MET 205 METALLURGY AND

MATERIAL SCIENCE

MODULE 5
 SYLLABUS
• Fracture: Brittle and ductile fracture, Griffith theory of brittle fracture, Stress
concentration, stress raiser Effect of plastic deformation on crack propagation -
transgranular, intergranular fracture - Effect of impact loading on ductile
material and its application in forging, applications - Mechanism of fatigue
failure.
• Structural features of fatigue: - crack initiation, growth, propagation – Fracture
toughness (definition only), applications - Ductile to brittle transition
temperature (DBTT) in steels and structural changes during DBTT,
applications.
• Creep: - Creep curves creep tests - Structural change:- deformation by slip, sub-
grain formation, grain boundary sliding - Mechanism of creep deformation -
threshold for creep, prevention against creep - Super plasticity: need and
Applications
• Composites: - Need of development of composites; fiber phase; matrix phase;
only need and characteristics of PMC, MMC, and CMC.
• Modern engineering materials: - only fundamentals, need, properties and
applications of, intermetallics, maraging steel, super alloys, Titanium-
Ceramics:-coordination number and radius ratios- AX, AmXp, AmBmXp type
structures applications.
 Fracture
• If the material is stressed beyond elastic limit, two things can
happen;
1. Material yield (deforming plastically to continued plastic
deformation to 100% reduction in area then to complete
rupture).
2. Material ruptures without any visible sign of plastic
deformation
The ultimate rupture or failure of material by breaking into two or
more pieces, under the influence of an external load is called
fracture.

– The applied stress can be compressive, tensile or shear

– Fracture is prominent over tension and discussion on fracture will
focus mainly under tensile loads.

3
 Fracture
• Fracture is initiated by some kind of imperfection within the
material, generally a microscopic crack.
• When the material is stressed, the crack acts like a notch and
raises the stress at that point to a higher value.
• For engineering materials, two fracture modes are possible:
ductile and brittle.
• Classification is based on the ability of a material to
experience plastic deformation.
• Ductile materials typically exhibit substantial plastic
deformation with high energy absorption before fracture.
• On the other hand, there is normally little or no plastic
deformation with low energy absorption accompanying a
brittle fracture.
• Ductility may be quantified in terms of percent elongation
and percent reduction in area.
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 Ductile and Brittle fracture
• Any fracture or failure involves two steps—crack formation
and propagation—in response to an applied stress.
• The mode of fracture is highly dependent on the mechanism
of crack propagation.
• Ductile fracture is characterized by extensive plastic
deformation in the vicinity of an advancing crack, the
process proceeds relatively slowly as the crack length is
extended.
• Such a crack is often said to be stable (it resists any further
extension unless there is an increase in the applied stress).
• For brittle fracture, cracks may spread extremely rapidly,
with very little accompanying plastic deformation.
• Such cracks may be said to be unstable, and crack
propagation, once started, will continue spontaneously
without an increase in magnitude of the applied stress.
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 Ductile and Brittle fracture
• Ductile fracture is almost always
preferred for two reasons.
– First, brittle fracture occurs suddenly and
catastrophically without any warning;
this is a consequence of the spontaneous
and rapid crack propagation.
– For ductile fracture, the presence of
plastic deformation gives warning that
fracture is forthcoming, allowing
preventive measures to be taken.
– Second, more strain energy is required to
induce ductile fracture in as much as
ductile materials are generally tougher.
(a) Highly ductile fracture in which
• Under the action of an applied tensile the specimen necks down to a
stress, most metal alloys are ductile, point.
whereas ceramics are notably brittle, (b) Moderately ductile fracture
and polymers may exhibit both types after some necking.
of fracture. (c) Brittle fracture without any
plastic deformation.
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 Characteristics of ductile and brittle
fracture
• In ductile fracture, some plastic deformation occurs before failure.
• Ductile fracture is evidenced by necking, during which a reduction in area take
place.
• Highly ductile materials necks down to a point fracture.
• Ductile fractures occurs at several stages.

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 Stages in ductile fracture
Small voids Cracks grows
or cavities At 90 to the
Applied stress
Neck

45 max.
shear stress

Stages in the cup-and-cone fracture. (a) Initial necking. (b) Small cavity formation. (c)
Coalescence of cavities to form a crack. (d) Crack propagation. (e) Final shear fracture at
a 45 angle relative to the tensile direction. 8
 Stages in ductile fracture
• Stage 1: Necking
– In a ductile material, under a tensile stress, elastic deformation occurs up to a certain
limiting stress.
– As the stress is increased further plastic deformation occurs and a rapid reduction in
cross sectional area occur and necked region appears.
• Stage 2: Cavity formation
– With in the neck region small cavities or voids are formed; as the impurities
or other discontinuities in the materials gets separated by the application of
stress.
• Stage 3: Crack formation
– On continued loading the microcracks enlarge and joins together to form a
single crack. Mostly elliptical with major axis perpendicular to the load.
• Stage 4: Crack propagation
– Crack grow in the direction of the major axis of the elliptical crack; and
finally, propagate to the surface by shearing at an angle of 45 to the direction
of loading
• Stage 5: Fracture
– Once the failure occurs, one of the broken surface will be in the form of a cup
and other like a cone. This type of fracture is called as cup and cone fracture.
9
 Brittle fracture
• Brittle fracture takes place without any appreciable deformation, and by
rapid crack propagation.
• The direction of crack motion is very nearly perpendicular to the direction of
the applied tensile stress and yields a relatively flat fracture surface.
• For most brittle crystalline materials, crack propagation corresponds to the
successive and repeated breaking of atomic bonds along specific
crystallographic planes with least atomic bonds; such a process is termed
cleavage.
• This type of fracture is said to be transgranular (or transcrystalline) or
intragranular because the fracture cracks pass through the grains.
• Macroscopically, the fracture surface may have a grainy or faceted texture
as a result of changes in orientation of the cleavage planes from grain to
grain.
• This type fracture found in BCC and HCP crystals. Brittle
fracture

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 Ductile and brittle fracture
• Brittle fracture is a type of cleavage fracture resulting from the
separation of two parallel atomic layers, until the cohesion force
(which attracts atoms to one another) falls to zero.
• In a brittle fracture, we "tear" two atomic layers apart.
• This fracture occurs at the end of the elastic range of the stress-strain
curve. It occurs suddenly, without any warning, so that failure is
immediate.
• Naturally enough, this type of failure is particularly dangerous from
the engineering perspective.
• Danger is of course maximal when engineers assume they've used a
ductile material, but this material becomes surprisingly brittle under
certain conditions.
• Ductile fracture is characterized by considerable plastic strain as the
crack propagates. A material about to fracture this way "delivers
prior notice".
• An ideal ductile fracture is created by sliding two atomic layers one
over the other (shear stress), until both layers are fully separated.
• In the stress-strain curve, the ductile fracture will appear only after
the maximal tensile stress, with necking observed in the process. 11
(a) Cup-and-cone fracture in aluminum.
(b) Brittle fracture in a mild steel.

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 Griffith’s theory of fracture
• The fracture strength of many brittle materials are lower
than their theoretical values based on atomic bonding
energies.
• The failure occurs at a fraction of theoretical strength of
the material, this discrepancy is explained by Griffith.
• According to Griffith, the discrepancy in the actual and
theoretical strength is due to the presence of very small,
microscopic flaws or cracks that always exist under
normal conditions at the surface and within the interior of
a body of material.
• These flaws can deteriorate the fracture strength because
the applied stress may be amplified or concentrated at the
tip, the magnitude of this amplification depending on
crack orientation and geometry, which is called stress
concentration.
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14
 Griffith’s theory of fracture
• In a stress profile across a cross section containing an internal crack, applied stress
may be amplified or concentrated at the tip and the magnitude of this localized stress
diminishes with distance away from the crack tip.
• This much lower fracture strength is explained by the effect of stress concentration
at microscopic flaws. The applied stress is amplified at the tips of micro-cracks,
voids, notches, surface scratches, corners, etc. that are called stress raisers.
• Due to their ability to amplify an applied stress in their locale, these flaws are
sometimes called stress raisers.

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 Griffith’s theory of fracture
• If it is assumed that a crack is similar to an elliptical hole through a plate, and its major axis is
perpendicular to the applied stress, the maximum stress,  m, occurs at the crack tip and may be
approximated by

• 0-magnitude of applied stress

• a- length of an external crack or half the length of an internal crack
• t- radius of curvature at the crack tip 1
 a  2

• For a relatively long microcrack, that has a small tip radius of curvature, the factor 
 t


will be very
large; m will be many times than 0.

• The ratio m/ 0 is defined as the stress concentration factor.

• Stress concentration factor is a measure of the degree to which an external stress

is amplified at the tip of a crack.
• The effect of a stress raiser is more significant in brittle than in ductile materials.

