Mechanical and structural characterization of uniaxially cold-pressed Fe₂Mo powders

In this work, Fe₂Mo intermetallic powder, produced by H₂gas reduction of Fe₂MoO₄was characterized by techniques like x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TEM studies confirmed the presence of nano- and microcrystalline grains of Fe₂Mo. The above powders when compressed uniaxially showed a logarithmic relation with “relative density”, δ_r, of the compacts. The multiple compaction mechanisms were analyzed by Kawakita's and Balshin's models. Vickers hardness number, VHN, was found to increase linearly with δ_rof the compacts. The hardness of Fe₂Mo intermetallic when δ_r= 1 was estimated as 343 VHN. Using Tabor's analysis, the yield strength of Fe₂Mo was found to be about 1100 MPa. This value was further confirmed from the details of relative broadening (112) Bragg peak of Fe₂Mo obtained from XRD analyses of Fe₂Mo at different compaction pressures.