ENGINEERING MATERIALS & METALLURGY

UNIT III

FERROUS AND NON FERROUS METALS

1
EFFECT OF ALLOY TYPE ON PROPERTIES
Ø In an alloy of two metals which are insoluble in solid state, the structure of solid
alloy is a mixture of two pure metals.
Ø Alloy composition the properties are expected to vary linearly but it is not so in
practice.
Ø This deviation is due to grain size effect. A eutectics finely divided mixture of two
metals.
Ø The dotted lines show the expected property variation, neglecting the grain size
effect.
Ø A fine crystal grained metal tends to be harder and stronger than a coarse
grained sample of the same material.
Ø A fine grain size causes a reduction in electrical and thermal conductivities.
Ø Since the primary crystals which solidify first on either side of the eutectic point
are much larger in size
The deviation from expected behavior is more near eutectic point

MICROSTRUCTURE OF IRON AND STEEL (PHASE IN THE FE-C SYSTEM)

There are number of special names which are used to denote the various phases
and types of structure which occur in iron and steel.
Microstructure reveals the arrangement, size and shape of the grains and
molecules.
It is observed through microscope of higher magnification.
Let us now see the names of these structures observed and their properties.
FERRITE
v BCC solid solutions and BCC allotropes of iron a and 8 are called ferrites.
v It is stable over the temperature range from —273° to 908°C in iron.
v The solubility of carbon is extremely limited. The maximum solubility is .002%,
wt% at 723°C.
v It is soft, ductile and highly magnetic.
v It has low tensile strength and cannot be hardened.
v Its hardness is so low. It’s BHN is from 50—100.

2
AUSTEITE
v It is an interstitial solid solution of carbon in FCC (essentially y iron).
v It. is stable from 908 to 1388°C.
v The solubility is larger as compared to ferrite. The maximum solubility is 2.11 wt
% at 1130°C.
v It is tough and non magnetic.
v It is ductile and denser than ferrite.
v Its BHN is around 200.

CEMENTITE
v It is interstitial compound formed between iron and carbon; it contains 6.7 wt %
carbon and is represented by the formula Fe It has a complex orthorhombic
crystal structure.
v This is an extremely hard and brittle constituent.
v It is magnetic below 210°C.

PEARLITE
v It is eutectoid mixture of ferrite and cementite.
v It is formed when austenite decomposes during cooling below critical
temperature 723°C.
v It has a fine to coarse lamellar structure consisting of alternate plates of
ferrite and cementite and contains about 87% ferrite.

3
 MARTENSITE
Ø It is formed when a steel is very rapidly - cooled from the austenite state.
Ø It is a ferrite highly super saturated with dissolved carbon.
Ø It is very hard and brittle.

BAINITE
Ø It is a decomposition product of austenite.
Ø It is formed when austenite decomposes by isothermal transformation
Ø Fast cooling of austenite results in formation of martensite while slow cooling
result in formation of pearlite. Intermediate cooling also results in formation of
bainite.—

SORBITE AND TROOSTITE -

When martensite or bainite is heated at some temperature not exceeding 700°C to
reduce brittleness and hardness, these structures are produced.

HYPO-EUTECTOID STEELS
• These have carbon contents varying from 0.008% to just below 0.83%.
• They have microstructures consisting of grains of ferrite together with grains of pearlite.
• With increase of carbon content, the proportion of strong pearlite formed increases..

4
EUTECTOID STEELS
• These have carbon contents, ideally, of 0.83%.
• They consist entirely of lamellar pearlite.
• Many alloying elements influence the carbon contents of eutectoid steels; manganese
if added to the extent of about 1% reduces the % carbon in the eutectoid to about 0.7%.

HYPER-EUTECTOID STEELS

• If the carbon content is greater than 0.83%, hyper-eutectoid steels are formed.
• The steels consist of pearlite and cementite, the latter forming around the grain
boundaries of the pearlite.
• In practice, plain steels containing more then about 1.6% carbon are rare.

FERROUS ALLOYS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

Iron is the prime constituent of ferrous alloys. They are produced in large quantities than
any other metal type because of the following factors:
1. Iron containing compounds exist in abundant quantities,
2. Ferrous alloys are produced with relative ease and cost effectiveness, and
3. Ferrous alloys are extremely versatile and hence they may be tailored to have a wide
range of mechanical and physical properties.
The only drawback of many ferrous alloys is that they are susceptible to corrosion. The
classification scheme of the various ferrous alloys is presented in Fig.

