Research Study on Fe-Cu-Sn-P Sintered Valve Guide Material with High Machinability and Wear Resistance, with Added Solid Lubrication Katsunao Chikahata’, Koulchito Hayashi" 1 iat Pood Mette Co, ak 520, Minos, Masud si, Chit, 270-2295 JAPAN Absirat “The material foe valve guides of intemal combustion engines, which aren essential pat of the valve trai tmachinablity Inthe Fe-Cu-Sn on the machinabity and wear resistance ofthe material Phosphots, in particular, constiutes the hard phase of Fe-P-C, niphite, We investigated the effects ofthe phosphors and carbon contents of the material. The results showed that a phosphorus content of 0.08 mass and carbon content of 2.4 mass% pro- © phase, witha uni must have sufficient wear resistance at high temperatures as, well as excellent CC sintered valve guide materials, the migrostructure has the greatest effect, xl carbon forms earbides and also imparts solid lubrication as ‘duce an excellent valve guide material, without precipitation of the Fe form microstructure and good solid lubrication, with improved machinability without sacrificing Keywords valve guide, wear resistance, machinability, free graphite, solid lubricant 1. Introduction Conventionally, cast iron and sintered metals have been used as valve guide materials, Bach material has an outstanding feature: the east iron material contains well- dispersed flake graphite and has good machinability ‘whereas the sintered material contains oil in its pores and hhas excellent wear resistance”, ‘The valve guide is Finished to the correct inside diame- ler by using reamers after being pressed into the engine head, It is therefore important to prolong the life of the reamer, shorten the processing time, and reduce the eneray ‘consumed for the series of processes”. Therefore, the sin- lered valve guide material requites good machinabitity in addition to good wear resistance In general, however, good machinability and good wear resistance are mutually contrary properties. The sin- tered valve guide material contains in its matrix hard phas- uch as Fe-P-C, which impart wear resistance tthe materiaP, If such hard phases precipitate, it changes the Hitachi Powdoved Metals Techrical Report Volt (2002) “16. cutting fore of the reaming, or adversely affects machin ability. The study therefore tried to develop valve guide materials that were uniform in microstructure, and had {good solid lubrication without sacrificing wear resistance, and also had good machinabitity. The study considered the effects of the composition of the raw material powders, particularly the phosphorus and carbon contents. Phosphorus is an element that prompis the precipitation of bard phases, and carbon imparts solid lubrication. This sine study focuses on the development of Fe-Cu-St tered valve guide materials that have good machinability Without sacrificing wear resistance, 2. experimental Method. Z 2.1. Preparation of Specimens 2.1.1 Composition and Blending ‘The raw material powders are reduetion iron powders of (80 tim or less, Cu-Sn alloy powders of 43 um or less. natural graphite powders of average particle size of 0.6 touty on fe-CuSnP ita Vavo Go Valo ih High Metnbity and War Rosia Aled Sold Laon 0.8 um, Fe-P alloy powers of 150 4m or fess, MgSiOs powders of average particle size of 10 10 30 pim®, and MS of average particle size of 3 10 7 yum. These pow- ders were blended in the compositions shown in Table 1 10 form mixtures of 1.8 ks in a 1 kg cone mixer. The speci- mens A to F in Table | were adjusted so that their phos- phorus contents fell within a range between 0.04 and 0.16 mass% by varying the amount of Fe-P powders added. Other powder components were blended in a fixed ratio, ‘Specimen G, with carbon and phosphorus contents of 2.4 mass% and 0.08 mass'% respectively, was prepared to study the effect of carbon, The control specimen Specimen A, was a conventional valve guide material with phosphorus content of 0.28 mass. ‘Tablet Chemical compositions. ‘Spe Ci compensa) aoc [TR] | [| © | [Maio] ome ors Maxi 2 26 ce ou 0 aa [oom 2.1.2 Compaction ‘The mixtures of powders mentioned above were all ‘compacted into specimens identical in shape and in densi- ty, 5.5 x O11 x 40 mm and 6.7 Mgim? 2.13 Sintering and Processing ‘The specimens were sintered in a pushertype electric furnace in an atmosphere of dissociated ammonia gas at 1273 K x 3.6 ks. After sintering, all specimens were processed into a given valve guide form: 2.2. Method of Evaluation 2.2.1 Property of Specimen ) Density ‘The density was measured by the Archimedian method, ) Hardness. ‘The apparent hardness was measured on the B scale of the Rockwell harness meter. The hardness of the maltix was measured using a Micro Vicker's hardness tester under a load of 0.98 N. ¢) Microstructure ‘The specimens were cut by a fine cutter and embedded into a thermosetting plastic, and consecutively ground by abrasive papers #180, #320, #600, #800, and #2000, After being ground, the specimens were etched in a 5% nital solution and their microstructures were observed under an ‘optical microscope. 