Enhancing Properties of Soft Magnetic Materials: A Study into Hot Isostatic Pressing and Sintering Atmosphere Influences

Soft magnetic materials are characterized by achieving a high magnetic induction value in the presence of a small magnetic field. Common applications of these materials, such as transformers or sensors, are in constant evolution and new requirements are becoming more demanding. Nickel and its alloys are employed as smart materials taking advantage of their superior magnetoelastic properties. A metal injection molding (MIM) technique provides high-quality complex-shaped parts with a good density and controlled impurity levels, which are necessary for these applications, by carefully adjusting the sintering stage. Previous investigations have established a sintering cycle for pure nickel consisting of 1325 degrees C for 12 h within an N-2-5%H-2 atmosphere. Nevertheless, microstructural, mechanical and magnetoelastic responses can still be greatly enhanced. In this context, the effects of hot isostatic pressing (HIP), and sintering atmosphere have been investigated. The application of an adequate HIP treatment leads to significant improvements in comparison to the reference sintering process. It achieves almost complete densification while increasing field-dependent elastic modulus from 8.1% up to 9.6%. Additionally, the sintering atmosphere has been proven to be a key factor in reducing impurities and hence facilitating magnetic domain motion. Three different atmospheres have been studied: N-2-5%H-2 (with a higher gas flow), N-2-10%H-2-0.1%CH4 and low vacuum. Minimum carbon contents have been registered using more reducing atmospheres (N-2-5%H-2 and N-2-10%H-2-0.1%CH4) which has led to values of field-dependent elastic modulus higher than 10%. This value is 2.5 times higher than that obtained when nickel parts are processed via conventional techniques. Moreover, although minimizing carbon content has been shown to be easier and more beneficial than achieving complete densification, both strategies could be used in combination to improve and maximize magnetoelastic performance.