In order to investigate behavior of abnormal expansion of the iron-copper compacts, we compared the dilatometric curves of the compacts which mixed the copper powder to the iron powder with those of compacts which mixed the copper powder to the iron-copper alloy powder. The dilatometric curves were obtained below the sintering conditions, which heated up to 115 by a heating rate of 1/min, held for 60min at 115 and cooled down at a rate of 2/min to room temperature. The dilatometric curves of the compacts showed the different expansion behavior at temperatures above the copper melting point in spite of same chemical composition. All of the compacts of former case showed large expansion, but all of the compacts in latter case showed large contraction. The microstructures of sintered compacts also showed the different progress in alloying of the copper into the iron powder. Namely we could observe the segregation at alloy part of copper into iron powder in case of the sintered compacts, which mixed the copper powder to the iron powder, but could not observe the segregation in compacts which mixed the copper powder to the iron-copper alloy powder. But the penetration of liquid copper into the interstices between solid particles was occurred at both cases. Therefore, the showing of the different dimensional changes in the compacts in spite of same chemical composition is due to more the alloying of copper into iron powder than the penetration of liquid copper into the interstices between solid particles.

High temperature deformation behavior of activated sintered W powder compacts was investigated. The compression tests were carried out in the temperature range between 900 and 110 at the strain rate of . The sintered specimens of Ni-doped submicron W powder compacts showed decrease in W grain size with increasing the Ni content. As the result, the flow stress was significantly increased with increasing the Ni content. We obtained Ni-activated sintered W compacts with the relative density of 94 l％and the average grain size of less than 5. A moderate true strain up to 0.60 was obtained without fracture even at 110 with the strain rate of for the activated W compact despite adding the 1.0 wt％Ni to submicron W powder.

During the sintering of powder materials, many these are microstructural phenomena are caused by atomic diffusion. (1) neck formation and compact densification, (2) grain growth, i.e., growth of matrix grains and dispersed grains, (3) alloying or generation of compound, (4) generations of peculiar and hard layers near sintered compact surface, etc. The studies of the present author and co-workers on these phenomena which were carried out during 40 years are briefly introduced.

The recent trend of miniaturization and high performance of vehicle engines has put an urgent necessity for the development of valve seats which can operate under more severe conditions. In order to develope valve seat material that has the most excellent wear resistance at operating temperature of engine through improvement of the progress of work. the effects of mixing ratio of the milled powder on sintered and Cu-infiltrated properties of sintered valve seats have been studied. The resultant radial crushing strength and hardness of sintered specimens were gradually increased with increasement of volume of milled powders. It is because increasement of sintering density by increasing of surface diffusion. The hardness of Cu-infiltrated specimens became lower than that of the commercial powders as the increasement of volume of milled powders. It was due to the decrease of the amount of the martensite. By results of this research, It has been found that martensite is formed around of the Cu-infiltrated site and the decrease of the amount of the martensite is due to decrease of the amount of the Cu-infiltrated site by the decrease of gas channel.