title: Effect of sintering conditions on the microstructural and mechanical characteristics of porous magnesium materials prepared by powder metallurgy.
abstract: There has recently been an increased demand for porous magnesium materials in many applications, especially in the medical field. Powder metallurgy appears to be a promising approach for the preparation of such materials. Many works have dealt with the preparation of porous magnesium; however, the effect of sintering conditions on material properties has rarely been investigated. In this work, we investigated porous magnesium samples that were prepared by powder metallurgy using ammonium bicarbonate spacer particles. The effects of the purity of the argon atmosphere and sintering time on the microstructure (SEM, EDX and XRD) and mechanical behaviour (universal loading machine and Vickers hardness tester) of porous magnesium were studied. The porosities of the prepared samples ranged from 24 to 29 vol.% depending on the sintering conditions. The purity of atmosphere played a significant role when the sintering time exceeded 6h. Under a gettered argon atmosphere, a prolonged sintering time enhanced diffusion connections between magnesium particles and improved the mechanical properties of the samples, whereas under a technical argon atmosphere, oxidation at the particle surfaces caused deterioration in the mechanical properties of the samples. These results suggest that a refined atmosphere is required to improve the mechanical properties of porous magnesium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic. Electronic address: Jaroslav.Capek@vscht.cz.
authors.forename: Jaroslav
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Čapek
authors.affiliation: Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Dalibor
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vojtěch
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D019245:Compressive Strength; D004058:Diffusion; D006244:Hardness; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008274:Magnesium / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008669:Metallurgy / Q000379:methods; D058626:Plasma Gases / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D011208:Powders; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D058626:Plasma Gases; D011208:Powders; D008274:Magnesium
keywords: Mechanical properties; Porous magnesium; Powder metallurgy; Sintering conditions