Sintering behaviour of Al-6061 powder produced by rapid solidification process

Complex aluminium alloy components fabricated by powder metallurgy (P/M) offer the promise of a low cost and high strength-to-weight ratio, which meets the demands of the automotive sector. This paper describes the die compaction and sintering response of an atomised Al-6061 alloy powder containing Mg and Si produced by rapid solidification. A design of experiments is used involving three levels each of the die compaction pressure, sintering temperature, peak temperature hold time and heating rate. Three trials were used to obtain the optimum press sinter processing conditions. Besides the mechanical properties, phase transformation and microstructure are investigated. Supplemental insight is gained through thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and SEM with energy dispersive spectroscopy. Analysis of variation is used to quantify the contribution of each design variables to the mechanical properties.