Abstract

The compacts of pure and phosphorus-coated iron powder with 0~0.8%C were sintered at 1100°C for 40 min. in cracked ammonia gas atmosphere. The tensile and impact strengths were measured and the relationship of the results with carbon content, phosphorus, quenching and tempering was investigated. The results obtained can be summarized as follows : (1) The tensile strength of sintered compacts increased slowly with carbon content. Increase in tensile strength by heat treatment was evident especially in the low carbon specimen. The specimen with phosphorus showed higher strength compared to pure iron compacts value. (2) No inflection point of elasticplastic deformation on stress-strain curve was observed in sintered steel. The elastic modulus of sintered steel had the same tendency as tensile strength. But the elongation showed the opposite tendency. (3) The impact absorption energy of sintered steel without addition of phosphorus decreased successively with carbon content and by quenching and tempering. On the contrary, addition of phosphorus resulted in an increase of the impact absorption energy. Quenching and tempering did not affect the impact energy especially in high carbon content. (4) The main fracture source was pore in specimen and the propagation of crack occured mostly along the grain boundaries. But the intragranular fracture was also observed in high carbon, quenched and tempered specimen, and especially in the specimen with phosphorus.