Abstract

The effects of Mn and Co additions up to 0.6 and 2.0 wt% respectively and the amount of cold-rolled reduction on the thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) of powder rolled Fe-Ni Invar strips were investigated. The compacted strips were sintered, homogenized and cold-rolled to the final thickness of 0.8 mm, 0.65 mm and 0.4 mm. All the strips reached full density except the case of 0.8 mm sample which has a very few porosities. The interstitials which are well known to increase TEC were minimized to the level of 10 rpm C,5 and N,0 by the processing. TEC was found to decrease by increasing the cold reduction. The Mn content had little effect on the TEC. But in Fe-Ni-Co system, TEC decreased with Co content up to 0.4 wt% and then increased, yielding the minimum value of 0.2 times 10-6/°C at 0.4 wt% Co. This value is much lower than that of commercial Invar product. Such effect of Co is considered to be related with the maxiumum spontaneous- magnetostriction effect.