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 Crack propagation
• A crack will propagate when the decrease in elastic strain
energy is at least equal to the energy required to create a
new crack surface.
• Using principles of fracture mechanics, it is possible to
show that the critical stress c required for crack
propagation in a brittle material is described by the
expression;

• The stress required to propagate crack in a brittle material is

a function of microcrack.
• When critical stress is applied to a brittle material; the pre-
existing crack propagate spontaneously with a decrease in
energy, leading to failure.
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 Modes of Fracture-crack propagation

The three modes of crack surface displacement (a) Mode I, opening or tensile mode;
(b) mode II, sliding mode; and (c) mode III, tearing mode

• There are three ways of applying a force to enable a crack to

propagate:
– Mode I fracture – Opening mode (a tensile stress normal to the
plane of the crack),
– Mode II fracture – Sliding mode (a shear stress acting parallel to
the plane of the crack and perpendicular to the crack front), and
– Mode III fracture – Tearing mode (a shear stress acting parallel to
the plane of the crack and parallel to the crack front). 21
 Transgranular and intergranular fracture

• For most brittle crystalline materials, crack propagation

corresponds to the successive and repeated breaking of
atomic bonds along specific crystallographic planes; such
a process is termed cleavage.
• This type of fracture is said to be transgranular or
intragranular (or transcrystalline), because the fracture
cracks pass through the grains.
• Macroscopically, the fracture surface may have a grainy or
faceted texture, as a result of changes in orientation of the
cleavage planes from grain to grain.
• In some alloys, crack propagation is along grain
boundaries; this fracture is termed intergranular.
22
Transgranular fracture Intergranular fracture

23
 Fracture Toughness
• Using fracture mechanical principles, an expression
has been developed that relates this critical stress for
crack propagation (c) and crack length (a) as;

• Kc is the fracture toughness, a property that is a

measure of a material’s resistance to brittle fracture
when a crack is present.
• Worth noting is that Kc has the units of MPa√m or
psi√in.
• Y is a dimensionless parameter or function that
depends on both crack and specimen sizes and
geometries, as well as the manner of load application.

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 Ductile to brittle transition
• Under some circumstances, ductile material fracture
abruptly with very little plastic deformation.
• This transformation occurs when the crack
propagation precedes over the plastic deformation.
• Ductile to brittle transition can occur in three
circumstances;
– The temperature is lowered.
– The rate of straining is increased
– A notch or stress raiser is introduced to material

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 Impact loads
• An impact load is a dynamic load; where load is suddenly applied.
• When a material is subjected to a sudden, intense blow, in which the
strain rate is extremely rapid, it may behave in much more brittle a
manner than is observed in the tensile test.
• Its effect is much grater than a steady load of same magnitude.
• Impact test is used to measure the toughness of the material, a measure
on the capacity of a material to store strain energy before it fails.
• High toughness is exhibited by materials with high strength and ductility.
• During impact loads, the ductile materials with voids and cracks will
behave like brittle materials, and it is not indicated in tensile tests.
• A brittle material requires less energy to break and hence lacks toughness
than pure ductile materials.
• Impact test are particularly useful for finding the ductile to brittle
transition characteristics of materials.
• The main objective of impact tests is to select materials with high
fracture toughness.

26
Two standard tests, the Charpy and Izod, measure the impact
energy (the energy required to fracture a test piece under an impact
load), also called the notch toughness.
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 Application in forging
• In forging process the forces are applied on the raw
material such that the stresses induced are greater than
yield and less than ultimate strength so that material is
experiencing plastic or permanent deformation to get
required shape.
• But in forging operation force applied can be either
continuous or intermittent impact loads.
• There are two kinds of forging process, impact
forging and press forging. In the former, the load is
applied by impact, and deformation takes place over a
very short time. Press forging, on the other hand, involves
the gradual build up of pressure to cause the metal to
yield. The time of application is relatively long.
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DROP FORGING
 Ductile to brittle transition temperature
• The ductile to brittle transition temperature is the temperature at which
the failure mode of a material changes from ductile to brittle fracture.
• This temperature may be defined by the average energy between the ductile
and brittle regions, at some specific absorbed energy, or by some
characteristic fracture appearance.
• A material subjected to an impact blow during service should have a
transition temperature below the temperature of the material’s
surroundings.
• Not all materials have a distinct transition temperature.
• BCC metals have transition temperatures, but most FCC metals do not. FCC
metals have high absorbed energies, with the energy decreasing gradually
and, sometimes, even increasing as the temperature decreases.
• The effect of this transition in steel may have contributed to the failure
of the Titanic.
• In polymeric materials, the ductile to brittle transition temperature is related
closely to the glass-transition temperature and for practical purposes is
treated as the same.
• The transition temperature of the polymers used in booster rocket O-rings
and other factors led to the Challenger disaster.
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Ductile to brittle transition
temperature

35
 Ductile to brittle transition temperature in steels

• In materials with a BCC structure – steels mostly – an extreme change

in fracture energy is observed within a certain temperature range.
• Above a certain temperature, the material is ductile, requiring
relatively high energy to fracture it; below this point, the material
becomes brittle and requires very low energy to fracture.
• This material behavior is called ductile-to-brittle transition. The
temperature at which this phenomenon occurs is called ductile-to-
brittle transition temperature.
• Thus, in BCC steels, under conditions of sudden load and low
temperatures, brittle fracture without deformation occurs.
• Ductile-to-brittle transitions have also been observed in polymers, due
to elasticity loss.
• On the other hand, in FCC-structured crystalline materials, the fracture
energy changes with temperatures in a gradual fashion.

36
The Charpy V-notch properties for a BCC carbon steel and an
FCC stainless steel. The FCC crystal structure typically leads to
higher absorbed energies and no transition temperature.

37
 Ductile-to-brittle transition

Low temperatures can severely embrittle steels. The Liberty ships,

produced in great numbers during the WWII were the first all-welded
ships. A significant number of ships failed by catastrophic fracture.
Fatigue cracks nucleated at the corners of square hatches and propagated
rapidly by brittle fracture.
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 Fatigue
• Under fluctuating / cyclic stresses, failure can occur at
loads considerably lower than tensile or yield strengths of
material under a static load: Fatigue.
• Estimated to causes 90% of all failures of metallic
structures (bridges, aircraft, machine components, etc.) are by
cyclic stress
• Fatigue failure is brittle-like (relatively little plastic
deformation) - even in normally ductile materials. Thus
sudden and catastrophic!
• The term “fatigue” is used because this type of failure
normally occurs after a lengthy period of repeated stress or strain
cycling.
• Fatigue failure proceeds in three distinct stages: crack
initiation in the areas of stress concentration (near stress
raisers), incremental crack propagation, final catastrophic
failure. 41
 Cyclic stresses
• The applied stress may be axial (tension-compression),
flexural (bending), or torsional (twisting) in nature.
• In general, three different fluctuating stress–time modes are
possible.

Periodic and asymmetrical about

Periodic and symmetrical about zero stress
zero stress

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Random stress fluctuations
 Fatigue: Cyclic Stresses (II)
Cyclic stresses are characterized by maximum, minimum and mean stress,
the range of stress, the stress amplitude, and the stress ratio

Mean stress: Range of m = (max + min) / 2

stress: Stress r = (max - min)
Stress amplitude: a = r/2 = (max - min) / 2
Stress ratio: R = min / max

Remember the convention that tensile stresses are positive, compressive stresses
are negative
Fatigue: Testing
Fatigue properties of a material (S-N curves) are tested in rotating-bending tests in
fatigue testing apparatus:

• Fatigue test are performed to determine the capacity of

a material to withstand repeated cyclic stresses.
• The machine has an electric motor, bearings and
collects to support and hold the machine for test.
• A revolution counter, counts the number of rotations.
• A dead weight is attached at the center of the specimen.
• When rotated, the specimen will be subjected to tension
at the lower surface and compression at the upper
surface.
• It will create a sinusoidal variation of stress, which will
be greatest at the surface and zero at the center.
• The number of cycles for failure, depend on the value of
applied stress.
• For a high stress the number of cycles will be less and for a
lower stress, the number of cycles before failure will be
more or large in number.
• Below a certain ultimate value of stress; the failure will not
happen even after infinite number of cycles, this value of
stress is called endurance limit or fatigue limit.
• A series of tests are commenced by subjecting a specimen to
the stress cycling at a relatively large maximum stress
amplitude (max), usually on the order of two-thirds of the
static tensile strength; the number of cycles to failure is
counted.
• This procedure is repeated on other specimens at
progressively decreasing maximum stress amplitudes.
• Data are plotted as stress (S) versus the logarithm of the
number of cycles to failure (N) for each of the specimens.
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Fatigue: S-N curves

