Capacitor electrical discharge sintering of amorphous Fe-Si-B powder [Dataset]

Abstract

High purity powders of Fe, Si and B mixed with atomic composition Fe78Si9B13 are subjected, after arc melting, to a melt spinning process. The amorphous ribbons are transformed into powder by mechanical milling, taking care of maintaining the amorphous character. The powders are sintered by means of a very quick capacitor electrical discharge (CEDS), trying to maintain the initial structure of the powders. The CEDS process is analysed depending on the thermal energy applied during the discharge, as well as on the particle size of the powders and the powders mass. The porosity, microstructure, hardness, electrical resistivity and magnetic properties of the generated compacts are analysed. Thus, for powders with a mean size of 65 μm, the porosity can be reduced from 0.35 to 0.08 after sintering, reaching a microhardness of up to 1100 HV1 after applying a discharge of 2640 J/s. A coercivity of 1895 A/m and a saturation flux density of 1.32 T are achieved in the compact, which maintains a microstructure with up to a 79% of amorphous phase.