Presentedat World Congress PM2014 in Orlando USA on May 19, 2014
Page 1 CHARACTERIZATION OF NICKEL ADDITIONS TO HEAT TREATED
IRON-COPPER-CARBON MATERIALS Amber Neilan, Sarah Ropar, Bo Hu,
& Roland Warzel III North American Hoganas 111 Hoganas Way
Hollsopple, PA 15935 ABSTRACT Iron-copper-carbon steels are the
most prevalent material system used in powdered metal (PM)
components.Nickel is a common alloying element used to improve heat
treatment response and increase ductility. Understanding the
effects of nickel additions after heat treatment will provide
component manufacturers the ability to select the proper material
system for a given set of requirements. This study looks at
characterizing the use of nickel in iron-copper-carbon heat treated
materials.The mechanical performance and metallography of heat
treated materials with varying additions of nickel will be
presented. INTRODUCTION Alloying elements are commonly added to
ferrous systems to improve heat treatment response and amplify
mechanical properties. Copper and nickel are two popular alloying
elements commonly used in the PM industry to strengthen and harden
iron steels. In order to enhance part performance, it is important
to understand how the individual effects of copper and nickel in
heat treated materials can be altered when they are combined
together. Presentedat World Congress PM2014 in Orlando USA on May
19, 2014 Page 2 Figure 1: SEM photographs of the particle sizes of
copper and nickel Copper is highly desired alloy addition for PM
materials due to its strength characteristics. The typical copper
particle size is approximately 80m, while nickel is much smaller at
10 m (Figure 1) [1]. Copper melts at 1083 C (1981 F), which is
below conventional sintering temperatures. The low melting
temperature allows even coarse copper particle sizes to liquefy and
diffuse completely into the iron. During sintering, copper in its
molten form diffuses along the grain boundaries of iron and results
in swelling [2]. Studies have shown that when used in conjunction
with carbon, a reaction between the two results in a decrease in
swelling [3].By using copper and carbon additions, iron based
materials provide desired dimensional control and mechanical
properties for application requirements. In the heat treated form,
copper has little effect on strengthening properties so carbon
additions are generally used to provide the added strength [1] [4].
Nickel is also a popular choice among alloying elements in
iron-carbon steels. Nickel is used for achieving high strength,
high impact resistance, and high hardenability. Nickel provides
added ductility to materials and significantly improves
hardenability and strength properties. Unlike copper, nickel
results in shrinkage of materials and provides dimensional
stability after sintering. The response nickel has to heat
treatment is also a desirable aspect as it provides even higher
strengthening properties [5]. The melting point of nickel is higher
than conventional sintering temperatures, causing it to alloy to
iron by solid-state diffusion [5].This causes the nickel to only
partially diffuse into the iron, creating nickel rich austenitic
areas. When quenched, the nickel rich areas stabilize austenite,
while the remaining partially alloyed iron transforms into
martensite. The austenite that is formed during heat treatment
contributes to the ductile nature of heat treated nickel alloyed
materials. This ductility allows higher strength values and
fracture resistance to be obtained. Heat treatment is defined as
the process of heating a material above its austenization
temperature and cooling at a specific rate in order to obtain
specific properties [6]. Heat treatment is an important process in
the PM industry because it allows parts manufacturers to improve
both the static and dynamic properties of material systems. By
using a specifically designed material system, properties such as
wear resistance, strength and hardenability can be optimized using
a secondary heat treatment process. Tempering is commonly used
after heat treatment processes as a method of relieving residual
stresses that accompany the non-equilibrium cooling or quenching
after heat treat [7]. The brittle nature of heat treated materials
makes tempering a necessary step when looking for strengthening
enhancement. Tempering is a Presentedat World Congress PM2014 in
Orlando USA on May 19, 2014 Page 3 method of heating a previously
hardened component below the materials critical temperature for a
certain time, followed by a slow cooling. Tempering provides added
ductility and toughness, while also reducing distortion of the
previously hardened material [7]. There are a wide range of heat
treat procedures that can be utilized and tailored for specific
applications. This paper focuses on conventional quench and temper
heat treatment of alloyed iron carbon steels. The reaction to heat
treatment of various copper and nickel additions will be examined
to determine the effect each alloy element contributes to
mechanical properties. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Seven compositions of
Fe-C steels with various copper and nickel additions were prepared
(The compositions are shown in Table 1). Two levels of carbon
(0.60% and 0.80%) were targeted for each of those compositions for
a total of fourteen mixes. All mixes used the same base iron (North
American Hgans ASC100.29), copper (Cu-165 ACu Powder International,
LLC.), nickel (Vale Inco Ni 123), graphite (Asbury Graphite Mills
1651) and lubricant (Intralube E, Hgans AB). Table 1: Material
Systems Evaluated (wt %) Mix ID CuNi Combined Alloy Addition (%)
12-2 21.50.52 3112 40.51.52 5-22 6213 7123 Each mix was compacted
into standard TRS bars, tensile bars, and impact energy bars at
varied green densities with the objective of reaching a sintered
density of 6.9 g/cm3. The bars were sintered in a mesh belt furnace
at 1120 C (2050 F) for 20 minutes in a 90% nitrogen / 10% hydrogen
atmosphere. Once sintered, the specimens were sent to a certified
commercial facility for heat treatment (Advanced Heat Treat, Inc.
