EFFECT OF CARBON CONTENT AND SINTERING TEMPERATURE ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF IRON- BASED PM PARTS PRODUCED BY WARM COMPACTION

The effect of carbon content varying from 0.15 to 0.45% and sintering temperature of 1120°C and 1250°C in Astaloy CrM powder was studied. It was found that both green density and green strength increase with reduced carbon. The results also showed that warm compaction at 135°C increases green density by around 0.18 g·cm -3 and green strength by 15 MPa when compared to cold compacted samples. Increasing carbon content and sintering temperature increase tensile strength and impact strength. Compared to samples compacted at room temperature, warm compacted samples showed much smaller increase in mechanical properties. Impact resistance increased by up to 100% with increased carbon content and sintering at 1250°C.