Sintered austenitic-ferritic chromium-nickel steel alloy

A process comprising blending powdered austenitic chromium-nickel stainless steel of the AISI 300 series with powdered ferrite stabilizer, sintering the resulting blend in loose or compacted form in a reducing atmosphere, and cooling the resulting sintered article, the amount of said ferrite stabilizer in said blend and conditions of sintering being sufficient to form a two-phase austenitic ferritic alloy which in its "as sintered" state has increased strength and/or density.

A process for producing an unwrought, sintered chromium-nickel stainless steel, which comprises blending powdered austenitic chromium-nickel stainless steel of the AISI 300 series with 1 to 11 weight percent of powdered ferrite stabilizer having Fisher Numbers of 0.5 to 10 microns and selected from the group consisting of molybdenum, titanium, vanadium, tungsten, chromium, zirconium, silicon, tantalum, and mixtures thereof, shaping the resulting blend to produce a green shaped article, sintering said green shaped article in a reducing atmosphere at 1250 to 1350.degree.C. for a sufficient time to produce a two-phase structure comprising 10 to 60 volume percent ferrite and 90 to 40 volume percent austenite, and cooling the resulting article to produce a product having increased strength and density.