2003 Volume 44 Issue 7 Pages 1311-1315
The possibilities for recycling scrap iron utilizing copper impurity as a reinforcement were investigated. For this purpose, Fe–Cu powder was prepared by high-pressure water atomization and consolidated by groove rolling at a warm temperature in order to maintain the powder microstructure. The effect of the rolling reduction rate on the mechanical properties of the consolidated samples was examined in this paper. The powder was successfully consolidated without coarse copper precipitation by the rolling technique, though pores were observed at the primary powder boundaries at the low reduction rates. With the increase of the reduction rate, the powder was more elongated and adhered with other powder, and the pore volume fraction decreased. Strength and elongation in tensile testing were measured, and the Vickers hardness of the consolidated samples was examined. All the properties tested improved by increasing the reduction rate. The tensile properties required a more intensive rolling process to bring about the full performance originated by the maintained powder microstructure than the hardness. Using the determined optimum rolling condition, a high strength material was achieved via the proposed processing, showing the prospect for a new recycling process of scrap iron.
