Tribological Behavior of Distaloy DC Components

A sintered material based on pre-alloyed powders (Fe-Ni-Mo) is expansively applied in the automotive industry and Distaloy is today the most widely used raw material worldwide for the production of complex, precise, high strength PM machine parts. In this study a diffusion bonded powder type of Distaloy DC (Fe-2 wt. % Ni-1.5 wt. % Mo, Höganäs-Sweden) was used. It was alloyed by 0.5 and 1 wt. % silicon carbide with the addition of 0.6 wt. % lubricant in the form of introlube®. All the powder mixtures were compacted at 600 MPa, and then sintered for 30 min. in argon atmosphere at 1120° C. After the completed sintering process, the sintered alloy samples were gas-nitrided 1h at 490 °C and 6h at 540 °C, respectively, and cooled slowly to room temperature still under the ammonia atmosphere. The effects of varied amounts of SiC particles on the tribological behavior of nitrided-sintered Distaloy DC composites were investigated.