Dimensional change of compact made from (Fe-Cu) prealloyed powder and copper powder compared to that of compact made from iron-copper elemental powder. The compact made from the prealloyed powder with a copper content of 7.18mass% which is nearly equal to its solution limit and copper powder showed only the large contraction in spite of penetration of liquid copper into grain boundary of the prealloyed powder. But the compact made from iron-copper elemental powder showed the large expansion in spite of same chemical composition with former case.

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.