Influence of Carbon Content on the Formation of a Contact Interparticle Surface during Hot Post-Pressing

Abstract

Introduction. The technology for producing hot-formed powder steel is one of the most energy-intensive in powder metallurgy, which includes a large number of operations. The study of the influence of technological modes on the final properties of the part is an urgent task. Developed by the scientific team under the leadership of Yu. G. Dorofeev at the end of the XX century, the technology of manufacturing hot-formed powder steels is currently one of the main ones in the production of high-density products. However, the use of new materials that improve the mechanical properties of products requires a modern approach to analyzing the quality of interparticle splicing of powder particles. The influence of the following technological factors on the formation of qualitative interparticle splicing was established: the blank density, the granulometric composition of the initial charge, the temperature and holding time of the blank during heating, the ratio of its dimensions, the deformation rate. The study objective is to analyze the effect of a graphite-containing component on the mechanical properties of hot-formed powder alloys due to the formation of high-quality interparticle splicing.Materials and Methods. The work used domestic and foreign powders produced by PAO Severstal and the Swedish company Höganäs with the addition of carbon GC-1 (GOST 4404-78). Hot stamping was carried out on a crank press of the K2232 model with a maximum force of 1600 kN. The heating temperature of the workpieces varied between 800-1200 ºC.Results. As a result of the experiments, the influence of the sintering duration on the mechanical properties of materials was established. The reason for the change in mechanical properties are local inclusions of graphite, which did not have time to homogenize as a result of prolonged sintering. Technological modes of hot stamping for steels have been developed that affect the preservation or destruction of the pre-formed contact interparticle surface.Discussion and Conclusion. The studies have shown that additional hot plastic deformation contributes to the formation of intracrystalline fusion on the entire contact surface. The addition of graphite to the charge improves splicing for alloyed iron powder and practically does not affect the use of alloyed and unalloyed iron powder.