Influence of hot forming on the properties of Fe-Al intermetallic materials

Intermetallic phases containing aluminium attract attention as structural materials with good mechanical properties at elevated temperatures and corrosion resistance. The paper presents investigations on manufacturing iron aluminides FeAl and Fe3Al by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS). The SHS products were porous, with predominant open porosity. Hot pressing and hot forging were used for densification and deformation. The appropriate thermo-mechanical treatment enabled obtaining dense and fine-grained materials. After forging the grains of both materials were elongated in the direction perpendicular to the applied load. Mechanical properties were evaluated on the basis of compression and bending tests, hardness measurements and elastic moduli determined by ultrasonic methods. Corrosion resistance was evaluated on the basis of cyclic oxidation and sulphidation, tests. It has been stated that the investigated iron aluminides produced by SHS can be successfully densified and formed by hot pressing and hot forging.