Abstract
Powder Metallurgy (PM) is technology well known for mass production of parts at low cost but usually with worse mechanical properties than same parts obtained by alternative routes. But using this technology, high performance materials can be obtained, depending of the processing route and the type and amount of porosity. In this paper, a brief review of the capabilities of powder technology is made with the objective of attaining the highest level of mechanical and physical properties. For this purpose, different strategies over the processing can be chosen: to act over the density/porosity level and properties of the pores, to act over strengthening mechanisms apart from the density of the material (the alloying system, the microstructure, the grain size,..), to improve the sintering activity by different routes and to use techniques that avoid the grain growth during sintering.
Highlights
Powder Metallurgy (PM) is a well-known technology to produce parts of small size and complex shapes at low cost
If it is compared the properties of these materials against a wrought material we have to consider the microstructural features of each family of materials (PM against wrought)
When PM is used as a mass production technique, and a certain level of porosity is assumed in the resulting part, the final properties of the material will be different than the equivalent material obtained through any technology that allows the part to be formed with the theoretical density of the materials
Summary
The properties of metals and alloys can be improved by acting on the alloying system. The clearest example is the evolution of PM low alloyed steels since their introduction in the market in the 1930s. In the evolution of this family of steels, the improvements in properties have been attributed to an increase in the density (from values near to 6.5 g cm−3 to 7.3 g cm−3). We have followed the evolution of materials with poor mechanical properties and little uniformity (in the sense of reproducibility) to materials that today are produced with high reliability and performance from when low alloyed sintered steels were introduced to the market for structural parts. High strength values can be obtained with small amounts of alloying elements by controlling the type of powders used as raw materials (Oro et al, 2012)
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