Manufacturing methods of nanostructured stainless-steel composites (NSSC) have not yet been developed with industrial applicability. To overcome this shortage, the possibility of incorporating nanoparticles by electric arc welding was investigated, using a tubular rod filled with nanostructured flux composed of multi-walled carbon nanotubes
(MWCNT) and 304L stainless steel particles. This flux was manufactured by two different methods: mechanical alloying (MA) and chemical treatment (CT) with hydrogen peroxide. The second showed more promising results using control of kinetic parameters of time and
temperature, obtaining a lower degree of amorphous carbon, impurities, and crystalline defects, increasing their crystallinity and interaction of the nanotubes with the metallic matrix. MWCNT incorporation decreased the grain size by 64% when compared to the stainless-steel coating, possessing an austenitic matrix with carbide precipitation in the interdendritic spaces and grain boundaries. The microhardness increased 45% and the rate of erosion by vibratory cavitation decreased 64%, in relation to the AISI 304L coating. Additionally, XRD analyses showed a reduction of the γ{200} phase and a growth of γ{111} after the cavitation process. The method of manufacture of the nanocomposites proved to be
economically viable and with the possibility of immediate application on a large scale.
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