Faculty of Engineering

and Technology

Materials Science

Instructor:

Dr. Mohamed Abdallah Bhlol

Assistant Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
Faculty of Engineering
Helwan University
 Faculty of Engineering
and Technology

Materials Science

Chapter 4
Strengthening mechanisms in
metals

Dr. Mohamed Abdallah Bhlol

Topics
Why study dislocations and strengthening mechanisms?

Dislocations and Plastic Deformation

Strengthening mechanisms in metals

- Grain size reduction
- Solid solution strengthening
- Strain hardening
Why study dislocations and strengthening
mechanisms?
Reasons for studying dislocations and strengthening
mechanisms are as follows:

With knowledge of the nature of dislocations and the role

they play in the plastic deformation process, we are able to
understand the underlying mechanism of the techniques that
are used to strengthen and harden metals and their alloys.

Strengthening mechanisms will be applied to design and

tailor the mechanical properties of materials.
Dislocations and Plastic Deformation
Plastic deformation is permanent. Strength and hardness
are measures of a materials resistance to this deformation.

Plastic deformation process must involve:

(i) rupturing of the interatomic bonds and then reformed
(ii) motion and interaction of dislocations defects.

On a microscopic scale, plastic deformation corresponds to

the net movement of large numbers of atoms in response to
an applied stress.

The process by which plastic deformation is produced by

dislocation motion is termed slip.
Dislocations and Plastic Deformation
Plastic deformation is due to the motion of a large number
of dislocations.

Dislocations allow deformation at much lower stress than in

a perfect crystal.

Representation of the analogy between caterpillar and dislocation motion.

Dislocations and Plastic Deformation
Most crystalline materials, especially metals, have
dislocations in their as-formed state, mainly as a result of
stresses (mechanical, thermal...) associated with the forming
process.
Slip Systems
In single crystals there are preferred planes where
dislocations move (slip planes). Within the slip planes there
are preferred crystallographic directions for dislocation
movement (slip directions). The set of slip planes and
directions constitute slip systems.

BCC and FCC crystals have more slip systems as

compared to HCP, there are more ways for dislocation to
propagate FCC and BCC crystals are more ductile than
HCP crystals.
Dislocations and Plastic Deformation

Basic concept of slip systems

Dislocations and Plastic Deformation
Slip Systems for Face-Centered Cubic, Body-Centered Cubic, and
Hexagonal Close-Packed Metals
Strengthening mechanisms in metals
All strengthening mechanisms aim to restrict movement of
dislocations under load that renders a material harder and
stronger.
These mechanisms influence the microstructure which in
turn influences the material properties.

Strengthening
mechanisms

Solid
solution Precipitation
Grain size Strain
reduction hardening hardening hardening
Strengthening mechanisms in metals
1) Grain size reduction:

The size of the grains, or average grain diameter, in a

polycrystalline metal influences the mechanical properties.

Adjacent grains normally have different crystallographic

orientations and, of course, a common grain boundary.

During plastic deformation, slip or dislocation motion must

take place across this common boundary, say, from grain A to
grain B in Fig.
Strengthening mechanisms in metals
1) Grain size reduction:
Strengthening mechanisms in metals
1) Grain size reduction:

The grain boundary acts as a barrier to dislocation motion

for two reasons:

1. Since the two grains are of different orientations, a

dislocation passing into grain B will have to change its
direction of motion; this becomes more difficult as the
crystallographic misorientation increases.

2. The atomic disorder within a grain boundary region will

result in a discontinuity of slip planes from one grain into the
other.
Strengthening mechanisms in metals
1) Grain size reduction:

A fine-grained material (one that has small grains) is harder

and stronger than one that is coarse grained.

The finer the grains, the larger the area of grain boundaries
that impedes dislocation motion.

For many materials, the yield strength y varies with grain

size according to the Hall-Petch equation:
1 / 2
y 0 K yd
Where 0 and ky are constants for a particular material, d is
the average grain diameter.
Strengthening mechanisms in metals
1) Grain size reduction:
Grain size reduction improves not only strength,
but also the toughness of many alloys.

Grain size may be regulated by:

-The rate of solidification from the liquid phase, and also

- by plastic deformation followed by an appropriate heat
treatment.
Strengthening mechanisms in metals
2) Strain (work) hardening:

Strain hardening is the phenomenon whereby a ductile

metal becomes harder and stronger as it is plastically
deformed.

Strengthening by increase of dislocation density

(Strain Hardening = Work Hardening = Cold Working)

The reason for strain hardening is the increase of

dislocation density with plastic deformation. The average
distance between dislocations decreases and dislocations
start blocking the motion of each other.
Strengthening mechanisms in metals
2) Strain (work) hardening:

Strain hardening is often utilized commercially to enhance

the mechanical properties of metals during fabrication
procedures. The effects of strain hardening may be removed
by an annealing heat treatment.

The percent cold work (%CW) is often used to express the

degree of plastic deformation:
A0 Ad
% CW ( ) 100
A0
Where A0 is the original cross-section area, Ad is the area
after deformation.
Strengthening mechanisms in metals
3) Solid solution strengthening:
A solid solution contains two or more types of atoms or
ions that are dissolved in each other and dispersed
uniformly throughout the material.

A solid solution consists of:

(1) solvent, host or major component in solution,
(2) solute- minor component.

High-purity metals are almost softer and weaker than

alloys composed of the same base metal.

Alloys stronger than pure metals because impurity atoms

that go into solid solution impose lattice strains on the
surrounding host atoms.
Strengthening mechanisms in metals
3) Solid solution strengthening:
Lattice strain field interaction between dislocation and
these impurities atoms result: dislocation movement is
restricted.
Solid-Solution Mechanisms (Types):

There are two mechanisms by

which a crystal can dissolve atoms
of a different element.

I. Interstitial Solid Solution

II. Substitutional Solid Solution
Strengthening mechanisms in metals
3) Solid solution strengthening:
I. Interstitial solid solution
Solute atoms are of smaller size than the solvent atoms,
rendering the solute atoms to occupy the interstitial sites in
the solvent lattice.

The solute atoms that are small enough to fit into the
interstices of metal crystals are hydrogen, nitrogen,
carbon, and boron. (The other small- diameter atoms, such
as oxygen, tend to form compounds with metals rather
than dissolve in them).

Normally, the maximum allowable concentration of

interstitial impurity atoms is low (less than 10%).
Strengthening mechanisms in metals
3) Solid solution strengthening:
II. Substitutional solid solution
The solute and solvent atoms are similar in size,
rendering the solute atoms to occupy lattice point of the
solvent atoms.

For substitutional solid solution, solute atoms dissolve in

the solvent atom by replacing or substituting for the host
(solvent) atoms.

Substitutional solid solution may form: substitutional solid

solution of complete(unlimited) solubility, or substitutional
solid solution of incomplete (limited) solubility.
 Strengthening mechanisms in metals
3) Solid solution strengthening:

Interstitial or substitutional impurities cause lattice strain. As

a result, these impurities interact with dislocation strain fields
and hinder dislocation motion.

Smaller impurity atom than a host A larger substitutional atom

atom for which it substitutes exerts imposes compressive strains in its
tensile strains on the surrounding vicinity
crystal lattice.