Fatigue of Sintered Materials: Theory and Application

Powder Metallurgy (PM) is a general term which represents all techniques to produce solid-metal-based products from powders. PM (sintered) components are used widely in the engineering practice, particularly in the automotive industry. When determining the load capacity of dynamically loaded machine parts and structures made of sintered materials, the fatigue behaviour of critical areas should be considered, including crack initiation and the crack propagation period.

In this book, the theoretical background of both PM-technology for producing sintered parts and the fatigue phenomenon of dynamically loaded components are described in detail. In the application part, some aspects of the Fe- and Al-powder morphology and its influence on the basic characteristics of sintered products are analysed, before the fatigue behaviour of diffusion alloyed Cu-Ni-Mo sintered steel is presented, considering the additional heat treatment effects on the fatigue strength. Furthermore, the fatigue analysis of sintered gears is also investigated. In that respect, this book represents a significant contribution to the database of the fatigue phenomenon of sintered machine parts and structural components.