Investigation of the Effects of Boro-Sintering Process on the Microstructure and Hardness Properties of Raw P/M Parts

Abstract

In this study; high purity iron (Fe) powders were pressed and subjected to Boro-Sintering (B/S) at 950 °C and 1050 °C for 4 and 6 hours in solid medium. The sintering process, which is one of the main steps in Powder Metallurgy (P/M), was carried out simultaneously with the boriding process. By this way the boriding and sintering processes (B/S) were completed in a single step and the possible oxide phases in microstructure were also decreased. After B/S process, hardness measurements were carried out by microvickers (HV0.05) method and hardness profiles and coating qualities were investigated. Samples were subjected to microstructure analyses by optical microscopy (OM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). As a result of the study, it was determined that a homogeneous microstructure could be obtained by applying B/S process to the samples produced by P/M method using high purity Fe powders. It was seen that B/S process can be applied successfully to provide the desired conditions in the microstructure from the obtained hardness profiles. © 2019, Turkish Energy Nuclear and Mining Research Institute. All rights reserved.