Metallurgy &

Materials Science

Dr.S.Jose
Dept of Mechanical Engg.,
TKM College of Engineering, Kollam
drsjose@gmail.com
Module IV
 Ferrous Materials
 Non – ferrous alloys
 Composite Materials
 Metal matrix composites
 Smart Materials.
 Nano materials
 Bio materials
 Bioplastics.
2
Non – ferrous alloys
 Copper and alloys
 Aluminium and alloys
 Magnesium and alloys
 Titanium and alloys
Copper
 Most extensively used among non ferrous materials
 Important properties are excellent electrical conductivity
and corrosion resistance

 It occupies the second place among engineering

materials.

 It is also having very good thermal conductivity, and

also it can be easily machined, welded, brazed and

soldered.

 But, it lacks sufficient strength which makes it 4

Copper
 Over 50% of the copper produced is used for electrical
purposes like wires, switches and other articles which

carry electric current

 Another chunk of copper goes into applications which

require higher thermal conductivity

 These applications include, automotive radiators, water

heaters, refrigerators, heat exchangers, condensers etc

 Due to the excellent corrosion resistance, copper and its

alloys find widespread usage in corrosive environments
5
Copper
Strength of copper can be increased by different
methods like strain hardening, solid solution

strengthening and precipitation hardening.

Among these, most effective method is the second

one which is achieved by alloying of copper by

addition of elements like zinc, tin, aluminium etc.

to form solid solutions.

The solid solution alloys of copper are brasses, 6

Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc with the zinc
content varying from 5 to 54%.

Small amounts of lead, tin or aluminium also are

added to impart specific properties to brass

The important properties of brass are

• Good strength, ductility and formability
• Good machinability

• Good electrical and thermal conductivity 7

Copper-Zinc Phase diagram
Brass
A wide variety of brasses are in use today.
Solubility of zinc in α-solid solution increases from
32.5% at 900°C to about 38% at 455°C.

Copper and the α-solid solution are having FCC

structures, while the β-solid solution is of BCC

structure.

In the β-phase, copper and zinc atoms are randomly

dispersed at lattice points. 9
α-Brasses
Yellow α -brass:
Cartridge brass:
Admiralty brass:
Aluminium brass:
Red α -Brass:
Gilding metal:
Leaded red brass:

10
Duplex or (α + β) Brasses
Muntz metal:
Naval brass:
Forging brass:

11
Bronzes
The term, bronze represents alloys of copper with
elements other than zinc.

The simplest bronze contains 88% Cu with 12% tin.

Other alloying elements like phosphorous, lead,
nickel etc. are also added to obtain favorable

properties.

Other than tin, elements like aluminium, silicon or

beryllium are also alloyed with copper producing12
 Bronzes
Bronzes are softer and weaker than steel.
 Corrosion resistance, heat and electric conductivity are
also better than steel, while the cost is higher than

steels.

Compared to brasses, these are having lower coefficient

of friction, higher strength, toughness, corrosion

resistance and also higher cost.

Bronze is having good castability and anti-friction or 13

Bronzes
Tin Bronze:
Gun metal:
Aluminium bronze:
Silicon bronze:
Beryllium bronze:

14
Aluminium
 Aluminium occupies the third place
among commercially used engineering
materials.
 It has low density, low melting point
and high electrical and thermal
conductivities.
 It has low strength and hardness, but
high ductility and malleability.
15
 Aluminium
 On exposure to atmosphere, it forms a strong
film of aluminium oxide on its surface, which
prevents further oxidation and corrosion.
 It is employed for lightly loaded structures and
for electrical cables and similar items.
 Aluminium has good machinability, formability,
workability and castability.
 It is non-magnetic, non-toxic, easily available
and less expensive.
 The main drawback is its low strength and
hardness. 16
Aluminium alloys
The poor tensile strength of aluminium can be
increased by many methods like strain hardening,

solid solution hardening, age hardening and fiber

reinforcement.

By cold working, tensile strength of aluminium can be

increased by two times due to strain hardening.