-St. Marys, PA). The bars were austenitized at 843 C (1550 F) in
air for 1 hour with a 0.8% carbon potential. The specimens were
then oil quenched and tempered at 204 C (400 F) for 1 hour in air.
After heat treatment, the TRS bars were evaluated for hardness,
dimensional change, sintered carbon, and sintered density.The
tensile bars and impact bars were sent to a certified testing
laboratory for evaluation of ultimate tensile strength and impact
energy (Westmoreland Mechanical Testing and Research, Inc.
-Youngstown, PA). Metallographic analysis was also performed on
selected specimens. The fracture surface after the impact energy
tests was examined using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). All
testing was done in accordance with MPIF standards [4]. RESULTS The
effect of nickel and copper additions on tensile strength at each
sintered carbon level is shown in Figure 2.Presentedat World
Congress PM2014 in Orlando USA on May 19, 2014 Page 4 Figure 2:
Ultimate tensile strength of Fe-C steels with various nickel and
copper contents at 6.9 g/cm3 A linear decrease in strength is
observed in both the high and low carbon material systems as the
nickel content decreases. The low carbon materials show a decrease
in strength over the 0% copper to 1% copper range as the nickel
content decreases. After the 1% copper range, the strength begins
to increase. A 25 MPa difference is seen between the Fe-Ni and
Fe-Cu materials. By increasing the sintered carbon content to
0.80%, a constant decrease in strength is seen throughout the whole
copper-nickel range. A 50 MPa difference is seen from the 2% nickel
material compared to the 2% copper material. The overall strength
of the high carbon materials is significantly lower than the
strength of the low carbon materials. The highest strength observed
was in the case of the 0.60% carbon iron-nickel material with no
copper addition.The dimensional change at each carbon level is
shown in Figure 3.Figure 3: Dimensional change of Fe-C steels with
various nickel and copper contents at 6.9 g/cm3 All material
systems increase in growth as the nickel content decreases. For the
low carbon system, the dimensional change increases linearly for
the entire copper range, however the growth is not as significant
from the 1.5% copper to the 2% copper amount.At the higher carbon
level the dimensional change increases linearly between the 0%
copper and 1.5% copper range. Above 1.5% copper, the dimensional
change begins to decrease. Presentedat World Congress PM2014 in
Orlando USA on May 19, 2014 Page 5 DISCUSSION Metallographic
analysis was performed in order to understand the response of the
copper-nickel material systems after processing. The
microstructures of materials with 2% copper, 1% copper with 1%
nickel, and 2% nickel are shown in Figure 4. Figure 4:
Microstructure of heat treated Fe+0.6%C steels with different
copper and nickel additions
The heat treatment resulted in the formation of martensite. An
increase in the nickel content resulted in an increase of localized
nickel-rich austenite. With 0.60% carbon, the iron copper material
is martensitic with little observed retained austenite. Looking at
the 1% nickel, 1% copper material in Figure 4, nickel-rich
austenite begins to form along the grain boundaries where the
nickel alloying content is higher. The material containing 2%
nickel has the highest amount of nickel rich austenite. Relating
the austenite formation with the strength, the highest strength is
observed in the material containing 2% nickel with the localized
austenite. The formation of nickel rich austenite provides an
inherent ductility to materials. The added ductility aids in a
materials resistance to premature fracture that is seen in brittle,
fully martensitic systems.The lowest strength is observed in the 2%
Cu materials. This is the result of austenite formation due to
carbon that forms between the martensite, causing brittleness.
