Modeling the response of physical and mechanical properties of Cr–Mo prealloyed sintered steels to key manufacturing parameters

• RSM was applied to model full factorial design experiments.
• Five physical and mechanical properties were measured from thirty experiments.
• Modeling the properties of PM steels for industrial quality control applications.
• Higher adequacy of the models for steel industrial implementation.

In this study an experimental investigation using response surface methodology has been undertaken in order to model and evaluate the physical and mechanical properties of Cr–Mo prealloyed sintered steels with respect to the variation of powder metallurgy process parameters such as compacting pressure, sintering temperature and Cr content of the prealloyed steel powder. Mathematical models were developed at 95% confidence level to predict the physical properties such as sintered density and electrical resistivity and mechanical properties such as transverse rupture strength, apparent (=macro-)hardness, and impact energy. Analysis of variance was used to validate the adequacy of the developed models. The obtained mathematical models are useful not only for predicting the physical and mechanical properties with higher accuracy but also for selecting optimum manufacturing parameters to achieve the desired properties.