Synthesis of Fe–Al–Si intermediary phases by reactive sintering

Abstract

In this work, Fe–Al–Si alloys were prepared by reactive sintering. The contents of silicon and aluminium ranged between 0–30 wt‐% and 10–40 wt‐% respectively. Aluminium, silicon and AlSi30 master alloy powders prepared by mechanical machining and/or milling and commercial powder of high purity iron were used for sintering. Powders were blended and pressed at room temperature. Sintering was carried out at 950°C for 60 min. Compact low porosity products without unreacted components were prepared, if a powder mixture contained 15–20 wt‐% of silicon and 20–25 wt‐% of aluminium. It was shown that these materials contain two phases (Al2FeSi and AlFeSi). Hardness of the alloys increased with growing silicon content, while the increase in aluminium content reduced the hardness.