PM steels for heavy duty automotive components.

This paper presents for different PM'steels design relevant material data like S-N curves, effect of notches and mean stresses and fracture mechanical properties. The influence of different manufacturing parameters like alloy composition, density, sintering temperature, post sintering, mechanical and thermal surface treatments as well as heat treatments on the fatigue properties of sintered steels is discussed. The necessity to determine material properties under different loading modes, i.e. axial, bending, different mean stresses, stress concentrations and gradients, is outlined against the background of different service conditions, component geometries and design.