Workability and corrosion behavior studies on sintered iron-based hybrid powder metallurgy alloys

Sintered low carbon steels are developed using prealloyed and elemental powders to improve the mechanical properties of powder metallurgy and powder forged parts. The research focuses on the mechanism of workability and corrosion studies on sintered preforms of Alloy 1 (ATOMET4601 + 0.35%C) and Alloy 2 (ATOMET4601-0.35%C-0.25%Mn-0.1%Si-0.9%Cr). Sintered preforms of relative densities of 81%, 84%, and 90% were used for the present work. The preforms with 84% relative density have been used to study the formability parameters. It is observed from the experimental study that the Alloy 2 preforms with the addition of alloying elements have undergone lesser densification and deformation due to the work hardening mechanism. Corrosion studies have been carried out by conducting aqueous immersion and electrochemical corrosion tests on these two alloys using 18% HCl solution at different timings. It is found that the Alloy 2 has exhibited a better corrosion resistance than the Alloy 1 due to the addition of various alloying elements. It is also observed that the corrosion rate has decreased with an increase in densification irrespective of the alloys. The microstructures, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction of corroded surfaces have been corroborated with densification and the corrosion behavior of alloys.