Similar phase patterns are seen in the 0.80% sintered carbon
material systems. The Fe-Cu material demonstrates a predominantly
martensitic microstructure. The addition of nickel increases the
formation of the localized nickel-rich austenite. The strength
values also follow trend, where the fully martensitic Fe-Cu results
in the lowest strength.The strength increases as the balance of
martensite and austenite increases. The microstructures comparing
carbon content in the Fe-Cu-C materials vs. the Fe-Ni-C materials
are shown in Figure 5. Presentedat World Congress PM2014 in Orlando
USA on May 19, 2014 Page 6 Figure 5: Microstructure of Fe-Cu vs.
Fe-Ni materials at high and low carbon levels The difference in
carbon content between the two iron-copper and iron-nickel
materials results in a distinction between the thickness of the
martensite needles. The low carbon material shows a lath
martensite, with fine martensitic needles. The high carbon material
demonstrates a plate martensite, with dense, coarse needles. The
density and texture of the martensite plays a role in the strength
values. The lath martensite observed in the low carbon materials
resulted in high strength results. The plate martensite obtained in
the high carbon materials promotes brittleness, resulting in early
fracture and low strength. Examining the difference of phases over
the spectrum of copper-nickel additions, the combination of high
amounts of nickel rich austenite and finely dispersed martensite
that is seen in the high nickel, low carbon iron material provides
optimum strength values in comparison to the varying alloy
additions of the other low carbon materials. The 0.80% carbon Fe-Cu
material that exhibits a coarse, dense, fully martensitic structure
falls on the other end of the strength spectrum, presenting the
lowest strength values due to the brittleness of the material.
Presentedat World Congress PM2014 in Orlando USA on May 19, 2014
Page 7 Figure 6: SEM analysis of martensite on iron-copper material
at two different carbon levels. The SEM photographs depict the
difference in martensite. The material with 0.6% carbon has fine,
lath martensite while the material with 0.8% carbon has coarse,
plate martensite. The microhardness values are shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7: Microhardness of various nickel and copper contents The
microhardness of the materials with 0.80% carbon linearly decreases
as the nickel content decreases. The Fe-2Ni material exhibits the
highest microhardness, while the Fe-2Cu material presents much
lower microhardness. The microhardness of the 0.6% carbon materials
is similar for the F-2Cu and Fe-2Ni materials. Comparing results
with the microstructures, the Fe-2Cu material contains a high
amount of austenite due to carbon diffused throughout the
martensite, resulting in lower microhardness. For the Fe-2Ni
materials, the nickel rich austenite remains localized around the
areas of nickel diffusion. Apparent hardness was similar for all
materials at each carbon level. The fracture surface of the Fe-2Cu
and Fe-2Ni materials with 0.6% sintered carbon is shown in Figure
8. Presentedat World Congress PM2014 in Orlando USA on May 19, 2014
Page 8 Figure 8: SEM photographs of fracture surfaces of iron
copper and iron nickel materials at two carbon levels At the low
sintered carbon level, the fracture surface of both the Fe-2Cu and
Fe-2Ni materials exhibit cup-cone fractures with some shear
fractures. The cup-cone fractures are indicative of a ductile break
where the material slowly pulls away from each other, causing large
amounts of deformation before failure [8]. In cup-cone fractures,
the surface appears dimpled. Shear fractures suggest brittle
failure, where the material breaks with very little plastic
deformation before fracturing.In brittle fracture, the surface
appears flat and smooth. Comparing the fracture surfaces of both
carbon levels, the high carbon materials exhibit a higher
percentage of shear fractures than the low carbon materials. The
dimple fractures appear large and shallow, with less deformation
observed. The low carbon materials have a larger quantity of deep,
open dimples with high deformation. The low carbon nickel material
exhibits the least amount of shear fractures, and contains the
highly deformed cup-cone fractures. The high carbon, iron copper
material exhibits the largest number of shear fractures and
contains shallow dimples with little deformation before fracture.
