| Abstract Scope |
Soft magnetic composites (SMCs) are a vital component to extending the efficiency of electric vehicle motors. Production of these materials is difficult due to the tradeoff between applying electrically insulating coatings over individual iron particles, and processing at high enough temperatures to achieve adequate strength without coating breakdown. Cold sintering offers a means to achieve both, by applying insulating coatings, followed by warm compaction at 100°C. These coatings exhibit breakdown-resistance for low-temperature subsequent heat treatment and have yielded strength values comparable or exceeding that of many state-of-the-art SMCs up to 700°C. This is despite having densities ranging from 7.0g/cc to 7.15g/cc for cold sintered samples with and without subsequent heat treatment, respectively, and use of non-SMC specified powders. Finally, this study examines the effects of this technique and the impact of changing parameters, such as base powder, particle size, coating type and thickness, and maximum temperature throughout the process. |