Surface layer of FeAl+Al2O3 composites constitued by electrical discharge machining
Tomasz Durejko, Zbigniew Zarański, Stanisław Sulej Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna, Wydział Nowych Technologii i Chemii, Katedra Zaawansowanych Materiałów i Technologii ul. Kaliskiego 2, 00-908 Warszawa, Poland
Quarterly No. 2, 2008 pages 190-194
DOI:
keywords: FeAl+Al2O3 composite, surface texture (ST), electrical discharge machining (EDM), load capacity curve
abstract The iron aluminides FeAl have been among the most widely investigated intermetallics. For example, they have relatively low density, high stiffness, and excellent resistance to oxidation and corrosion at elevated temperature. Their major disadvantages is the susceptibility to environmental embrittlement at room temperature, very poor strength and creep resistance above 600C. This problem can be partially solved by microalloying and oxide dispersion strengthening (ODS). The cost of manufacturing process is essential part of all costs, especially for new materials, so there are many trials to introduce unconventional solutions of processing or to modificate well known technologies, such powder metallurgy (PM). We proposed a PM process termed sintering at cyclic loading, as an alternative fabrication method, by which dense FeAl intermetallics were produced successfully from elemental powder mixtures with addition nanosize Al2O3. The FeAl+Al2O3 composite was obtained by two-stage sintering of elemental iron and aluminium powders with a 1% volumetric addition of nano-Al2O3. In the first stage of a processing, a powder charge was compacted/sintered under cyclically pressure. Structurally inhomogeneous powder compacts were then loosely sintered in argon atmosphere. The obtained sinters with composite structures were treated via two-variant (different wire diameter - 0.1 and 0.25 mm) roughing and finishing wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM). Sinters microstructure and surface texture (ST) after WEDM process were analyzed. On the base of measured roughness profiles a load capacity curve and quantitative parameters determining abrasive wear resistance of investigated sinters were found. Additionally, a 3D spatial roughness profile was registered for each sample. It was found that height of roughness after 0.25 mm wire finishing EDM is about one and a half time and three times lower than sinter roughness after 0.1 mm wire roughing and 0.1 mm wire finishing EDM, respectively.