Supersolidus Sintering of Cr Prealloyed Steels by Inductive Heating

For powder metallurgy products, high density is an essential requirements to obtain maximum mechanical properties. Here, supersolidus liquid phase sintering (SSPLS) is an effective means to attain high sintered density, as known from PM high speed steels. In the present work it is shown that this technique can also be applied to Cr prealloyed low alloy steel grades. Supersolidus sintering through indirect heating requires precise control of temperature and also the atmosphere, to avoid uncontrolled changes of the carbon level. Higher C contents are beneficial here since they enable lower temperatures and result in wider temperature windows for sintering. The temperatures necessary for SSLPS at moderate C levels are fairly high for standard sintering furnaces, therefore induction sintering was studied in this work. It showed that, as was to be expected, also here precise temperature control is required, but for any carbon level tested a sintering temperature could be identified that yielded high sintered density and good shape retention. The high density attained, in combination with the very high temperatures, results in pronounced grain growth, this process no more being inhibited by the presence of pores, which is undesirable but can however be remedied by suitable heat treatment.