Developments in sintering of powder mixtures contributed growth of steel
production via powder metallurgy. This study aims to improve the mechanical
and tribological properties of carbon steels produced via powder metallurgy.
For this purpose, P/M carbon steel was alloyed with 3 % Manganese. Then,
this alloyed steel was reinforced with particles such as titanium carbide
(TiC), titanium nitride (TiN) and titanium carbonitride (TiCN) in different
proportions (0.5 and 1 %) and combinations. The effect of these additives on
the mechanical properties of PM steels was determined by conducting tensile
and hardness tests. Wear tests were performed to understand the tribological
properties of samples. Also, microstructural properties, fracture surfaces,
and worn surfaces of samples were examined using a Scanning Electron
Microscope. Results show that the hardness and tensile strength of carbon
steel increased by nearly 158 % and 62 % respectively, while the wear
resistance improved by 4 times with the addition of 3 % Mn and 0.5 % TiCN.