{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T22:19:13Z","timestamp":1773094753153,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,18]],"date-time":"2021-12-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1639785600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"program P2020|COMPETE, Projetos em Copromo\u00e7\u00e3o","award":["project POCI-01-0247-FEDER-033417"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["project POCI-01-0247-FEDER-033417"]}]},{"name":"program P2020|Norte2020, Programas doutorais","award":["NORTE-08-5369-FSE-000051"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NORTE-08-5369-FSE-000051"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In this work, austenitic stainless steel specimens were locally reinforced with WC particles. The reinforcements were fabricated via an ex situ technique based on powder technology. Mixtures of WC, Fe, and M0101 binder were cold-pressed to obtain powder compacts. After debinding and sintering, the porous WC\u2013Fe inserts were fixed in a mold cavity, where they reacted with liquid metal. Microstructural analysis was conducted for characterization of the phases constituting the produced reinforcement zone and the bonding interface. The results revealed that the reinforcement is a graded material with compositional and microstructural gradients throughout its thickness. The zone nearest to the surface has a ferrous matrix with homogeneously distributed WC particles and (Fe,W,Cr)6C and (Fe,W,Cr)3C carbides, formed from the liquid metal reaction with the insert. This precipitation leads to austenite destabilization, which transforms into martensite during cooling. A vast dissolution of the WC particles occurred in the inner zones, resulting in more intense carbides formation. Cr-rich carbides ((Fe,Cr,W)7C3, and (Fe,Cr,W)23C6) formed in the interdendritic regions of austenite; this zone is characterized by coarse dendrites of austenite and a multi-phase interdendritic network composed of carbides. An interface free of discontinuities and porosities indicates good bonding of the reinforcement zone to stainless steel.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma14247855","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,19]],"date-time":"2021-12-19T20:37:27Z","timestamp":1639946247000},"page":"7855","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Production and Characterization of Austenitic Stainless Steel Cast Parts Reinforced with WC Particles Fabricated by Ex Situ Technique"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8615-7612","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aida B.","family":"Moreira","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, University of Porto, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"LAETA\/INEGI\u2014Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7698-5465","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura M. M.","family":"Ribeiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, University of Porto, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"LAETA\/INEGI\u2014Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Pedro","family":"Lacerda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"FERESPE, Fundi\u00e7\u00e3o de Ferro e A\u00e7o Lda., R. Basileia, 4760-485 Vila Nova de Famalic\u00e3o, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Ana M. P.","family":"Pinto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CMEMS\u2014Center for MicroElectroMechanics Systems, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3667-0562","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manuel F.","family":"Vieira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, University of Porto, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"LAETA\/INEGI\u2014Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Davis, J.R. (1994). ASM Specialty Handbook: Stainless Steels, ASM International."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"McGuire, M.F. (2008). Austenitic Stainless Steels. 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