Analysis of the Fracture Surfaces of New Development Insulated Iron Powder Compounds

Goal of the present paper is the analysis of the fracture surfaces of an Insulated Iron Powder Compound (IIPC) with different additions of aluminium alloy (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 wt.%), in order to improve the mechanical properties, evaluated as the transverse rupture strength (TRS) with sufficient magnetic properties (mainly represented by the iron loss and coercivity force). Investigation of microstructure and porosity development concluded that improvements in bending strength and impact values require the reduction of surface oxides during the heat treatment, in order to get a proper load bearing area between the adjacent particles.