STEELS

Steels are iron-carbon alloys that contain appreciable concentrations of other

alloying element
The mechanical properties are sensitive to the content of carbon, which is
normally less than 1.0 wt %.Steels are classified according to carbon
concentration, namely, into low, medium, and high carbon types.

5
 Plain carbon steels contain only residual concentrations of impurities other than
carbon. For alloy steels alloying elements are added.

Low Carbon Steels

Ø This is the greatest quantity produced steel and least expensive to

produce. Their properties are:
Ø Contain less than about 0.30 wt % C
Ø Microstructure consist of ferrite and pearlite constituents y strength “- 275
MPa -.tensile strength between 415 and 550 MPa
Ø Ductility of 25% EL
Ø Capable of withstanding a large amount of cold working
Ø Relatively soft and weak but ductile and tough machinable and weld able.

APPLICATIONS
Include manufacturing of automobile body components
Structural shapes (I-beams, channel and angle iron)
Sheets that are used in pipelines, buildings, bridges and tin cans.

HIGH STRENGTH, LOW ALLOY (HSLC) STEELS.

They contain other alloying elements such as copper, vanadium, nickel, and
molybdenum in combined concentrations as high as 10 wt %. There properties are:
• possess higher strengths than the plain low carbon steels.
• strengthened by heat treatment
• Ductile, formable and machinable
• More resistant to corrosion than the plain carbon steels
• yield strength ‘S-’ 480 MPa

APPLICATIONS

• Structures that are bolted or riveted such as bridges, towers, support columns in
highrise buildings.
• Truck frames and railway cars.
• Pressure vessels.

MEDIUM CARBON STEELS

Ø Contain carbon concentration between about 0.25 and 0.60 wt%

Ø May be heat treated by austenitizing, quenching and then tempering to improve
their mechanical properties.
Ø Have low harden abilities
Ø Can be heat treated in vary thin section with very rapid quenching rates ,/ yield
strength between 400 and 1000 MPa
Ø Tensile strength between 600 and 1400 MPA
Ø Ductility strength between 10 and 35% EL

6
APPLICATIONS
Production of crankshafts, bolts and hammers .t chisels, knives, hacksaw blades

HIGH CARBON STEELS

v The high carbon steels have carbon contents between 0.60 and 1.4 wt %.
v They are hardest and strongest
v Least ductile of the carbon steels
v Normally used in a hardened and tempered condition
v Wear resistant
Typical applications are for making
• Blacksmith tools and
• Woodworking tools.

STAINLESS STEELS
v The stainless steels are highly resistant to corrosion (rusting).
v Their predominant alloying element is chromium; a concentration of at least 11 wt
% Cr is required.
v Addition of nickel and molybdenum enhances the corrosion resistance.
v They are magnetic
v Yield strength lies between 250 and 1700 MPa
v Tensile strength lies between 400 and 1800 MPa ductility varies between 5 and
30 % EL
Typical applications are in manufacturing of RIFLE BARRELS

CAST IRONS

Any materials made up primarily of iron with about 2% or more of carbon is considered
to be cast iron.
Most commercial alloys contain from about 2.5% to 3.8% carbon. There are four basic
types of cast iron that are usually produced.

GREY CAST IRON:

v This has a large amount of free carbon in the form of both flake and rosette
graphite in a matrix of, usually, pearlite and ferrite.
v Due to the weakening effects of the free graphite, this material exhibits
brittleness.
v This material exhibits a gray co lour on the fracture surface.
v Grey cast iron is typically weak in tension and fairly soft.
v It is brittle and strong in compression.
v It possesses excellent casting properties.

WHITE CAST IRON:

v Since a fractured surface is white in colour, it is named so.

v It has a structure composed of cementite and pearlite.

7
 v Since the carbon is in the combined form (cementite), the iron is extremely hard
and virtually unmachinable.
v White cast iron is always low in silicon.
v Normally white cast iron is produced as an intermediate step in the production of
malleable irons.