2.2.2 Evaluation of Machinability by Reaming ‘The specimens were compacted 10 a shape of a valve guide at 65.5 x 611 x 40 mm and were pressed into a hou ing of an aluminum alloy, an engine head material. The test was conducted using a valve guide machinability apparatus, the structure of which is shown in Fig. 1, by processing the inner bores by reaming under the conditions shown in Table 2. The cutting edge of the reamer is worn 16a result of processing; on this ground, the machinabiliy ‘of the specimens was evaluated by the amount of flank ‘wear of the cutting edge estimated by scanning electron microscopic photos. The east iron material used as a eon- trol for the valve guide specimens, ASTM No.30, was evaluated using the same method. Og Fig Valve guide machinablity apparatus, ‘Vable2 ‘The machina ty test conditions. | reser ‘ate gue gunning macine 21 Reming tat ‘Comene eie es) | Conia sees Sm oS => Ne 3) | reve “Momeni (O12 aden) 2) | tea rater “0 plees 7) Gates Oe Water sob 2.2.3 Evaluation of Wear Resistance ‘The specimens were pressed info an aluminum altoy housing made of the material used for the eylinder heads of internal combustion engines, The wear res specimens was measured by measuring the amounts of ‘wear of the specimens and valye stems on the combustion stance of Hitachi Pownce Metals Tachnical Rpet VoL1 (2002)‘Siudy on Fo-Cu:Sr-P Sintered Valve Guide Matera wth High Machinabilty ‘and Waar Rasistanco, with Adod Solel Lubrication chamber side, using the valve guide vertical type wear tester shown in Fig. 2, under the conditions shown in ‘Table 3. The valve stem, on which the specimen slid, was ‘ofa steel material equivafent to 21-4N, and was tufftiding surface treated. The experiment used a 10W-30 grade ‘engine oil to lubricate the clearance between the valve ‘guide and the valve stem. The amounts of wear loss were obtained for the specimens from the difference in bore diameter, and for the valve stems from the difference in ouside diameter, before and alter the experiment. The ta get value for wear resistance was set at $0 jim, the average of the present sintered material. The ASTM No.30 east il used as the control was evaluated in the same fon the same value Atty ong Valve Guide Valve Stem t Comtaive ae Fig2 Valve guide vertical type wear tester. Tabled ‘The wear resistance test conditions 2] suoke ooo arate 31 | testenposaie 7. Ee | eo aw ola 5) [ tetaaion 2h | vaveven BI-NeTulsde nf on 180 an atmosphere at 773 K, while progressively increasing the load in steps of 9.8 N (1 kg), for a duration of 600 see ‘ond for each step. Alter the test the surface of the valve slem was observed! under an optical microscope. The seizure tesis- tance was evaluated by the presence of adhesion of the valve stem material on the specimens, and the Toad at which the adhesion took place was evaluated as the lond that causes seizure, Yate Yate sg Fig3. Valve guide horizontal type wear tester. Result of Experiment and Discussion 3.1 Effect of Phosphorus Content on Machinabili 3.1.1 Property of Specimen Fig. 4 shows the phospliorus content, five carbide con- tent, density, apparent hardness and microstructure of the sintered specimens. As the phosphorus content decreases, the apparent hardness also decreases, and the free earbon content increases. Also, as is evident from the microstruc tures of Fig. 4, as the phosphorus content decreases, the content of Fe-P-C forming planar hard phase decreases. ‘The hardness of the Fe-P-C hard phase is about Hy R00 10 1,000, while that ofthe pearlite matrix is about Hy 200 to 300, At the phosphorus content of 0.08 mass%, in partien- lar, the planar Fe-P-C does not precipitate in the matrix. In ‘other words, the apparent hardness decreases as a result of| 2.2.4 Evaluation of Seiznre Resistance “The specimens were pressed into a housing of an ali- sngine head material, The test was con- ducted using a valve guide horizontal type wear tester, ‘minum alloy, shown in Fig. 3, to facilitate replacement of the specimen and the valve stem in case of sefzure. The test was done ‘without supplying Jubricating oil, because the test was intended to measure the tendency for seizure of the materi- als. The specimens were made to slide on the valve ster in Hitachi Powderec Metals Teornical Repon Val (2002) ata rete] nae dain | __® c B ‘etn | 028 ae au ao Petite as mm 07 on fe | as oss os esi Is syn “ Fig Specimens’ characteristics.Study on Fe-CuSn-? Siaterd Valve Guide Mato wih