Effect of heating mode on sintering of ferrous compacts through powder metallurgy route

Microwave heating is recognised for its various advantages, such as time and energy saving, very rapid heating rates, considerably reduced processing cycle time and temperature, fine microstructures and improved properties. The present paper focuses on preliminary work carried out with the use of microwave radiation applied to sintering of ferrous compacts. The ferrous alloy compacts were sintered in a multimode microwave furnace of 2·45 GHz and 6 kW nominal power at 1120°C for 60 min in forming gas. Results of densification, mechanical properties and microstructural evaluation of the microwave sintered samples are reported and compared with conventionally sintered ones. In general, it is observed that the microwave radiation generally enhances the properties of the sintered material when compared with conventionally sintered material.