• Fatigue limit (endurance limit) occurs for some materials

(e.g. some Fe and Ti alloys). In this case, the S—N curve becomes
horizontal at large N.
• The fatigue limit is a maximum stress amplitude below which the
material never fails, no matter how large the number of cycles is.
• In general, the endurance limit is 40 to 50% of the tensile strength.
• For materials not having fatigue limit, fatigue will ultimately
take place regardless of the magnitude of stress.
• Fatigue strength, which is defined as the stress level at which
failure will occur for some specified number of cycles.
• A material’s fatigue behavior is also characterized by fatigue
life Nf, a measure of on the number of cycles to cause failure at
a specified stress level, as taken from the S–N plot 47
 Mechanism of fatigue
• The process of fatigue failure is characterized by three
distinct steps:
1. Crack initiation, wherein a small crack forms at some point of
high stress concentration;
2. Crack propagation, during which this crack advances
incrementally with each stress cycle;
3. Final failure, which occurs very rapidly once the advancing
crack has reached a critical size.
• Cracks associated with fatigue failure almost always
initiate (or nucleate) from the surface of a component at
some point of stress concentration.
• Crack nucleation sites include surface scratches, sharp
fillets, keyways, threads, dents, and the like.
• In addition, cyclic loading can produce microscopic
surface discontinuities resulting from dislocation slip steps
that may also act as stress raisers, and therefore as crack
initiation sites. 48
Mechanism of Striations
Fatigue Rough granular
region

Smooth concentric Rough granular

striations appearance

Stages of fatigue failure

49
 Factors affecting fatigue life
Mean Stress or stress gradient
• The dependence of fatigue life on stress amplitude is represented on the S–N plot.
• Such data are taken for a constant mean stress m,. Mean stress, will also affect fatigue
life, an increase in the mean stress level leads to a decrease in fatigue life.
Surface Effects
• For many common loading situations, the maximum stress within a component or
structure occurs at its surface.
• Most cracks leading to fatigue failure originate at surface positions, specifically at stress
amplification sites. Therefore, the fatigue life is especially sensitive to the condition and
configuration of the component surface.
Design Factors
• The design of a component can have a significant influence on its fatigue characteristics.
• Any notch or geometrical discontinuity can act as a stress raiser and fatigue crack
initiation site; these design features include grooves, holes, keyways, threads, etc.
• The sharper the discontinuity (i.e., the smaller the radius of curvature), the more severe
the stress concentration.

50
 Factors affecting fatigue life
Size effect
• Size of the component has no effect on fatigue life, however as the size
increases, large components have less fatigue life because of the large
number of defects present in them.
Rate of cycling
• This has small effect on fatigue life, fatigue strength generally increase with
the rate of cycling due to the increased strain rate during rapid cycling.
High temperature
• An increase in temperature above room temperature can reduce fatigue life.
• This increment is due to an increase in the crack growth rate at high
temperature
Environment factors
• Environmental factors have a remarkable effect on fatigue life.
• Fatigue life in vacuum is 10 times more than that in the moist atmosphere.
• Corrosive atmosphere reduces the fatigue life.
• Fatigue resulting out of corrosion is called corrosion fatigue.
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 Protection against fatigue
Surface Treatments
• During machining operations, small scratches and grooves are invariably
introduced into the work piece surface by cutting tool action. These surface
markings can limit the fatigue life.
• It has been observed that improving the surface finish by polishing will enhance
fatigue life significantly.
• One of the most effective methods of increasing fatigue performance is by
imposing residual compressive stresses within a thin outer surface layer. Thus, a
surface tensile stress of external origin will be partially nullified and reduced in
magnitude by the residual compressive stress. The net effect is that the
likelihood of crack formation and therefore of fatigue failure is reduced.
• Residual compressive stresses are commonly introduced into ductile metals
mechanically by localized plastic deformation within the outer surface region.
– Commercially, this is often accomplished by a process termed shot
peening. Small, hard particles (or shot) having diameters within the range of
0.1 to 1.0 mm are projected at high velocities onto the surface to be treated.
The resulting deformation induces compressive stresses to a depth of
between one-quarter and one-half of the shot diameter.
• Case hardening is a technique by which both surface hardness and fatigue life
are enhanced for steel alloys. This is accomplished by a carburizing or nitriding
process whereby a component is exposed to a carbonaceous or nitrogenous
atmosphere at an elevated temperature.
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 Protection against fatigue
Proper design
• The design of a component can have a significant influence on its
fatigue characteristics. Any notch or geometrical discontinuity can
act as a stress raiser and fatigue crack initiation site; these design
features include grooves, holes, keyways, threads, and so on.
• The sharper the discontinuity (i.e., the smaller the radius of
curvature), the more severe the stress concentration.
• The probability of fatigue failure may be reduced by avoiding
these structural irregularities, or by making design modifications
whereby sudden contour changes leading to sharp corners are
eliminated—for example, calling for rounded fillets with large
radii of curvature at the point where there is a change in diameter
for a rotating shaft.

Grain refinement is also an

alternate method for achieving
fatigue resistance.
53
 Thermal fatigue
• Stresses which produce fatigue failure at high temperature
need nit always result from mechanical sources.
• Thermal stresses result when the change in dimension of a
member as a result of temperature change is prevented by
some kind of constraint.
• If a bar with fixed support is heated, thermal stresses will
develop by temperature change, which is given by;
  ET
– Where, -linear thermal coefficient of expansion
E- Elastic modulus
T-Change in temperature
• If the failure occurs by a single application of stress, then it is
called thermal shock.
• If the failure occurs by repeated application of thermal stress of
a lower magnitude, then it is called as thermal fatigue.
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 Application of thermal fatigue in machining
• Principle of thermal fatigue is made use of in thermo
mechanical machining.
• This method is used for the removal of burrs and fins
by exposing the material to hot corrosive gases for a
short period of time.
• Hot gases are formed by detonating an explosive
mixture of oxygen, hydrogen and natural gas in a
chamber with the material.
• A thermal shock wave vaporizes the burrs found on
gears, die castings, valves and so on.
• Thermo chemical machining (TCM) will remove burrs
and fins from a wide range of materials, but it is
particularly effective with materials of low thermal
conductivity.
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 Effect of thermal fatigue on metal cutting tool life

• Another area where thermal fatigue becomes significant is in

metal cutting tool life.
• In machining operations in which there is interrupted cutting, such
as milling, heat is generated at each cut.
• Thus the tool is subjected to a heating and a cooling cycle.
• If the thermal conductivity of the tool is low, and the coefficient of
thermal expansion is high, tool failure can take place soon.
• Similar situation can happen in the case of hot forging dies.
• To avoid such situation, tool failure due to thermal fatigue,
material should be selected carefully.

56
 Creep
• In many applications, materials are often placed under steady loads for
longer periods of time (eg. turbine rotors in steam turbines, jet engines,
high pressure pipe lines, beams in the roof of buildings etc).
• Under such conditions, material undergoes continuous deformation
without any increase in load, until its usefulness is seriously affected.
• Deformation under such conditions is termed as "Creep".
• Creep is defined as the time dependent part of the strain resulting from
stress applied continuously over long period of time.
• Such time dependent deformation, over the life time of a structure, can
grow larger and even result in final fracture without any increase in load.
• Creep is more predominant at higher temperature and hence it is usually
thought of as an elevated temperature effect.
• “When subjected to a constant load for longer periods, creep is a
phenomenon that occurs in all type of materials.
• For metallic materials, creep becomes important only for temperatures
greater than about 0.4Tm (T = melting temperature in absolute units).
• Amorphous polymers like plastics, rubber, lead etc. exhibit creep at room
temperature.
57
 Creep
• Of the various factors causing creep; stress, temperature and time
are the predominant ones.
• Their effect can be analyzed by conducting a creep test and plotting
creep curves.
• The test consists of subjecting a specimen to a constant stress,
while maintaining temperature constant.
• Deformation or strain is plotted as a function of elapsed time.

58
Creep curve for metals
 Creep curve
Schematic of a typical
constant load creep
behavior of metals.

• Upon application of the load there is an instantaneous deformation,

which is mostly elastic.
• The resulting creep curve consists of three regions, each of which has its
own distinctive strain–time feature.
• Primary or transient creep occurs first, characterized by a continuously
decreasing creep rate; that is, the slope of the curve diminishes with time.
• This suggests that the material is experiencing an increase in creep
resistance or strain hardening and deformation becomes more difficult as
the material is strained
59
Creep curve
 For secondary creep, sometimes
termed steady-state creep, the rate is
constant; that is, the plot becomes
linear. This is often the stage of creep
that is of the longest duration.
 The constancy of creep rate is
explained on the basis of a balance
between the competing processes of
strain hardening and recovery,
(recovery being the process whereby a
material becomes softer and retains its
ability to experience deformation).
• Finally, for tertiary creep, there is an acceleration of the rate and
ultimate failure. This failure is frequently termed rupture and results from
microstructural and/or metallurgical changes;
• For example, grain boundary separation, and the formation of internal
cracks, cavities, and voids. Also, for tensile loads, a neck may form at
some point within the deformation region. These all lead to a decrease in
the effective cross-sectional area and an increase in strain rate. 60
 Creep Test Specimen Specimen holder

 A typical creep test consists of

subjecting a specimen to a
constant load or stress while
maintaining the temperature
constant;
 Deformation or strain is
measured and plotted as a Constant Load
function of elapsed time.
• For metallic materials most creep tests are conducted in uniaxial
tension using a specimen having the same geometry as for tensile
tests.
• Uniaxial compression tests are used for brittle materials; these
provide a better measure of the intrinsic creep properties in as
much as there is no stress amplification and crack propagation, as
with tensile loads.
61
 Creep test
• Possibly the most important parameter from a creep test is the
slope of the secondary portion of the creep curve (t); this is
often called the minimum or steady-state creep rate s.
• It is the engineering design parameter that is considered for long-
life applications, such as a nuclear power plant component that is
scheduled to operate for several decades, and when failure or too
much strain are not options.
• On the other hand, for many relatively short-life creep situations
(e.g., turbine blades in military aircraft and rocket motor nozzles),
time to rupture, or the rupture lifetime tr, is the dominant design
consideration;
• For these determinations, creep tests must be conducted to the
point of failure; these are termed creep rupture tests.