High Machinabily and Wie the decrease in the Fe-P-C phase, The decrease of the Fe- P-C phase also implies that the amount of carbon bound t0 e-P decreases and consequently free graphite increases, 3.1.2 Evaluation of Machinability by Reaming Fig. 5 a) shows the effect of phosphorus content of the specimens on machinability, and Fig. 5 b) shows the mea- surement point atthe flank of the reamer. As the phospho- rus content decreases, the wear on the flank decreases, hich is indicative of good machinability. Specimens D to F, of which the phosphorus content ranges from 0.04 to 0.08 mass%, exhibited about the same degrees of wear as the ASTM No.30 cast iron material, Among them, Specimen F, with the phosphorus content of 0.04 mass%, showed the best machinabifity. It may thus be concluded that the Fe-P.C phase decreased as the phosphorus content decreased, and thereby good machinability was obtained. » FigS Effect of P content on the machinabilty. 32 Effect of Phosphorus Content on Wear Resistance Specimens with various phosphorus contents were evaluated for wear resistance, since it was considered that the decreased content of the Fe-P-C phase, or the hard Rosistence, with Added Sol Lubrication phase, would adversely alfect the wear resistance, Fig. 6 shows the effect of the phosphorus content on the wear resistance of the specimens. The wear gradually increases as the phosphorus content decreases. This increased wear may be attributable to the decrease of the Fe-P-C phase, associated with the decrease of phosphorus content. Specimen F with the phosphorus content of 0.04 mass, although best in machinability, showed a wear of '53 pm, in excess of the target wear, Notwithstanding, all specimens, the phosphorus con- tent of which varied from 0,06 to 0.16 mass%, exhibited ‘wear losses of the target level, 50 jum or less. This indli- ‘cates thatthe specimen shows excellent wear resistance if its phosphorus content is 0.06 mass% or more. To accommodate hardness, machinability, wear resis- tance and also the effects of variations in manufacturing conditions, the phosphorus content of 0.08 mass% is con- sidered to be the most appropriate value 33 Effect of Carbon Content on Machinability 33.1 Smady on the Amount of Carbon Added As stated above, it was found that the appropriate value ‘of phosphorus content was about 0.08 mass%. In order 10 ‘obtain further stability, improved machinability and wear resistance, solid lubrication by graphite was studied In this alloy, increased addition of graphite increased Tree graphite that acted as a solid lubricant. It is known, however, that iftoo much graphite is added, the compress- ibility is worsened, and the necessary sirength will not be achieved. To gain both compressibility and strength of the sintered products, the addition of carbon was studied for Specimen G, the carbon content of which was 2.4 mass%, (oF 0.4 mass more graphite was added to the conventional level of 2.0 mass. 3.3.2 Properties of Specimen Fig. 7 shows the properties of Specimens A, D and G. ‘The figure shows that the free graphite conten! increases raphite is added It is also noted, however, thatthe apparent hardness does not vary appreciably with the increase of graphite addition. This is presumably because, despite an increase of added graphite, the carbon content inthe solid solution phase temains constant in the uniform pearlite matt, and planar Fe-P-C does not precipitate out in the matix, a is obvious from their microstructures shown in Fig. 7. Hitachi Powdored Motals Technical Report Volt (2002)‘Stuay on Fe-Gu-Sn-P Sintored Valve Guide Material wth High Machinabity ‘and Wear Resistance with Added Sold Lubrication Fig.6 Effect of P content on the wear resistance Species [ae Hert » o a 3.3.3 Evaluation of Machinability by Reaming Fig. 8 compares the machinability of Specimen G with those of Specimens A, D, and ASTM No,30. The flank \wear loss of the reamer used for working upon Specimen G was almost equivalent to that of the reamer working upon the ASTM No.30 cast iron material, which incicates the good machinability of Specimen G. This is presumably because the increased addition of graphite by 0.4 massa raised the free graphite content by 0.3 mass%, and this ineveased the free graphite and so improved solid lubrica- tion between the reamer and the valve guide. 