Alloys

Why study Alloys?

1. In some branches of engineering, the deal is made with the building of massive
structures or making parts of any machine etc.
2. These operations in some or the other way require metals as the base material. But
metals in their pure state do not show the properties they possess up to the mark.
Thus they are mixed with some other meats or any other material to enhance their
properties. This mixture is known as an Alloy.
3. Thus for us to be able to select proper alloy that suit our requirement having the
proper knowledge about various aspects of alloys is very important and thus this
chapter has been introduced in the syllabus.

Introduction
1. Metals are obtained from earths crust through mining. But they are never available
in their purest form. Some or the other impurities are always present with them like
sulphur, carbon impurities
2. For making the metals free from the impurities they are passed through various
phases of purification techniques.
But in doing so, these metals lose their vital characteristics up to some extent like
hardness, tensile strength, malleability, ductility etc.
3. Thus for further improving the properties of metal they are mixed with some other
metal or non metal.
This mixture is known as alloy.

Alloys
1. An alloy is a homogeneous mixture of two or more elements out of which one should
be a metal.
2. In alloys the properties of any metal are enhanced by mixing with a non metal like
silicon, phosphorus etc.
3. Mostly the metal and the non metal are mixed in their molten state and when this
mixture is cooled the two elements remain in contact with each other which form on
alloy.