62
 Threshold for Creep
(stress and temperature effects on creep)
• Both temperature and the level of the applied stress influence the creep
characteristics.
• At a temperature substantially below 0.4Tm, and after the initial
deformation, the strain is virtually independent of time.
• With either increasing stress or temperature, the following will be noted:
– (1) the instantaneous strain at the time of stress application increases,
– (2) the steady-state creep rate is increased, and
– (3) the rupture lifetime is diminished.

63
 Mechanism of creep
• Several theoretical mechanisms have been proposed to
explain the creep behavior for various materials; these
mechanisms involve
– Stress-induced vacancy diffusion
– Grain boundary diffusion
– Dislocation motion
– Grain boundary sliding.
• At high temperatures the grain boundary becomes
weaker than the grain interior and two grains can slide
past one another due to shear stress.
• At temperature above 0.5Tm, the viscosity of the grain
boundaries is low enough for them to behave like a
liquid separating the neighboring grains and slide past
each other.
64
Mechanism of creep-Dislocation related mechanisms
• Cross-slip
• This kind of creep is observed at relatively low temperatures.
Herein screw dislocations cross-slip by thermal activation and
give rise to plastic strain as a function of time.(Cross slip is the
process by which a screw dislocation can move from one slip
plane to another.)

65
• Dislocation climb
– Edge dislocations piled up against an obstacle can climb to
another slip plane and cause plastic deformation.
– In response to stress this gives rise to strain as a function of
time.
– It is to be noted that at low temperatures these dislocations
(being pinned) are sessile and become glissile only at high
temperatures.
– Rate controlling step is the diffusion of vacancies.
 Mechanism of creep-Diffusion mechanisms
• In response to the applied stress, vacancies
preferentially move from surfaces/interfaces
of specimen transverse to the stress axis to
surfaces/interfaces parallel to the stress axis→
thus causing elongation.
• Diffusion of vacancies in one direction can be
thought of as flow of matter in the opposite
direction.
• This process like dislocation creep (involving
climb) is controlled by the diffusion of
vacancies (but diffusional creep does not
require dislocations to operate).
• The diffusion could occur predominantly via
the lattice (at high temperatures) or via grain
boundaries (at low temperatures). The former
is known as Nabarro-Herring creep, while the
later is known as Coble creep. 67
 Factors affecting creep
Heat Treatment and melting point
• Materials with high thermal stability and higher melting point resist creep.
• An annealed material has higher thermal stability than a quenched
material and therefore its creep resistance.
Grain size and shape
• The major factor in creep is grain size.
• Fine grained material exhibit better mechanical properties at low
temperature.
• Fine grained materials are prone to grain boundary sliding at high
temperature, due to large number of grain boundaries.
• Therefore, large grained materials exhibit better creep resistance than fine
grained one based on the temperature.
• Dendritic structures show better creep resistance than equi-axed grains.
Precipitation hardening
• Precipitation hardening improves creep resistance.
• The insoluble precipitates can prevent the dislocation movement and
grain boundary sliding.
Dispersion hardening
• Improves creep resistance
• Hard insoluble particles of second phase are uniformly distributed in a finely
divided form in the metal matrix.
• These particles does not allow the grain boundaries to move and hence reduce
creep deformation.
Strain Hardening/cold working/work hardening
• Strain hardening of steel increases its creep resistance, due to the increased
elastic limit or yield strength.
• In a cold worked material, the slip process is less easy.
• Previous cold work can modify creep behavior in primary and secondary stages.
Alloying additions-substitutional solid solutions
• Formation of substitutional solid solution usually improves creep resistance,
since it involves the creation of lattice strains which hinder dislocation
movement.
• The resistance offered by solute atoms to the movement of dislocations is useful
at moderate temperatures.
 Superplasticity
• The phenomenon of extensive plastic deformation without necking is termed as
structural superplasticity. Superplastic deformation in tension can be >300%
(up to even 2000% at elevated temperatures at low loading rates).
• Typically superplastic deformation occurs when:
1) high loading temperature, greater than 50% of the melting temperature of
the metal (T > 0.5Tm)
2) Fine grain size, typically < 10 m, grains are equiaxed (which usually
remain so after deformation)
3) Low and controlled strain rate (0,01-0.001 s-1)
4) grain boundaries are glissile (with a large fraction of high angle grain
boundaries).
• Presence of a second phase (of similar strength to the matrix- reduces
cavitation during deformation), which can inhibit grain growth at elevated
temperatures helps (e.g. Al-33% Cu, Zn-22%)).
• Many superplastic alloys have compositions are close to eutectic or eutectoid
points.
• Superplastic flow is diffusion controlled (can be grain boundary or lattice
diffusion controlled).
 Applications of superplasticity
• The superplasticity has been widely used for metal forming
operations, like thermoforming, blow forming, vacuum
forming, deep drawing etc.
• Deep and complex shapes can be made as one piece, in single
step pressing rather than conventional pressing or multi-piece
assemblies.
• Even though, the forming rate in superplastic materials are low,
this rate is compensated by reducing the number of assembly
operations, for instance, reducing fastening of holes.
• Reduction in fatigue, cracks, tooling cost, weight of the product,
etc.
• Superplastic forming is used for the fabrication of aerofoils in
gas turbines from super alloys.
 Composite
• A composite, in the present context, is a multiphase material
that is artificially made, in which constituent phases are
chemically dissimilar and separated by a distinct interface.
• In designing composite materials, scientists and engineers have
creatively combined various metals, ceramics, and polymers to
produce a new generation of extraordinary materials.
• Most composites have been created to improve combinations
of mechanical characteristics such as stiffness, toughness, and
ambient and high-temperature strength.
• Many composite materials are composed of just two phases;
one is termed the matrix, which is continuous and surrounds
the other phase, often called the dispersed phase.
• The properties of composites are a function of the properties of
the constituent phases, their relative amounts, and the
geometry of the dispersed phase.
• “Dispersed phase geometry” means the shape of the particles
and the particle size, distribution, and orientation.
 Composites
• Many of our modern technologies require materials with
unusual combinations of properties that cannot be met by
the conventional metal alloys, ceramics, and polymeric
materials.
• Frequently, strong materials are relatively dense; also,
increasing the strength or stiffness generally results in a
decrease in impact strength.
• Generally speaking, a composite is considered to be any
multiphase material that exhibits a significant proportion
of the properties of both constituent phases such that a
better combination of properties is realized.
• According to this principle of combined action, better
property combinations are obtained by the appropriate
combination of two or more distinct materials.
• Property trade-offs are also made for many composites.
 Need for developing composites
• With the advancement of technology, especially in the field of
aerospace engineering, there is increasing need of lightweight
materials with unusual combination of properties of high strength,
high elastic modulus and at the same time suitability at high
temperature operation.
• Many of our modern technologies require materials with unusual
combinations of properties that cannot be met by the conventional
metal alloys, ceramics, and polymeric materials.
• This is especially true for materials that are needed for aerospace,
underwater, and transportation applications.
• For example, aircraft engineers are increasingly searching for
structural materials that have low densities, are strong, stiff, and
abrasion and impact resistant, and are not easily corroded.
• Frequently, strong materials are relatively dense; also, increasing the
strength or stiffness generally results in a decrease in impact strength.
 Classification
composites

Phase Layered
composition composition

Reinforced Matrix
Laminated Sandwich
geometry material

Particle
Fiber
reinforc Polymer Metal ceramic
reinforced
ed
Large Dispersion
Disconti
particle strengthene Continuous
nuous
strengthened d
Multi-
Uniaxially Biaxially
axially Oriented Random
oriented oriented
oriented
 Classification
• Many composite materials are composed of just two phases;
one is termed the matrix, which is continuous and surrounds
the other phase, often called the dispersed phase.
• The properties of composites are a function of the properties
of the constituent phases, their relative amounts, and the
geometry of the dispersed phase.
• “Dispersed phase geometry” in this context means the shape
of the particles and the particle size, distribution, and
orientation.
• Based on this, the composites are broadly classified as;
A. Particle reinforced composites
i. Large particle reinforced composites
ii. Dispersion strengthened composite
B. Fiber reinforced composite
i. Continuous fiber reinforced composites
ii. Discontinuous fiber reinforced composites
 Large particle reinforced composites
• In large particle composites, the particle-matrix
interaction is treated on a macroscopic level rather than
atomic or molecular level.
• The particle size is 1-50 m and concentration ranges
from 15-40% by volume.
• The particle phase is stiffer and harder than matrix.
• The particles give strength to the matrix by restraining
the movement of the matrix in the vicinity of the
particles.
• The matrix transfers the applied stress to the particles,
which bear most of the applied loads.
• The degree of reinforcement or improvement in
mechanical behavior depends on the volume fraction of
the particles in the composite and the strength of the
bonding between the matrix and the particles.
 Large particle reinforced composites
• Mechanical properties are enhanced with increasing particulate
content, up to a certain critical fraction.
• There is an optimum volume fraction above which the properties
degrade, since the available matrix phase will not be enough to
separate the particle as well as to cause the effective bonding
between the matrix and the filler.
• For effective reinforcement, the particles should be small and
evenly distributed through out the matrix.
• Common large particle composites are:
– Cermets: Tungsten carbide (WC) or titanium carbide (TiC)
embedded in a metal matrix of cobalt or nickel.
– Vulcanized rubber: Carbon black in rubber
– Concrete: Sand, gravel particulate in a slurry of cement matrix.
Reinforced composite is a multiphase material.
 Dispersion-strengthened Composites

