A CCT diagram for Cr-Mo prealloyed sintered steels suitable for sinter hardening was established by combining dilatometry data, microstructural studies and microhardness measurements of the material. CCT diagrams deepen the understanding of material properties after sinter hardening and support the design of materials on an industrial scale by providing information about required cooling rates for successful sinter hardening of these materials.

The removal of oxygen during sintering by carbothermic reduction was studied for steel compacts Fe-Cr-Mo-C and Fe-Mo-C prepared from prealloyed powders. The compacts were prepared by pressing at 600 and 1000 MPa and sintering at 1100 and 1300°C in vacuum. It showed that for the Cr-Mo steel, deoxidation strongly depends on the sintering temperature, in contrast to the plain Mo steel; at 1300°C very low oxygen levels were measured with the standard density compact while at high density still significant oxygen is contained. This indicates inhibition of final deoxidation by pore closure, but apparently without adverse effect on the mechanical properties.

In the present work, the sintering behavior of high strength Al-5.6Zn-2.5Mg-1.6Cu (in wt.%) alloy compacts prepared from elemental powders was investigated. Microstructural evaluation was accompanied by XRD and DSC methods in order to determine the temperature and chemical composition of the liquid phases formed during sintering. It was found that three transient liquid phases are formed at 420, 439 and 450 . Microstructural study revealed the progressive formation of sintered contacts due to the presence of the liquid phases, although the green compact expands as a result of the melt penetration along the grain boundaries. While Zn melts at , the intermetallic phases formed between Al and Mg were found to be responsible for the formation of liquid phase and the dimensional change at higher temperatures.

For attaining optimum fatigue resistance of PM steels, high density levels are necessary. In this work, sintered steels Fe-1.5%Mo-0.6%C and Fe-1.5%Cr-0.2%Mo-0.6%C were produced with density levels of 7.1 to . Ultrasonic fatigue testing with 20 kHz was performed in push-pull mode up to 10E9 cycles. It was shown that the fatigue endurance strength is strongly improved by higher density levels, but also higher sintering temperatures are beneficial. The Cr-Mo steels proved to be superior to the plain Mo alloyed, due to a more favourable as-sintered matrix microstructure.

Crack initiation and short crack propagation was studied on the polished notched surfaces of Cr-Mo prealloy sintered steels with 7.35 sintered density. An ultrasonic resonance test system operating in push-pull mode at 20 kHz and R=-1 was used. It showed that crack initiation took place in several places, small cracks growing oriented to the local pore structure rather than to stress orientation. Their growth rate is markedly higher than the corresponding one of long cracks. Finally, several microcracks join to form a dominant crack.