Influence of glass particles incorporation on the microstructure and magnetic properties of Fe-6.5wt% Si alloy subjected to metal injection molding technique

The influence of glass incorporation on the microstructure and magnetic properties of Fe-6.5wt% Si alloy processed by metal injection molding (MIM) was investigated. High temperature sintering at 1623 K for 2 h was performed on the samples with and without the addition of fine glass particles. Microstructural observations revealed that the grain size of the MIM-treated sample without glass particles was approximately one-order higher than the sample with glass particles, which was mainly attributed to the uniform incorporation of glass particles during sintering. Moreover, the size and fraction of the micropores were likely to increase as glass particles were incorporated. At a fixed frequency, the hysteresis loss of the sample without glass particles was slightly lower than that with glass particles while higher loss in the eddy current was obtained in the sample without glass particles than that with glass particles enhancing electrical resistivity. Thus, the total magnetic loss of the MIM-treated Fe-6.5wt% Si alloy decreased significantly due to the incorporation of glass particles.

► The glass particles were uniformly incorporated in MIM-treated Fe–Si alloy.
► The fraction of micropores increased with the incorporation of glass particles.
► The incorporation of glass particles resulted in good magnetic properties.