• Metals and metal alloys may be strengthened and hardened by the uniform dispersion of
several volume percent of fine particles (<0.1 m) of a very hard and inert material.
• The dispersed phase (5-15%) may be metallic or nonmetallic; oxide materials are often
used and are stronger than the matrix materials.
• The strengthening mechanism involves interactions between the particles and dislocations
within the matrix, as with precipitation hardening; the matrix is the load bearing phase.
• The dispersion strengthening effect is not as pronounced as with precipitation hardening;
but more effective for fine particles and smaller inter particle spacing.
• The strengthening is retained at elevated temperatures and for extended time periods
because the dispersed particles are chosen to be unreactive with the matrix phase.
• For precipitation-hardened alloys, the increase in strength may disappear upon heat
treatment as a consequence of precipitate growth or dissolution of the precipitate phase.
• The high-temperature strength of nickel alloys may be enhanced significantly by the
addition of about 3 vol% of thoria (ThO2) as finely dispersed particles; this material is
known as thoria-dispersed (or TD) nickel.
• The same effect is produced in the aluminum–aluminum oxide system. A very thin and
adherent alumina coating is caused to form on the surface of extremely small (0.1 to 0.2 mm
thick) flakes of aluminum, which are dispersed within an aluminum metal matrix; this
material is termed sintered aluminum powder (SAP).
 Fiber-Reinforced Composites
• Technologically, the most important composites are
those in which the dispersed phase is in the form of a
fiber.
• Design goals of fiber-reinforced composites is their
high strength and/or stiffness on a weight basis.
• These characteristics are expressed in terms of
specific strength and specific modulus parameters,
which correspond, respectively, to the ratios of
tensile strength to specific gravity and modulus of
elasticity to specific gravity.
• Fiber-reinforced composites with exceptionally high
specific strengths and moduli have been produced
that utilize low-density fiber and matrix materials.
 The Fiber Phase
• An important characteristic of most materials, especially brittle ones, is that a
small-diameter fiber is much stronger than the bulk material.
• The probability of the presence of a critical surface flaw that can lead to fracture
diminishes with decreasing specimen volume, and this feature is used to
advantage in the fiber-reinforced composites.
• On the basis of diameter and character, fibers are grouped into three different
classifications: whiskers, fibers, and wires.
• Whiskers are very thin single crystals that have extremely large length-to-
diameter ratios and exceptionally high strengths; they are among the strongest
known materials.
– Whisker materials include graphite, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, and
aluminum oxide
• Materials that are classified as fibers are either polycrystalline or amorphous
and have small diameters; fibrous materials are generally either polymers or
ceramics (e.g., the polymer aramids, glass, carbon, boron, aluminum oxide, and
silicon carbide).
• Fine wires have relatively large diameters; typical materials include steel,
molybdenum, and tungsten.
• Wires are utilized as a radial steel reinforcement in automobile tires, in
filament-wound rocket casings, and in wire-wound high-pressure hoses.
 Influence of fiber length
• The mechanical characteristics of a fiber-reinforced composite
depend not only on the properties of the fiber, but also on the degree
to which an applied load is transmitted to the fibers by the matrix
phase.
• Important to the extent of this load transmittance is the magnitude of
the interfacial bond between the fiber and matrix phases.
• Some critical fiber length is necessary for effective strengthening and
stiffening of the composite material. This critical length, lc is
dependent on the fiber diameter d and its ultimate (or tensile)
strength f* and on the fiber–matrix bond strength c; as follows;
 *f .d
lc 
2 c
• For a number of glass and carbon fiber–matrix combinations, this
critical length is on the order of 1 mm, which ranges between 20 and
150 times the fiber diameter.
 Influence of fiber length
• As fiber length l increases, the fiber reinforcement becomes
more effective;
• Fibers for which l >> lc , normally l >15.lc are termed as
continuous fibers.

The deformation pattern in the matrix surrounding a fiber that

is subjected to an applied tensile load.
 Influence of fiber orientation and concentration
Continuous and Aligned Fiber Composites
Tensile Stress–Strain Behavior—Longitudinal Loading
• Continuous fibers are normally aligned, whereas discontinuous fibers may be
aligned, randomly oriented, or partially oriented.
• Better overall composite properties are realized when the fiber distribution is
uniform.

Schematic representations of
(a) continuous and aligned,
(b) discontinuous and aligned, and
(c) discontinuous and randomly
oriented

fiber-reinforced composites.
 Influence of fiber orientation and concentration

(a) Schematic stress–strain curves for brittle fiber and ductile matrix materials. Fracture
stresses and strains for both materials are noted. (b) Schematic stress–strain curve for an
aligned fiber-reinforced composite that is exposed to a uniaxial stress applied in the
direction of alignment; curves for the fiber and matrix materials shown in part (a) are also
superimposed.
 Influence of fiber orientation and concentration

• In the initial Stage I region, both fibers and matrix deform

elastically; this portion of the curve is linear.
• Typically, for a composite of this type, the matrix yields
and deforms plastically while the fibers continue to stretch
elastically, in as much as the tensile strength of the fibers is
significantly higher than the yield strength of the matrix.
• This process constitutes Stage II as noted in the figure; this
stage is ordinarily very nearly linear, but of diminished
slope relative to Stage I.
• While passing from Stage I to Stage II, the proportion of
the applied load that is carried by the fibers increases.
 Influence of fiber orientation and concentration

• When the fiber orientation is aligned, reinforcement

efficiency is maximum in the direction parallel to the
alignment and almost negligible in the transverse
direction.
• When the fibers are distributed uniformly and randomly
oriented, in three dimension within the matrix, the
composite become isotropic with a reinforcement
efficiency about 20%.
 The matrix phase
• The matrix phase of fibrous composites may be a metal, polymer, or ceramic. In general, metals and
polymers are used as matrix materials because some ductility is desirable;
• For ceramic-matrix composites, the reinforcing component is added to improve fracture toughness.
• For fiber-reinforced composites, the matrix phase serves several functions.
1. Matrix bind and holds the reinforcing phase in place
2. It binds the fibers together and acts as the medium by which an externally applied stress is
transmitted and distributed to the fibers; only a very small proportion of an applied load is
sustained by the matrix phase.
3. The matrix material is ductile and thus improves the fracture toughness in composites.
4. The second function of the matrix is to protect the individual fibers from surface damage as a
result of mechanical abrasion or chemical reactions with the environment. Such interactions may
introduce surface flaws capable of forming cracks, which may lead to failure at low tensile stress
levels.
5. The matrix separates the fibers and, by virtue of its relative softness and plasticity, prevents the
propagation of brittle cracks from fiber to fiber, which could result in catastrophic failure; in
other words, the matrix phase serves as a barrier to crack propagation. Even though some of the
individual fibers fail, total composite fracture will not occur until large numbers of adjacent
fibers, once having failed, form a cluster of critical size.
6. The adhesive bonding forces between fiber and matrix be high to minimize fiber pull-out. The
ultimate strength of the composite depends to a large degree on the magnitude of this bond.
 Polymer-matrix composites
• Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs) consist of a polymer resin as the
matrix, with fibers as the reinforcement medium.
• Generally thermosetting plastics like epoxies and phenolics are the
matrix materials.
• Epoxies have better mechanical properties than phenolics but
phenolics are cheaper than epoxies.
• Thermoplastics are also used as matrix, since they can be reworked,
low processing time and at normal temperatures they have an
optimum combination of toughness, rigidity and creep resistance.
• PMCs have advantages over metal and ceramic matrix composites
because of their low density, high specific strength and high specific
stiffness.
• These materials are used in the greatest diversity of composite
applications, as well as in the largest quantities, in light of their room-
temperature properties, ease of fabrication, and cost.
• In this section the various classifications of PMCs are discussed
according to reinforcement type (i.e., glass, carbon, and aramid),
along with their applications and the various polymer resins that are
employed.
 Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Composites
• Fiberglass is simply a composite consisting of glass fibers, either
continuous or dis-continuous, contained within a polymer matrix; this
type of composite is produced in the largest quantities.
• The composition of the glass that is most commonly drawn into fibers
(sometimes referred to as E-glass) is 55% SiO2, 16% CaO, 15% Al2O3,
10% B2O3 and 4% MgO 13.1; fiber diameters normally range between 3
and 20 mm.
• Glass is popular as a fiber rein-forcement material for several reasons:
– It is easily drawn into high-strength fibers from the molten state.
– It is readily available and may be fabricated into a glass-reinforced
plastic economically using a wide variety of composite-
manufacturing techniques.
– As a fiber it is relatively strong, and when embedded in a plastic
matrix, it produces a composite having a very high specific strength.
– When coupled with the various plastics, it possesses a chemical inertness
that renders the composite useful in a variety of corrosive environments.
 Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Composites
• The surface characteristics of glass fibers are extremely important because even minute
surface flaws can deleteriously affect the tensile properties.
• Surface flaws are easily introduced by rubbing or abrading the surface with another hard
material. Also, glass surfaces that have been exposed to the normal atmosphere for even
short time periods generally have a weakened surface layer that interferes with bonding to
the matrix.
• Newly drawn fibers are normally coated during drawing with a “size,” a thin layer of a
substance that protects the fiber surface from damage and undesirable environmental inter-
actions.
• This size is ordinarily removed prior to composite fabrication and replaced with a
“coupling agent” or finish that produces a chemical bond between the fiber and matrix.
• In spite of having high strengths, they are not very stiff and do not display the rigidity that
is necessary for some applications (e.g., as structural members for airplanes and bridges).
• Most fiberglass materials are limited to service temperatures below 200 C; at higher
temperatures, most polymers begin to flow or to deteriorate..
• The applications are: automotive and marine bodies, plastic pipes, storage containers, and
industrial floorings. The transportation industries are utilizing increasing amounts of glass
fiber-reinforced plastics in an effort to decrease vehicle weight and boost fuel efficiencies.
 Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Composites
• Carbon is a high-performance fiber material that is the most commonly
used reinforcement in advanced (i.e., nonfiber glass) polymer-matrix
composites.
• The reasons for this are as follows:
– Carbon fibers have the highest specific modulus and specific
strength of all reinforcing fiber materials.
– They retain their high tensile modulus and high strength at elevated
temperatures; high-temperature oxidation can be a problem.
– At room temperature, carbon fibers are not affected by moisture or a
wide variety of solvents, acids, and bases.
– These fibers exhibit a diversity of physical and mechanical
characteristics, allowing composites incorporating these fibers to
have specific engineered properties.
– Fiber and composite manufacturing processes have been developed
that are relatively inexpensive and cost effective.
 Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Composites