Relating the fracture surfaces to the data, the highest strength
was observed in the low carbon iron nickel material, and has the
observed ductility in the fracture surface. The lowest strength
measured was the high carbon copper material, which has the
observed shear, i.e. brittle fractures on the surface.
Presentedat World Congress PM2014 in Orlando USA on May 19, 2014
Page 9 After looking into the 2% total combined alloy materials,
the alloy content was increased to 3% in order to determine if
higher combined alloy content provides any added benefit to
strength or dimensional control. The strengths of the 3% combined
alloy materials are shown in Figure 9 to compare with the 2%
combined alloy materials. Figure 9: Strengths of 3% Combined Alloy
Materials (Red) verses 2% Total Combined Alloy Materials (Blue)
With a total 3% combined alloy content, the material with the
higher nickel addition results in higher strengths at both sintered
carbon levels than the material with lower nickel additions. The
0.6% sintered carbon has the highest overall strength for both
alloy compositions than the 0.8% carbon results. Comparing the
results to the 2% combined alloy addition, however no increase in
strength is observed by increasing the total alloy composition to
3%. In fact, the overall strengths of the 3% alloy additions are
lower than the 2% alloy addition strengths at both carbon
levels.
The dimensional change of the 3% combined alloy materials are
shown in Figure 10 to compare with the 2% combined alloy materials.
Figure 10: Dimensional Change of 3% Combined Alloy Materials (Red)
verses 2% Total Combined Alloy Materials (Blue) Looking at the
dimensional change of the 3% combined alloy additions, a
significant jump in growth is observed in the material containing
2% Cu and 1% Ni at both carbon levels. The dimensional change
observed is approximately 0.15% higher than the largest growth
observed in any of the 2% alloy materials. No benefit in
dimensional change is seen in the 3% combined alloy materials at
both carbon Presentedat World Congress PM2014 in Orlando USA on May
19, 2014 Page 10 levels compared to the 2% combined alloy
materials.The large jump in dimensional change in the 3% combined
alloy additions was also observed in the as-sintered condition.
CONCLUSION The strength of the heat treated Fe-Cu- C materials
increases as the addition of nickel increases in both the high and
low carbon levels. The strength decreases as the carbon increases.
For low carbon materials, the increase in nickel additions reduces
growth. For the high carbon materials, at least 1% nickel is needed
to obtain added shrinkage. The strength of the materials with 1% Cu
and 2% nickel are higher than the materials with 2% Cu and 1% Ni at
both carbon levels. The 3% combined alloy materials however have no
significant increase in strengths compared to the 2% combined alloy
materials. The additional alloy content provides no benefit to
strength. For the 3% combined alloy materials, the increase in
nickel of provides added shrinkage compared to the higher copper
material at both carbon levels. However, adding 1% nickel into
Fe-2Cu materials provides further growth rather than shrinkage. The
additional alloy content provides no benefit to dimensional
control. REFERENCES [1]Singh, T., Stephenson, T., & Campbell,
S. (n.d.). Nickel-Copper Interactions in P/M Steels. [2]Copper
Developement Association, I. (2013). Retrieved from Copper in Iron
and Steel P/M Parts:
http://www.copper.org/resources/properties/129_6/copper_iron.html
[3]J onnalagadda, Krishnapraveen (n.d) Influence of Graphite Type
on Copper Diffusion In Fe-Cu-C PM Alloys (pg.11).[4]MPIF Standard
35 Material Standards for PM Structural Parts. (n.d.). MPIF
[5]Steel Heat Treatment: Metallurgy and Technologies/Totten, George
E. Editor. (2007) CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group (pg.760).
[6]Steel Heat Treatment Handbook/Totten, George E., Howes, Maurice
A. Editors (1997) Marcel Dekker Inc.[7]Dossett, J . L., &
Boyer, H. E. (2006). Practical Heat Treating (2 ed.). ASM
International. (pgs 5-6). [8]German, R. M. (2005). Powder
Metallurgy & Particlulate Materials Processing. MPIF