Investigation of porosity of samples obtained by selective fusion of electroerosive iron-chromium-nickel powders

Purpose of research of this work was to study the porosity of samples obtained by selective fusion of electroerosive ferro-chromium nickel powders produced by processing metal waste. Methods. When carrying out research aimed at achieving this goal, the following equipment was used in accordance with the experimental plan: an installation for producing electroerosive iron-chromium-nickel powders - original patented; raw materials for producing iron–chromium-nickel powders – alloy grade 20X25H20X2; working fluid – isopropyl alcohol; installation for selective alloying – original patented; equipment for studying the microstructure of an additive sample – Nova NanoSEM 450 electronic scanning microscope; equipment for studying the porosity of an additive sample - Olympus GX51 optical inverted microscope, equipped with software designed for quantitative analysis of digital images of the microstructure. Results. As part of the task aimed at studying the porosity of samples obtained by the method of selective fusion of electro-eroded iron-chromium-nickel powders, the following results were obtained. It was found that the total porosity of the material is about 2.64 %. Moreover, more than 70 % of the identified pores have a size of less than 0.5 microns. The formation of an almost poreless structure of additive samples is due to the presence of particles of various fractions in the electro-eroded iron-chromium-nickel powders, which contributes to their more compact packing during the fusion process. The microstructure study revealed that the additive sample has a uniform fine-grained structure with an average grain size of approximately 5 μm. The level of porosity and the distribution of pores in size have a significant impact on the mechanical properties of the material and determine its potential applications. Conclusion. The results obtained indicate that the porosity and pore size distribution in the additive sample are key factors that significantly determine its mechanical properties and potential applications in science and industry.