• Carbon fibers are not totally crystalline, but are composed of both
graphitic and noncrystalline regions; these areas of noncrystallinity are
lacking of the three-dimensional ordered arrangement of hexagonal
carbon networks that is characteristic of graphite .
• About 90% of the carbon fibers produced are made from
polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The remaining 10% are made from rayon or
petroleum pitch. All of these materials are organic polymers,
characterized by long strings of molecules bound together
by carbon atoms.
• Carbon fiber diameters normally range between 4 and 10 micro m; both
continuous and chopped forms are available.
• In addition, carbon fibers are normally coated with a protective epoxy
size that also improves adhesion with the polymer matrix.
• Applications are aerospace structural applications, filament wound
rocket motor cases, sports and recreational equipments, pressure
vessels, etc.
 Aramid Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites
• Aramid fibers are high-strength, high-modulus materials that were introduced in the early 1970s.
• They are especially desirable for their outstanding strength-to-weight ratios, which are superior to
metals.
• Chemically, this group of materials is known as poly(paraphenylene terephthalamide). There are a
number of aramid materials; trade names for two of the most common are Kevlar™ and Nomex™.
• During synthesis, the rigid aromatic molecules are aligned in the direction of the fiber axis; and these
fibers have longitudinal tensile strengths and tensile moduli that are higher than other polymeric fiber
materials; however, they are relatively weak in compression.
• These materials are known for its toughness, impact resistance, and resistance to creep and fatigue
failure.
• Aramids are thermoplastics, they are, nevertheless, resistant to combustion and stable to relatively
high temperatures
• Chemically, they are susceptible to degradation by strong acids and bases, but they are relatively inert
in other solvents and chemicals.
• The aramid fibers are most often used in composites having polymer matrices; common matrix
materials are the epoxies and polyesters. Since the fibers are relatively flexible and somewhat ductile,
they may be processed by most common textile operations.
 Typical applications of these aramid composites are in
ballistic products (bullet-proof vests and armor), sporting
goods, tires, ropes, missile cases, pressure vessels, and as a
replacement for asbestos in automotive brake and clutch
linings, and gaskets.
 Other Fiber Reinforcement Materials
• Glass, carbon, and the aramids are the most
common fiber reinforcements incorporated in
polymer matrices.
• Other fiber materials that are used to much lesser
degrees are boron, silicon carbide, and aluminum
oxide;
• Boron fiber-reinforced polymer composites have
been used in military aircraft components,
helicopter rotor blades, and some sporting goods.
• Silicon carbide and aluminum oxide fibers are
utilized in tennis rackets, circuit boards, military
armor, and rocket nose cones.
 Metal-matrix Composites
• In metal-matrix composites (MMCs), the matrix is a ductile metal.
• These materials can be utilized at higher service temperatures than their base metal
counterparts; furthermore, the reinforcement may improve specific stiffness, specific
strength, abrasion resistance, creep resistance, thermal conductivity, and dimensional
stability.
• Some of the advantages of these materials over the polymer-matrix composites include
higher operating temperatures, non-flammability, and greater resistance to degradation
by organic fluids.
• Metal-matrix composites are much more expensive than PMCs, and, therefore, MMC’s
use is somewhat restricted.
• The superalloys, as well as alloys of aluminum, magnesium, titanium, and copper, are
employed as matrix materials.
• The reinforcement may be in the form of particulates, both continuous and
discontinuous fibers, and whiskers; concentrations normally range between 10 and 60
vol%.
• Continuous fiber materials include carbon, silicon carbide, boron, aluminum oxide, and
the refractory metals and the discontinuous reinforcements consist primarily of silicon
carbide whiskers, chopped fibers of aluminum oxide and carbon, and particulates of
silicon carbide and aluminum oxide.
 Metal-matrix Composites
• Normally the processing of MMCs involves at least two steps:
consolidation or synthesis (i.e., introduction of reinforcement into the
matrix), followed by a shaping operation.
• MMCs are shaped by standard metal-forming operations (e.g., forging,
extrusion, rolling).
• Automobile manufacturers have recently begun to use MMCs in their
products.
– Some engine components have been introduced consisting of an
aluminum-alloy matrix that is reinforced with aluminum oxide and
carbon fibers; this MMC is light in weight and resists wear and
thermal distortion.
– Metal-matrix composites are also employed in drive shafts (that have
higher rotational speeds and reduced vibrational noise levels),
extruded stabilizer bars, and forged suspension and transmission
components.
• The aerospace industry also uses MMCs. Structural applications include
advanced aluminum alloy metal-matrix composites; boron fibers are
used as the reinforcement for the Space Shuttle Orbiter, and continuous
graphite fibers for the Hubble Telescope.
 Ceramic-matrix Composites
• Ceramic materials are inherently resistant to oxidation and deterioration at elevated
temperatures; some of the ceramic materials are ideal candidates for use in high-temperature
and severe-stress applications, specifically for components in automobile and aircraft gas
turbine engines.
• The fracture toughness of ceramics can be improved significantly by the development of
ceramic-matrix composites (CMCs)—particulates, fibers, or whiskers of one ceramic material
that have been embedded into a matrix of another ceramic.
• The improvement in the fracture properties results from interactions between advancing
cracks and dispersed phase particles.
• Crack initiation normally occurs with the matrix phase, whereas crack propagation is
obstructed or hindered by the particles, fibers, or whiskers.
• Small particles of partially stabilized zirconia are dispersed within the matrix material, in
Al2O3 or ZrO2 matrices. Typically, CaO, MgO, Y2O3, and CeO are used as stabilizers.
• Whiskers of SiC or Si3N4 are also used as second phase particles.
• Partial stabilization of ZrO2 allows retention of the metastable tetragonal phase at ambient
conditions rather than the stable monoclinic phase.
• The stress field in front of a propagating crack causes these metastably retained tetragonal
particles to undergo transformation to the stable monoclinic phase.
• Accompanying this transformation is a slight particle volume increase, and the net result is
that compressive stresses are established on the crack surfaces near the crack tip that tend to
pinch the crack shut, thereby arresting its growth.
• Other recently developed toughening techniques involve the utilization of
ceramic whiskers, often SiC or Si3N4.
• These whiskers may inhibit crack propagation by
(1) deflecting crack tips,
(2) forming bridges across crack faces,
(3) absorbing energy during pull-out as the whiskers debond from the matrix,
(4) causing a redistribution of stresses in regions adjacent to the crack tips.
• Ceramic-matrix composites may be fabricated using hot pressing, hot isostatic
pressing, and liquid phase sintering techniques.

