METASTABLE MC PHASE IN MELT-QUENCHED FE-C-V AND FE-C-V-(CR OR MO) ALLOYS - MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES AND POWDER-FORMING TENDENCY BY COMMINUTION

A metastable fcc MC (metal carbide) phase has been found if Fe-C-V ternary and Fe-C-V-Cr and Fe-C-V-Mo quaternary alloys quenched rapidly from the melts. The MC phase possesses a highly brittle nature combined with high hardness and hence is readily comminuted into irregularly polygonal powders of a desirable size range below 325 mesh by a hammer milling treatment. The powders are highly attractive as raw materials for consolidation into bulk form by conventional powder consolidation techniques, owing to the expectation that their bulk material exhibits higher strengths and better ductility compared to those of the alloys solidified in the usual manner.