3.4 Effect of Carbon Content on Wear Resistance Fig. 9 shows the wear resistance of Specimen G. Specimen G, with a carbon content of 24 mass%, showed 2 good wear loss of 40 1m, simaller than that of Specimen containing carbon at 2.0 masss, andl comparable to that Of Specimen A, the conventional material. This is presum- ably due to the increased lubricating effect between the valve stem and the valve guide, of the free graphite formed Hitachi Ponsored Metats Technical Report Vo (2002) 20. Te aga: VO gneaing ine 2) Reser: Camere Cathie be) 5) Ning ook 9) Cuting pat: S80 5) Fed ae: Honan aeter, (Tet vole: 40 ec Fig Machinability of specimen 6. as a result of increased addition of graphite, The ASTM. No.30 cast iron material seized at the wear loss of 200 jim or more, this also indicates good wear resistance of Specimen G. ure Resistance A seizure test was done on Specimen G that showed ‘excellent wear resistance, to confirm the lubrication effect of the free graphite. Specimen A, the conventional materi- al, was subjected to the test under the same conditions For ‘comparison, Fig. 10 shows seizure loads and the conditions of ing areas of the stems after seizure for both specimens.‘Study on Fe-Gu-Sr-P Sinlered Valve Guide Matoril wih High Machinatiy and Wear Resistance, wth Added Sold Lubrication 1) Tet sprains: VO vel pe we ter 2 Ske 3080 aokenin 4 boas 29N ¥en 5) Teton 30% 1) Vatrestm=211N Tale Fig9 Wear resistance of specimen G. Seno inc Mast @ ‘aba Lad SON ah FG ares Fig10 The loud of adhesion. Compared with Specimen A, Specimen G showed better seizure resistance, sustaining a higher seizure load. The photos indicate that the area of seizure is smaller for Specimen G than for Specimen A, despite a higher load on Specimen G. This may be attributable to the higher content of free graphite in Specimen G, which served as a solid lubricant atthe sliding surface and consequently provided excellent seizure resistance, The solid lubricating effect of the free graphite has thus been confirmed. 4, Conclusion We studied the effect of adding phosphorus and graphite on the Fe-Cu-Sn-P-C sintered valve guide materi- als, and obtained the following conclusions. Effect of phosphorus content on machina resistance 1) As the phosphorus content decreases, the flank wear of | tHe reamer decreases. The machinabitity is optimized, or almost equivalent to that of the east iron material, at phosphorus contents between 0.04 and 0.08 mass, Among the tested specimens, the specimen containing phoyphorus at 0.04 mass% showed the best machin- ty and wear a ability As the phosphiorus content decreased, the wear loss ‘gradually increased, Notwithstanding, at the phospho- rus content between 0.06 and 0.16 mass% the speci- mens exhibited wear losses not exceeding $0 jim, the target value for wear loss. Regarding hardness, imachinability and wear loss, the phosphorus content of 0.08 mass is considered optimum, 3) With the pliosphorus content of 0.08 mass%, the hard phase, or the Fe-P-C phase, does not precipitate, and Fe-Cu-Sn-P-C sintered materials of uniform ‘microstructure are obtained. + Effect of carbon content on machinability, wear resis tance and seizure resistance 1) An increase of graphite addition from 2.0 mass% to 2.4 mass rai mass4% to 1.41-masss, by about 0.3 mass%. 2) The machinability is enhanced by increasing the graphite addition Irom 2.0 mass% to 2.4 mast, while the solid lubrication effect of the free graphite is improved, and the Flank wear loss of the reamer is reduced 3) The wear resistance is improved as the graphite adi ss from 2.0 mass% to 2.4 masse, while the solid lubrication effect of the free graphite is improved. Regarding both machinability and wear resistance, the _araphite addition of 2.4 mass‘ is considered optimum, 4) The seizure resistance is improved as the graphite addi- tion increases from 2.0 mass to 2.4 mass%, while the 2) es the free graphite content from 1.12 tion incre: solid lubrication effect of free graphite is improved, tnd seizure load increases by 19 N, from 59 N to 78.N, Hitachi Powdered Metals Tachricat Report Vo. (2002)Study on Fe-Cu-Sn? Sintorad Valve Guide Matofal with High Mactinabiity ‘and Wear Resistance, with Added Solid Lucasion 5. Application Fig. (1 is a photo showing valve guides of this series actually employed guides for diesel engines, These have been mounted on passenger cars since 2002. Hig-t1 Photo of Valve guides for diesel en senger ear, ne for pase References 1) Endoh, H., tkenowe, Y., Hayasaka, T., Takeya, ¥., and Hirano, Y., : Sintered Valve Guide for 1. C. Engine, ‘SAE Technical Paper 800307 (1980), pp.1-7 2) Hayashi, K,, Shikata, H., Ikenoue, Y., Ishii, K., Chikahata, K., and Goto, G., : Enhanced Machinability of Valve Guides Made From P/M Materials, MPI ADVANCES in Powder Metallurgy & Particulate Materials 4, 1996, pp.117-121 3) Funabashi, N., Endoh, H., and Goto, G., : US-Japan PM Valve Guide History and Technology, Proceedings Of the International Symposium on Valvetrain System Design and Materials, 1997, pp.75-84 4) Tkenoue, ¥., Sato, R.. Hayashi, K., andl Chikahata, K., US. Paten 5,259,860 Katsunao Chikahata Kouichiro Hayashi Hitachi Powdered Metals Techrical Repot Volt (2002) om