Schematic demonstration of transformation toughening. (a) A crack prior to inducement of the ZrO2
particle phase transformation. (b) Crack arrestment due to the stress-induced phase transformation.
 Hybrid Composites
• Hybrid composite is obtained by using two or more different kinds of fibers in a single
matrix;
• Hybrids have a better all-around combination of properties than composites containing
only a single fiber type.
• A variety of fiber combinations and matrix materials are used, but in the most common
system, both carbon and glass fibers are incorporated into a polymeric resin.
• The carbon fibers are strong and relatively stiff and provide a low-density reinforcement;
but, they are expensive.
• Glass fibers are inexpensive and lack the stiffness of carbon fibers.
• The glass–carbon hybrid is stronger and tougher, has a higher impact resistance, and may
be produced at a lower cost than either of the comparable all-carbon or all-glass reinforced
plastics.
• When hybrid composites are stressed in tension, failure is usually noncatastrophic (i.e.,
does not occur suddenly).
• The carbon fibers are the first to fail, at which time the load is transferred to the glass
fibers. Upon failure of the glass fibers, the matrix phase must sustain the applied load.
Eventual composite failure concurs with that of the matrix phase.
• Principal applications for hybrid composites are lightweight land, water, and air transport
structural components, sporting goods, and lightweight orthopedic components.
 Applications of composites
• Aircraft and aerospace application
– Load bearing and non-load bearing components are made using
composites like light weight, high strength glass fiber, carbon fiber
and Kevlar fiber composites.
– Windows, ceiling panels, storage bins, landing gear doors, etc.
– Structural composites like body, wings, helicopter rotor blades and
propellers requiring better strength made of MMCs of Al, Mg or Ti are
used.
• Automotive application
– Low cost polymer matrix composites are used for body components.
– For engine block, piston, piston rods, connecting rods, push rods,
chases, motor cycle frames etc. Al-SiC composites are used.
– MMC composites are used for transmission shafts.
– For brake and clutch lining, gaskets, epoxy polyester matrix-aramid
fiber composites are used.
– Rubber carbon composites are used in tyres.
 Applications of composites
• Marine application
– Marine application include surface vessels, offshore structures
and under water applications.
– A vast range of components are made of GRP.
– Some examples are hull, body parts, ladder, walkways, storage
tanks, piping, flooring etc.
• Sporting industry
– High strength coupled with rigidity and light weight of many
composite materials making them ideal for many sports goods.
– Tennis rackets, hockey sticks, cricket bats, golf clubs, vaulting
poles, skiing poles, archery equipment, surf boards,canoes and
skate boards.
– PMC composites are generally used for these applications.
 Application of composites
• Biomaterials
– Carbon fiber reinforced plastics and carbon components are in use
for prosthetics applications like orthopedic fixation plates, femoral
stems, hip replacements, jaw remodeling etc.
– Certain ceramic composites are used in dental applications.
• Other engineering and industrial applications
– Injection molded reinforced thermoplastics and polyester composites
are extensively used for many consumer items of domestic use.
– Kitchen equipment, electrical equipment, television and computer
casing, furniture, helmets, etc.
– Storage and pressure vessels, piping, valves centrifuges in chemical
industries are made with GRP and CRP.
– Cu/Ag composites are used in electrical industries as contact
materials.
– Printed circuit boards, casting for electrical equipments, high
strength insulators are made using composite materials.
– GRP and CRP composites are replacing wood in many civil
engineering applications and structural cement based components.
 Intermetallic Compounds
• An intermetallic compound contains two or more metallic elements,
producing a new phase with its own composition, crystal structure, and
properties.
• Intermetallic compounds are almost always very hard and brittle.
• Intermetallics or intermetallic compounds are similar to ceramic
materials in terms of their mechanical properties.
• Intermetallic: solid phases containing two or more metallic elements,
with optionally one or more non-metallic element. stronger bonding
than solid.
• The best distinction between an intermetallic and a simple substitutional
solid solution is to require the following conditions to be satisfied by
the candidate compound:
1. It has to be formed by at least two different elements (preferably metals,
but there are exceptions)
2. It must have a different crystal structure from the one observed in the pure
components.
3. The component element should have opposite electrochemical nature.
• Intermetallic compounds are special type of substitutional solid solution
with higher amount solute element.
 Intermetallic Compounds
• An intermetallic compound is a chemical compound just like H2O or
CH4 or any other compound. It exists as its own thing, different from its
constituents. Water is nothing like hydrogen or oxygen.
• Solid solutions have the solute atoms and matrix atoms distributed
randomly. The lattice type is that of the matrix material.
• Intermetallics have ordered arrangements of the different atom types.
The lattice type is different from that of the matrix material(s) - a bigger
unit cell with more atoms per lattice point.
• Intermetallic compounds are generally formed when one metal (for
example magnesium) has chemical properties which are strongly
metallic and the other metal (for example antimony, tin or bismuth) has
chemical properties which are only weakly metallic.
• Examples of intermetallic compounds are Mg2Sn, Mg2Pb, Mg3Sb2 and
Mg3Bi2 . These intermetallic compounds have higher melting point than
either of the parent metal.
• This higher melting point indicates the high strength of the chemical
bond in intermetallic compounds.
 Intermetallic Compounds
• Stoichiometric intermetallic compounds have a fixed
composition.
• Steels are often strengthened by a stoichiometric
compound, iron carbide (Fe3C), which has a fixed ratio
of three iron atoms to one carbon atom.
• Nonstoichiometric intermetallic compounds have a
range of compositions and are sometimes called
intermediate solid solutions.
• Precipitation of the nonstoichiometric intermetallic
copper aluminide CuAl2 causes strengthening in a
number of important aluminum alloys.
 Intermetallic Compounds-Applications
• Intermetallics such as Ti3Al and Ni3Al maintain their
strength and even develop usable ductility at elevated
temperatures.
• Ordered compounds of NiAl and Ni3Al are also candidates
for supersonic aircraft, jet engines, and high-speed
commercial aircraft.
• platinum silicide play a useful role in microelectronics and
intermetallics such as Nb3Sn are useful as superconductors.
• The intermetallic compound families include the
borides, hydrides, nitrides, silicides, and aluminides of the
transition metal elements of Groups V and VI in the periodic
table combined with semimetallic elements of small
diameter.
• More than 1000 possible compounds fit this definition, with
approximately 200 of them having melting points above
1500°C.
 Maraging steels
• Maraging steels are carbon free iron-nickel alloys with additions of cobalt,
molybdenum, titanium and aluminium.
• The term maraging is derived from the strengthening mechanism, which is
transforming the alloy to martensite with subsequent age hardening.
• Air cooling the alloy to room temperature from 820°C creates a soft iron nickel
martensite, which contains molybdenum and cobalt in supersaturated solid
solution.
• Tempering at 480 to 500°C results in strong hardening due to the precipitation of
a number of intermetallic phases, including, nickel-molybdenum, iron-
molybdenum and iron-nickel varieties.
• With yield strength between 1400 and 2400 MPa maraging steels belong to the
category of ultra-high-strength materials. The high strength is combined with
excellent toughness properties and weldability.
• Typical applications areas include:
– aerospace, e.g. undercarriage parts and wing fittings,
– tooling & machinery , e.g. extrusion press rams and mandrels in tube production,
gears
– Ordnance components and fasteners.
• Freedom from decarburization, minimal distortion during aging, good
formability, machinability, weldability and low coefficient of thermal expansion.
 Super alloys
• Superalloys, or high performance alloys, are alloys that exhibit excellent
mechanical strength and creep resistance at high temperatures, good surface
stability, and corrosion and oxidation resistance.
• They typically have an austenitic face-centered cubic crystal structure with a
base alloying element of nickel, cobalt, or nickel-iron. The development of
superalloys has primarily been driven by the aerospace and power industries.
• The high strength and creep resistance, the alloying elements must produce a
strong, stable microstructure at high temperatures. Solid-solution
strengthening, dispersion strengthening, and precipitation hardening are
generally employed.
• Typical applications include vanes and blades for turbine and jet engines,
heat exchangers, chemical reaction vessel components, and heat-treating
equipment.
• Hastellloy, nichrome, kanthol, udimet and inconel are nickel based super
alloys which possess excellent thermal shock resistance and high electrical
resistivity.
• Stellite, hayness, and vitallium are the super alloys of cobalt containing
chromium, nickel, molybdenum and tungsten as alloying elements.
• Incoloy is an iron-nickel super alloy contain 46 % Ni and 21% Fe and rest is
chromium, used in heat exchangers.
 Ceramic Structures
• For those ceramic materials for which the atomic bonding is
predominantly ionic, the crystal structures may be thought of as
being composed of electrically charged ions instead of atoms.
• The metallic ions, or cations, are positively charged, because they
have given up their valence electrons to the nonmetallic ions, or
anions, which are negatively charged.
• Two characteristics of the component ions in crystalline ceramic
materials influence the crystal structure: the magnitude of the
electrical charge on each of the component ions, and the relative
sizes of the cations and anions.
• With regard to the first characteristic, the crystal must be
electrically neutral; that is, all the cation positive charges must be
balanced by an equal number of anion negative charges.
• The chemical formula of a compound indicates the ratio of cations
to anions, or the composition that achieves this charge balance.
• The second criterion involves the sizes or ionic radii of the cations and
anions, rC and rA respectively.
• The metallic elements give up electrons when ionized, cations are
ordinarily smaller than anions, and, consequently, the ratio is less than
unity.
• Each cation prefers to have as many nearest-neighbor anions as possible.
The anions also desire a maximum number of cation nearest neighbors.
• Stable ceramic crystal structures form when those anions surrounding a
cation are all in contact with that cation.

