High strength bulk Fe-Co alloys produced by powder metallurgy

Fe-Co alloys are extensively used in lamination form, but there are certain power generation applications that require Fe-Co rotors in bulk form. Experiencing only a dc magnetic field, these rotors can be as large as 0.5 m in diameter, depending on the size of the generator. The forging of such large pieces of Fe-Co has proven to be difficult. The present study investigates powder metallurgy processing of a gas atomized FeCoNbV alloy through hot isostatic pressing (HIP) for manufacturing large size rotors with improved mechanical strength. Gas atomized FeCoNbV alloy powders with and without ball milling were hot isostatic pressed at temperatures between 675 and 850 degrees C at a fixed pressure of 193 MPa for up to 6 h. Ball milling prior to HIP improved the yield strength. A further improvement in yield strength and in ductility was obtained after a disordering heat treatment at 730 degrees C followed by a rapid quench to room temperature. The optimum HIP and annealing conditions resulted in samples with yield strengths of 870 MPa. The compacts exhibited average coercivity values of 6.4 Oe and maximum permeability values of 1100. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.