Study of Graphite Content and Sintering Temperature on Wear and Microstructure of Fe+C Powder Metallurgy Preform
The present paper investigates the effect of sintering temperature and graphite content on the microstructure and effect on wear and frictional properties of Fe+C powder metallurgy preforms. For the present work the specimens were prepared with graphite content 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% by weight and were sintered at three sintering temperature 800°C, 900°C and 1050°C. Microstructural properties were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. The wear and friction property of the powder preforms were tested on Pin-On-Disc apparatus. The powder specimen was used as pins and the disc was of AISI 51200 steel. The experiments was carried out under load of 40 N, speed 1000 rpm, time 1500 seconds and relative humidity 60% – 65%. The result was 2% graphite content specimen with sintering temperature 1050°C showed good wear resistance. The wear rate decreased with the increase in sintering temperature and increase in graphite content of the specimen.
