MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF SINTERED IRON .2. EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY

The microstructure-property relationships are described for sintered plain iron using a new concept for microstructural description. Mechanical properties are listed which were experimentally obtained by widely varying the manufacturing parameters. Microstructural description was carried out on fracture surfaces of samples impact-tested at 77 K and fatigue-tested, respectively. The actual load-bearing cross-section was determined experimentally and the fraction of interconnected porosity could also be determined from the impact surfaces. The principal mechanical properties could be described by the load-bearing cross-section without any fitting of parameters being necessary, the correlation being linear with the exception of Young's modulus and elongation.