein (i) the matrix of the steel powder has a 316L steel composition according to ASTM A666 standard and comprises, as a weight percentage:
• 16.0 to 18.0% of chromium;
• 10.0 to 14.0% of nickel;
• 0.001 to 0.030% of carbon;
• 0.001 to 0.050% of oxygen;
• 0 to 2.0% of manganese;
• 2.0 to 3.0% of molybdenum;
• 0 to 0.75% of silicon;
• 0.10% or less of nitrogen;
• 0.045% or less of phosphorus;
• 0.030% or less of sulfur;
• 0 to 0.0300% of aluminum;
• 0 to 0.003% of vanadium;
• and
• iron,
• wherein (ii) the precipitates comprise a metallic element M, a metallic element M′, and/or a metallic element M″,
• wherein each of the metallic elements M, M′, and M″, if present, is selected from the group consisting of yttrium, titanium, iron, chromium, tungsten, silicon, zirconium, thorium, magnesium, manganese, aluminum, hafnium, molybdenum, and a mixture thereof, and
• wherein the matrix of the steel material microstructure consists of equiaxed grains having an average grain size in a range of from 10 μm to 50 μm at a largest dimension Dmax and a smallest dimension Dmin, and
• wherein the equiaxed grains have a Dmax/Dmin ratio of the largest dimension Dmax to the smallest dimension Dmin of a grain in a range of from 1 to 2.