Nondestructive monitoring of fabrication parameters of sintered iron powder compacts using ultrasonics

Ultrasonic characterization of sintered iron powder compacts made with different fabrication parameters (compaction pressure, sintering time and temperature) has been carried out. Longitudinal and shear velocities of samples up to a pore volume fraction of 0.216 were measured to study the effect of porosity. The measured values were compared with the values predicted by scattering and elasticity theories. This study shows that the longitudinal velocity of the sintered compacts may be used for monitoring the basic production parameters.