EU-funded research helps produce new high strength steel.
A high strength nickel free sintered steel developed by a consortium of partners from Germany, Sweden, Spain and France under the BRITE/EURAM 2 programme of the European Commission's Third Framework programme has been welcomed enthusiastically by industry. The product is already being used by the Swedish company Höganäs AB. The project, 'Development of environmental safe sintered high-strength steels for mass production' had a budget of 3,696,000 euro, half of which was provided by the European Commission. Heavy-duty parts such as gear box levers, synchroniser hubs and sprockel gears are presently produced using high strength alloys containing nickel, which is however harmful to both human health and the environment. 'We tested a whole range of alloys' says Dr Klaus Lipp, project co-ordinator from the project leader, the Fraunhofer-Institut in Darmstadt, Germany. 'The materials had to match the standards of alloys containing nickel. That means, they have to make the steel solid, combine with it during heating in the oven, and be suitable for mass production in conventional sinter ovens.' In order to ascertain the quality of the alloy, research included tests to establish how the heavy duty parts made from the material would bear up in service conditions. This involved finding out what weight the material could support, and which signs of wear and tear appeared after usage. According to Dr Lipp, the new nickel free sintered nickel can not only replace the alloys containing steel, but has proved itself to have superior qualities. The material is 50 per cent more resistant to jolting, easier to work with and of course reduces environmental damage and threats to the health of those working in the metal industry.