Gelcasting technique of iron-carbon powder

Gelcasting was applied to the preparation of high carbon steel products with 1% carbon in mass fraction. The iron-carbon suspension with 89 % solid loading was prepared in gelcasting and a lot of parts with complex shapes were produced with this suspension. The effect of sintering atmosphere on the carbon content of products was investigated. It is shown that sintering in vacuum can control the carbon content. The products with uniform structure,, a relative density of 91%, flexural strength of 400 MPa, and tensile strength of 410 MPa can be prepared after sintering at 1 200 ℃ under dissociated ammonia.