Nickel and Copper-Free Sintered Structural Steels Containing Mn, Cr, Si, and Mo Developed for High Performance Applications

In an attempt to study the sinterability of potential high-strength nickel-free sintered structural steels containing Mn, Cr, Si and Mo compacts were prepared based on sponge and water atomised iron powders and on Astaloy prealloyed powders. To these were admixed ferromanganese, ferroslicon, and graphite. The samples were sintered at temperatures 1120 and 1250°C in laboratory tube furnaces in hydrogen, hydrogen-nitrogen atmospheres with dew points better than –60°C or in nitrogen in a semiclosed container in a local microatmosphere. After sintering the samples were slowly cooled or sinterhardened. Generally resultant microstructures were inhomogeneous, consisted of pearlite/ bainite/martensite, but were characterised by an absence of oxide networks. Sintering studies performed over a range of compositions have shown that superior strength, ranging beyond 900 MPa, along with reasonable tensile elongation, can be achieved with these new steels