MALLEABLE IRON:

v Malleable irons combine excellent casting qualities with a measure of strength

and ductility.
v They are produced by suitably annealing white iron castings

ALUMINUM

v The most important process for getting from bauxite to aluminum is called the
Bayer method
v It takes about 9 kilowatts of energy to produce a pound of aluminum - far above
what's required for steel.
v And although the production of recycled aluminum takes less than 5 percent of
that amount of energy, virgin aluminum is needed to make wrought products -
those that are rolled, extruded, or drawn.
v A number of different alloys are produced using raw aluminum. For bicycle
fabrication, the resultant wrought aluminum products commonly use a four-
number designation system.
v An example of this would be the venerable 6061 alloy.
v Cast aluminum alloys use a three-number tag, a period, and then a fourth
number. Both wrought and cast alloys use another number that comes at the end
v The tempering has a huge effect on the mechanical properties of many alloys of
aluminum (some alloys are, and some aren't, heat treatable).
v When you weld a 6061 down tube to a 6061 head tube on a bicycle frame, the
as-welded condition will have lower strength than before it was welded. You then
v Alloys that aren't heat-treatable are often strengthened by cold work - also known
as strain hardening, or work hardening.
v Rather than change the structure by recrystalizing it, cold working changes the
structure through brute force, such as rolling, drawing, straightening or flattening
the material.
v Examples of this type of alloy are the 5086 and 5083 alloys that currently are
seeing some use in bicycle frames.
v When you heat treat - which really should be called thermal treatment - there are
two different steps.
v The first is the solution heat treatment, which is usually done between 800 and
1000 degrees Fahrenheit for a number of hours.
v The aluminum is then quenched - in air or water, depending on the alloy - to
room temperature.
v After that, the aluminum must be precipitation hardened (also known as AGING).
v The alloying elements that went into solution during the heat treatment will
precipitate out over time, increasing the strength of the aluminum.
v The alloying elements are more soluble at elevated temperatures, aging is
usually done in an oven (bake at 250 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, for eight to 36
hours), so that the process happens more quickly.

8
 Aluminum's Properties

The first property of aluminum that we'll examine is the easiest to understand, and
happens to be the one that makes aluminum as desirable as a frame material.

DENSITY

Ø Aluminum has approximately one-third the density of steel and one-half that of
titanium.
Ø Since our industry is so weight-saving conscious, aluminum has become a very
important player.
Ø Consider that some of the new aluminum composites have strengths close to or
matching that of Cr, Mo.
Ø The modulus numbers for aluminum are low compared to other common frame
building materials
Ø It is able to build a plenty stiff bike with it, because the low density allows you to
build a bike with large-diameter tubes, without a weight penalty.
Ø The Aluminum can be thick enough to provide good buckle-resistance along with
the stiffness.

ELONGATION.

o The first big property challenge for aluminum is elongation. It's true that
low elongation increases the risk of a brittle failure
o Elongations below about 9 percent should get close scrutiny. But we need
to look at strength, toughness, and the endurance limit, too.
o Aluminum doesn't have an endurance limit.
o That means that even a minuscule load, if applied enough times, will
eventually result in a fatigue failure.
o Steel and titanium are fine in this department, aluminum is not.

OPTIMIZING ALUMINUM'S ADVANTAGES

To optimize the advantages of aluminum, you have to deal with its

inherent disadvantages.
One of the ways to accomplish this is by designing in a large
margin for error.
A lot of factors come into play here, so this isn't an iron- (or
aluminum-) clad rule.
A basic premise is that the lower the displacement (flexing), the
lower the stress, resulting in less chance for fatigue.
It's also good to spread the stresses out to places of lower
loading.

9
 Titanium

ü The fourth part of our metallurgy series, is about that

mysterious and expensive metal, titanium.
ü Its reputation within the industry is excellent: light weight,
super strength and fatigue life.
ü Titanium is not as rare as you might guess - it's actually
the fourth most abundant metallic element in the earth,
after aluminum, magnesium and iron.
ü There's a lot more titanium in the earth's crust than there is
chromium or molybdenum, two of the essential ingredients
that accompany the iron used for steel bike tubing.

Density and Other Properties

• As we learned last time, density is the giant feather

in the property cap for aluminum.
• The density of titanium is almost double that of
ALUMINUM, it's only 56 percent as dense as
STEEL.

STIFFNESS (or) YOUNG'S MODULUS (E).

Ø The titanium that you find used in a majority

of frames has an E of around 15 million
pounds per square inch - approximately half
that of steel.
Ø This means that steel and titanium are
roughly comparable when it comes to the
Stiffness-To-Weight Ratio.
Ø The relationship between titanium's high
strength, low density and moderate
modulus, most fabricators choose tube
diameters that provide a supple, shock-
absorbing ride.

