Sliding wear resistance of fine Co powders compacted by the magnetic-pulsed compaction method

• Co powder was consolidated using non-pressure sintering and MPC+sintering techniques.
• The highest density was achieved for the sample consolidated by MPC+sintering.
• The wear rate of MPC+sintering sample was lower than that of non-pressure sintering one.
• Abrasive and fatigue were the dominating mechanisms, responsible for the material lose.

The microstructural and wear properties of consolidated Co powders prepared by non-pressure sintering and magnetic pulse compaction (MPC)+sintering methods were investigated. The relative densities were found to be 94.4% and 96.2% for non-pressure sintered and MPC+sintered bodies, respectively. Some holes, arising from the removal of weakly bonded particles, were observed on the surface of non-pressure sintered sample while the surface of MPC+sintered sample was very smooth and consisted of homogeneously distributed Co particles. MPC+sintered sample exhibited a lower wear rate than non-pressure sintered sample. SEM observations from the worn surfaces and corresponding longitudinal sections implied that the abrasive and fatigue were two dominating mechanisms responsible for the wear behavior of samples. The high wear resistance of MPC+sintered sample can be ascribed by the strongly bonded particles originating from the high packing ability of MPC method.