Porosity Measurements and Analysis of Sintered and Thermochemical Heat Treated P/M Compacts

Abstract

The objective of this paper was to examine the porosity in fluidized-bed carburizing on sintered alloys obtained by the powder metallurgy route using an image software analysis, and to compare the results with those obtained using the conventional porosity measuring technique. A material's porosity is a measurement of its vacancy percentage. The volume of empty space divided by the material's bulk volume, given as a percentage, determines the overall porosity of the material. The advancement of digital imaging and software has resulted in a novel and appropriate technique for figuring out the porosity of materials used in powder metallurgy.

Keywords

• powder metallurgy
• fluidized bed carburizing
• porosity
• image software analysis