2004/10/19 Pressing & Sintering

Diffusion Alloyed Powders with High Fatigue Performance in the as-Sintered State

PM2004, in Vienna, Austria  Authors: Luigi Alzati, Anders Bergmark. The past decades have shown an increased use of P/M components in passenger cars. However, in order to continue this increase the mechanical and fatigue performance must be further improved. Furthermore, it is important that not only the average level of the critical properties improves, but also their consistency and robustness. The diffusion bonded iron powders exhibit superior properties in several areas, and the robustness to avoid segregation is very high. The present paper describes detailed aspects of microstructure in relation to the fatigue performance for some diffusion-alloyed powders sintered at 1120 °C and cooled at a cooling rate of 0.8°C/sec. Fractographic observations analyse difference in fatigue crack path among the materials.