Effect of porosity on thermal behaviour of sintered P/M iron material

Iron components processed through Powder Metallurgy (P/M) route have complex material characteristics due to the presence of pores. The present research work attempts to investigate the influence of porosity on the thermal conductivity of the sintered iron specimens. Green iron compacts of various densities were obtained by applying various compaction pressures. An electric muffle furnace with a capacity of 3.5kW was used for sintering the green compacts. The specimens of the same density were utilized to conduct thermal conductivity experiments. The Design Expert (DE) software has been used to design and conduct the thermal conductivity experiment on specimens. The variations of heat flow through the preforms were studied using ANSYS. Using MATLAB, a similar kind of study was also carried out, and the results were compared. The test results reveal that the thermal conductivity of the P/M iron increases with a decrease in porosity or increase in density.