P/M High-Speed Steels for Valve Seat Insert Application

The importance of powder technology to the automotive industry is well known, mainly due to its growing potential. This work presents aspects related to high-speed steels for valve seat inserts application. Four series of materials were evaluated: high speed steel M3/2 infiltrated with copper during sintering; high speed steel M3/2 with Cu₃P addition; high speed steel M3/2 with Cu₃P addition and further copper infiltrated during sintering; high speed steel M3/2 mixed with iron powder. The main material selection topics such as cost, performance, reliability, and environmental aspects were considered. The physical and mechanical properties of the evaluated high-speed steels are presented in terms of densification, hardness, and radial mechanical strength.