Spray Formed States of High Alloyed Steels

The new technique of "spray atomisation and compaction" fills the gap between casting and powder metallurgy having advantages like rapid solidification, fine-grained microstructure, absence of macro-segregation and structural homogeneity even in complex alloy systems and the possibility of forming primary shapes. The objective of the project is to define those categories of steel qualities for which spray forming leads to a significant improvement of value in competition to powder metallurgy and conventionally refined ingots. High carbon steels containing large carbide inclusions require expensive refining procedures that can be avoided by spray forming. For this reason, the research focuses on high-alloyed steels where in-house spray forming experience already exists.