Performance improvement that can be achieved by Cu infiltration is quantified in this paper. Tensile and fatigue properties of a Fe-2?0Cu-0?7C powder metallurgy steel were compared to the same alloy infiltrated with 8 wt-%Cu. Microstructural characterisation, using optical and electron microscopies, was carried out to understand the effect of Cu infiltration on mechanical properties. Cu infiltration improves the ultimate tensile strength by 40% by increasing the load bearing structure, decreasing the stress concentrations associated to open porosity and increasing the hardness of the steel matrix. Fractographic observations show the evidence of stress transmission from the sinternecks to the steel particles due to infiltrated Cu. The beneficial effect of Cu infiltration is less pronounced for the fatigue properties as the endurance limit is increased by 10%. This lower improvement is explained by crack initiating at the Cu/steel matrix interface.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.