Ti's Real Plus: Elongation and Tensile Strength

Ø So titanium gets two second-place marks as compared to steel and aluminum in

the first two properties
Ø Elongation numbers for titanium are often 20 to 30 percent.
Ø For comparison, typical steels can be 10 to 15 percent - the higher strength
steels go down as low as 6 percent.
Ø Aluminum typically runs in the 6 to 12 percent range. Higher strength
aluminums again creep into the low range of single digits, with warning bells
ringing loudly.

10
Fatigue Strength

v The fatigue strength is another property where titanium performs

beautifully
v As long as these loads are kept below a certain level, titanium and steel
both have thresholds below which they will never fail.
v Almost none of the aluminum (including the metal matrix composites),
magnesium and beryllium used in bicycle fabrication has a defined
endurance limit,

ADVANCED COMPOSITES

Thermoplastic Composites

v The previous installment of this series covered the subject of carbon-fiber

composites
v The carbon-fiber composites that you're used to seeing are of the thermoset
variety.
v A newcomer on the scene is thermoplastic composite.
v Thermoplastic composite construction involves mixing ingredients, then heating
them up until they go through a phase change
v The material freezes into the shape you want, but if it doesn't, you can actually
re-melt and re-mold it.
v An apparently - unlike the outgassing characteristic of the themoset process -
you won't get much smell when this melting process happens.
v The material is also supposedly capable of being recycled, both by remolding or
grinding and putting into a new mixture.
v Because of its ability to be reformed and recycled, and the claim that is doesn't
emit nasty smells, some people are calling it a Green Material.

MAGNESIUM

Ø A metal with half the density of aluminum, and elongation around 10 to 11

percent.
Ø While magnesium is not normally known for its ductility,
Ø The material looks promising with those 10 to 11 percent elongation
numbers.
Ø Although the modulus is low, that really shouldn't be an insurmountable
problem. Aluminum has a relatively low modulus, but it doesn't mean an
aluminum frame can't be built stiff.
Ø The same will hold true for magnesium, in fact a lower modulus would be
welcome in the eyes of many.
Ø One issue that needs to be addressed with this metal is the extreme
problem with corrosion.
Ø Leave a magnesium part out in the rain and it will disappear faster than
just about anything except unpainted steel.

11
 Ø This problem can be overcome with proper surface treatment, like
painting or anodization.
Ø One of the intangible benefits of magnesium is that if you need to start a
fire for some reason, just scrape some flakes off your dropouts, and light
them up. They'll easily burn.
Ø The mini- Hindenburg effect, just add water. The oxygen and hydrogen in
the water disassociate, and party down with help from the magnesium.
Ø The way, titanium does the same thing, but it's a little harder to get it
started.

ALUMINUM METAL-MATRIX COMPOSITES

v Duralcan has a patented process by which it adds the Al2O3 while

the aluminum is molten and in a vacuum.
v The benefits of the process are apparently numerous the big
advantage is that it's a cheap way to produce this material.
v If aluminum oxide sounds familiar to you, it might be because
you've sanded something with Al2O3 sandpaper in the past.
v If so, you've used essentially the same stuff that goes in these
tubes: 600 grit aluminum oxide.
v That's right, sandpaper. Different percentages of Al2O3 yield
different results.
v Changing the volume fraction of the ceramic allows you to adjust
the mechanical properties. Add more Al2O3and stiffness goes up,
but elongation and fracture toughness suffer.
v With a 10-percent mix, the material has about 8-percent higher
yield strength, and 20-percent greater stiffness. The trade-off is
that the elongation will be reduced, but to a claimed value of
approximately 10 percent, which is acceptable.
v Aluminum bikes are stiff enough, you say. True, but as you also
know, this is a function of individual design.

ALUMINUM LITHIUM

Ø Lithium is also used to enhance the mechanical properties of aluminum alloys.

Ø The lithium used as a drug is lithium carbonate, a derivative of metallic lithium.
Ø A look at "the numbers" for lithium aluminum alloys reveals some extremely
impressive claims - among them high strength and stiffness.
Ø For those who have to work with lithium in its metallic form, it's more likely to
cause manic-depression than it is to cure it.
Ø Lithium is a pain to work with. Lithium and aluminum together have even more
pitfalls.
Ø Minute amounts of lithium can cause contamination in a processing facility.
Ø Lithium is unstable and it loves oxygen. So you need to extrude it more slowly,
and heat treat it longer.
Ø The heat treating is critical and easy to screw up.

