Influence of the mechanical alloying process on the sintering behaviour of astaloy CrM powder mixture with silicon carbide addition

Due to an excellent combination of toughness and strength, bainitic-austenitic dual phase steels with silicon addition have many applications in the industry. However, silicon has a high affinity to oxygen and, therefore, its introduction to the alloy is problematic during the classical sintering processes of mixing powders. Mechanical alloying (MA) offers one of the most attractive alternatives to the introduction of silicon to Astaloy CrM powders. The aim of the present study was to determine the influence of the MA process on changes in particle size distribution, work hardening and sintering behaviour of the investigated powder mixture - Astaloy CrM powder with the addition of 2 wt.% stearic acid and 2 wt.% silicon carbide alloyed under different conditions. The practical aspect of this study was to develop and apply a common and inexpensive method of die-pressing to compact a powder mixture prepared by the MA process.