Image analysis investigation of the effect of the process variables on the porosity of sintered chromium steels

Image analysis is used to study the effect of compaction and sintering temperature on the porosity morphology of chromium steels. The pore morphology was described by means of two parameters, fcircle and fshape, which have different geometrical meanings. The results have been interpreted with reference to an elliptical geometry, which represents the theoretical shape to which porosity tends. High sintering temperature improves fcircle more than fshape, while warm compaction does not have a significant effect. But, if the largest pores are considered, a synergic effect of sintering temperature and warm compaction arises. fcircle seems to be more suitable than fshape for evaluating the effect of the process variables on the evolution of the pore morphology.