12
Ø If you heat treat for too long, or at too high a heat - even by a small amount - the
lithium can oxidize
Ø Then you're left with a soft, almost pure aluminum.
Ø Since the alloys have only about one or two percent lithium in them,
Ø It doesn't take much to make all the lithium goes away.
Ø And the processing requirements and potential problems for lithium all mean one
thing expensive.
Ø Lithium is number three on the periodic chart;
Ø It’s the lightest of all metals;
Ø Far less dense than Beryllium.
Ø Beryllium and magnesium have two thirds the density of Aluminum, which is
two thirds the density of Titanium, which is half the density of steel.

BORON CARBIDE AND SILICON CARBIDE

Ø Other materials that get thrown into the aluminum vat to make a metal matrix
composite are boron carbide (B4C), which is what the Boralyn material has in it,
and silicon carbide (Si4C).
Ø When you add these materials to aluminum, you get some excellent theoretical
enhancements.
Ø The processing these materials require has some pitfalls. Silicon carbide is quite
reactive and can break down in the weld zone.
Ø When molten, some of the silicon carbide can react and form aluminum carbide.
Ø Aluminum carbide is weak in strength and reactive - so reactive, in fact, that it
dissolves in water.
Ø This kind of reaction with silicon carbide occurs due to poor welding technique;
but that can cause trouble with the aluminum oxide MMCs as well, though to a
lesser degree.
Ø For obvious reasons, silicon carbide hasn't seen much use applications, though
its mechanical properties make it look tempting.
Ø Boron carbide is the material used in Boralyn, and other boron carbide-enhanced
aluminum alloys are one their way;
Ø But there's a good chance that they'll be out there. Pacific Metal Craft is
producing an alloy they call B4C, and if that company's claims are true,
Ø This is a promising alloy by putting 15 percent boron carbide in a base alloy,
Ø The alloy is a high-strength alloy with good fracture toughness (for an aluminum).
Ø When you add ceramic (B4C), the fracture toughness diminishes.
Ø One of this alloy's benefits is that working with it is supposed to be easy.

BERYLLIUM

Ø There is a metal out there that is significantly more expensive than titanium. It's
called beryllium.
Ø Beryllium has about two-thirds the density of ALUMINUM,
Ø It certainly fits into the category of non- density-challenged metals.
Ø Furthermore, beryllium has some amazing mechanical properties - and density is
only one of them.
Ø The specific strength (strength divided by density) of beryllium is very high.
Ø The specific stiffness (modulus divided by density) is the highest of any metal on
the face of the earth or within the earth for that matter.

13
 Ø But beryllium is rare: Its concentration in the earth's crust is approximately 6 ppm.
Ø No rich deposits exist, and one of the results of this low concentration is the
aforementioned high cost - compared to aluminum, it's about 200 times as
expensive
Ø Here are some of the specific numbers for a tube of extruded beryllium:
Ø The bad news is the horrendous elongation number of about 2 percent in the
longitudinal direction, and 0.2 percent in the transverse direction.
Ø On planets where the surface temperature might be about 390 degrees F, the
elongation number for beryllium goes way up, to 23 percent.
Ø Unfortunately, that doesn't do us much good here on earth.
Ø In further bad news, beryllium wins out over all metals on the toxicity issue -
beryllium dust can kill you.
Ø Inhalation of dust particles or vapors containing beryllium may cause berylliosis,
an inflammation of the lungs.
Ø Due to cost, ductility and toxicity constraints, pure beryllium isn't commercially
feasible.
Ø .
Ø Brush-Wellman also has created an aluminum-based alloy with beryllium added
to the mix.
Ø The material is already being sold commercially in other markets - for computer
disk drives,
Ø Frames are on the way, according to a spokesman for Brush-Wellman.
Altogether, the company has four alloys of AlBeMet,

And they vary from 30 to 62 percent beryllium in the mix, with the following claimed
mechanical properties:

AlBeMet Alloy: 130 140 150 162

% Beryllium 30 40 50 62
Density .086 .082 .080 .076
Yield (KSI) 23 30 33 40
Ultimate (KS) 34 40 50 55
Elongation (%) 17 15 13 7
Modulus (MSI) 19 20 25 28

14