Addition of alloying elements like copper,

manganese, magnesium, silicon etc. can increase
17 the
Aluminium- Copper phase diagram
Aluminium alloys
 Maximum solubility of copper in aluminium
is 5.65% at 550OC and it reduces to 0.45%
at 300OC.
 Alloys containing between 2.5 and 5%
copper will respond to heat treatment by
age hardening.
 Due to the increased strength, aluminium
alloys are widely used in commercial
applications.
 Two main groups of aluminium alloys are
wrought alloys and casting alloys. 19
 Aluminium alloys
 Wrought alloys : Al-Mn and Al-Mg alloys
form homogenous solid solutions and are
characterized by comparatively lower
strength and high ductility. Other examples
are avial (Al-Mg-Si) and duralumin (Al-Cu-
Mg).
 Casting alloys: The best known casting
alloy is the silumin alloys. Alloys of Al and
Cu also are suitable for casting. Many of the
casting alloys are heat treatable.
20
Aluminium alloys
 Duralumin: A typical composition is 94% Al,
4% Cu and 0.5% each of Mg, Mn, Si and Fe.
 High tensile strength and electrical conductivity.
 Widely used for aeroplanes, surgical and
orthopedic equipments.
 Y-alloy: Composition of this alloy is 92.5%
Al, 4% Cu, 2% Ni and 1.5% Mg.
 High strength and hardness even at high
temperature such as 200oC.
 Used for cylinder heads and crank cases of
engines.
21
Aluminium alloys
 Magnelium: The major alloying elements in
this alloy are magnesium and copper with Ni,
Sn, Fe, Mn and Si in small amounts.
 Better tensile strength and machinability, but it is
brittle.
 Used by aircraft and automobile industries.
 Silumin alloys: Alloys based on Al-Si
system are known as silumin alloys.
 A typical silumin is the eutectic alloy with 88% Al
and 12% Si.
 Having good castability, corrosion resistance,
high ductility and low density. 22
Titanium
 Titanium has two allotropic forms: upto
880OC, it exists as α-titanium (HCP)and at
higher temperatures as β-titanium (BCC)
 It is a strong, ductile and light weight metal,
density of pure Ti is 60% of steel.
 High corrosion resistance and high strength
at elevated temperatures and widely used as
a structural material.
 Suitable for cold and hot working and has
good weldability.
 Machinability is much inferior to steel. 23
Titanium Alloys
 The most important alloying elements for
titanium are Al, Cr, Mn, V, Fe, Mo and Sn
which considerably increase the mechanical
strength.
 Higher creep resistance, higher fatigue
strength, highest specific strength and good
corrosion resistance.
 Responds to heat treatment by precipitation
hardening.
 Ti-6Al-4V is the most widely used alloy,
accounting for about 45% of total titanium
24

production.
Uses of Titanium Alloys
 Used for aerospace structures and turbines
due to the high specific strength, corrosion
resistance and strength at elevated
temperature.
 Titanium is used in the construction of
leaching and purification plants for cobalt
production.
 Due to the higher corrosion resistance,
titanium is also used in various chemical
processing equipments, valves and tanks.
25
Magnesium
 Magnesium has the HCP crystal structure.
 It is lighter and less ductile than aluminium.
 It is having poor modulus of elasticity, poor
resistance to wear, fatigue and creep.
 Its response to strengthening mechanisms
also is relatively poor.
 Solubility of aluminium in magnesium
increases with temperature
 This alloy responds well to age hardening
also
26
Magnesium Alloys
 Addition of aluminium to magnesium increases
strength, hardness and castability.
 Addition of manganese to magnesium has very
little effect on the mechanical properties, but it
improves the corrosion resistance.
 Magnesium-aluminium-zinc alloys have higher
mechanical properties and good corrosion
resistance.
 In general, magnesium alloys have poor
ductility and formability, but poor fatigue and
stress corrosion resistance.
27
Magnesium Alloys
 Magnesium alloys are used in the areas of
aerospace, high speed machinery,
transportation and material handling
equipments.
 Magnesium-manganese alloys are used for
sheet forming processes.
 Magnesium-aluminium-zinc alloys are
suitable for sand and die casting, extrusion
and forging processes.

28
Thank you