• The coordination number (i.e., number of anion nearest neighbors

for a cation) is related to the cation–anion radius ratio.
• For a specific coordination number, there is a critical or minimum
ratio for which this cation–anion contact is established.
 AX-Type Crystal Structures
• Some of the common ceramic materials are those in which there are equal numbers of
cations and anions.
• These are often referred to as AX compounds, where A denotes the cation and X the
anion.
• There are several different crystal structures for AX compounds; each is normally
named after a common material that assumes the particular structure.

 Rock Salt Structure

 The most common AX crystal structure is the
sodium chloride (NaCl), or rock salt, type.
 The coordination number for both cations and
anions is 6, and therefore the cation–anion
radius ratio is between approximately 0.414
and 0.732.
 A unit cell for this crystal structure is
generated from an FCC arrangement of anions
with one cation situated at the cube center and
one at the center of each of the 12 cube edges.
 An equivalent crystal structure results from a
face-centered arrangement of cations.
Cesium Chloride Structure
• For a unit cell for the cesium chloride (CsCl) crystal
structure; the coordination number is 8 for both ion types.
• The anions are located at each of the corners of a cube,
whereas the cube center is a single cation.
• Interchange of anions with cations, and vice versa,
produces the same crystal structure.
• This is not a BCC crystal structure because ions of two
different kinds are involved.
Zinc Blende Structure
• A third AX structure is one in which the coordination
number is 4; that is, all ions are tetrahedrally coordinated.
• This is called the zinc blende, or sphalerite, struc-ture, after
the mineralogical term for zinc sulfide (ZnS).
• all corner and face positions of the cubic cell are occupied
by S atoms, while the Zn atoms fill interior tetrahedral
positions.
• An equivalent structure results if Zn and S atom positions
are reversed. Thus, each Zn atom is bonded to four S atoms,
and vice versa.
 AmXp-Type Crystal Structures
• If the charges on the cations and anions are not the same, a compound can exist
with the chemical formula AxMp where m and p are not equal.
• An example would be for which a common crystal structure is found in fluorite
(CaF2)
• The ionic radii ratio for is about 0.8 which, gives a coordination number of 8.
• Calcium ions are positioned at the centers of cubes, with fluorine ions at the
corners.
• The chemical formula shows that there are only half as many Ca2+ ions as F-
ions, and therefore the crystal structure would be similar to CsCl, except that
only half the center cube positions are occupied by ions.
• Other compounds that have this crystal structure
include ZrO2 (cubic), UO2, PuO2, ThO2.
 AmBnXp-Type Crystal Structures
• It is also possible for ceramic compounds to have more than one
type of cation; for two types of cations (represented by A and B).
• Their chemical formula can be designated as AmBnXp.
• This material has a perovskite crystal structure and interesting
electromechanical properties.
 Barium titanate (BaTiO3), having both Ba2+
and Ti4+ cations falls into this classification.
 At temperatures above 120 C the crystal
structure is cubic. as shown in Figure
 Ba2+ ions are situated at all eight corners of
the cube and a single Ti4+ is at the cube
center, with ions located at the center of
each of the six faces.
Applications of ceramic materials
 Glasses
• The term glass is used to describe the state of matter known as glassy
state, which is obtained when a liquid is cooled without crystallization.
• Glass can be called as super cooled liquid.
• It can be considered as a very viscous liquid when it is solidified.
• It has the physical properties of a solid like brittleness, hardness,
transparency and chemical inertness.
• The basic ingredient for the glass is silica sand.
• Compounds like, CaCO3, Na2CO3, CaO, Na2O etc. are also added to
make different types of glasses.
• Different combinations of these oxides lead to specific characteristics
and hence applications.
• The primary properties of these group of materials are optical
transparency and ease of fabrication as compared with other ceramics.
• Glasses are popularly used in construction and engineering applications.
• Glass fibers are used as thermal insulators and as reinforcing materials in
plastics.
• Safety glasses used automobiles are sandwich of tough plastic material
and two sheets of glass.
 Glass-ceramic
• Non-crystalline glass can be subjected to heat treatment to
convert them to polycrystalline material.
• This transformation is similar to phase transformation in
metallic alloys.
• Glass-ceramics are formed when the cooling rate is more
than the critical cooling rate for glass.
• The specific characteristics of glass-ceramics are;
– Relatively high mechanical strength
– Low coefficient of thermal expansion
– High temperature resistance
– Good dielectric properties
– Good bio-compatibility
– Easiness of fabrication
• Applications are; table ware, electrical insulators, oven
ware, oven windows, archeological cladding, etc.,
 Clay ceramics
• One of the most widely used ceramic raw materials is clay.
• This inexpensive ingredient, found naturally in great abundance, often
is used as mined without any upgrading of quality.
• Another reason for its popularity lies in the ease with which clay
products may be formed; when mixed in the proper proportions, clay
and water form a plastic mass that is very responsive to shaping.
• The formed piece is dried to remove some of the moisture, after
which it is fired at an elevated temperature to improve its mechanical
strength.
• Most of the clay-based products fall within two broad classifications:
the structural clay products and the whitewares.
• Structural clay products include building bricks, tiles, and sewer
pipes—applications in which structural integrity is important.
• The whiteware ceramics become white after the high-temperature
firing.
• Included in this group are porcelain, pottery, tableware, and plumbing
fixtures (sanitary ware).
 Refractory ceramics
• Refractory ceramics are materials include the capacity to withstand high
temperatures without melting or decomposing, and the capacity to remain
unreactive and inert when exposed to severe environments.
Fireclay Refractories
• The primary ingredients for the fireclay refractories are high-purity
fireclays, alumina and silica mixtures usually containing between 25 and
45 wt% alumina.
• Fireclay bricks are used principally in furnace construction, to confine hot
atmospheres, and to thermally insulate structural members from excessive
temperatures.
• For fireclay brick, strength is not ordinarily an important consideration,
because support of structural loads is usually not required.
Silica Refractories
• The prime ingredient for silica refractories, sometimes termed acid
refractories, is silica.
• These materials, well known for their high-temperature load-bearing
capacity, are commonly used in the arched roofs of steel- and glass-
making furnaces; for these applications, temperatures as high as 1650C
 Refractory ceramics
Basic Refractories
• The refractories that are rich in periclase, or magnesia (MgO), are termed basic
refractories; they may also contain calcium, chromium, and iron compounds.
• The presence of silica is damaging to the high-temperature performance of basic
refractories.
• Basic refractories are especially resistant to attack by slags containing high
concentrations of MgO and CaO, and find extensive use in some steel-making
open hearth furnaces.
Specialized Refractories
• There are yet other ceramic materials that are used for rather specialized
refractory applications.
• Some of these are relatively high-purity oxide materials, many of which may be
produced with very little porosity.
• Included in this group are alumina, silica, magnesia, beryllia (BeO), zirconia
(ZrO2), and mullite (3Al2O3–2SiO2).
• Others include carbide compounds, in addition to carbon and graphite. Silicon
carbide (SiC) has been used for electrical resistance heating elements, as a
crucible material, and in internal furnace components.
• Carbon and graphite are very refractory, but find limited application because
they are susceptible to oxidation at temperatures in excess of about 800 C.
 Abrasives
• Abrasive ceramics are used to wear, grind, or cut away other soft materials.
• The primary necessity for this group of materials is hardness or wear resistance; in
addition, a high degree of toughness is essential to ensure that the abrasive particles do not
easily fracture.
• High temperatures may be produced from abrasive frictional forces, so some
refractoriness is also desirable.
• Diamonds, both natural and synthetic, are utilized as abrasives; however, they are
relatively expensive. The more common ceramic abrasives include silicon carbide,
tungsten carbide (WC), aluminum oxide (or corundum), and silica sand.
• Abrasives are used in several forms—bonded to grinding wheels, as coated abrasives, and
as loose grains.

• The abrasive particles are bonded to a wheel by

means of a glassy ceramic or an organic resin.
• Coated abrasives are those in which an abrasive
powder is coated on some type of paper or cloth
material; sandpaper is probably the most familiar
example.
• Wood, metals, ceramics, and plastics are all
frequently ground and polished using this form of the microstructure of a
abrasive bonded abrasive
 Cements
• Several familiar ceramic materials are classified as
inorganic cements: cement, plaster of paris, and lime,
which, as a group, are produced in extremely large
quantities.
• The characteristic feature of these materials is that when
mixed with water, they form a paste that subsequently sets
and hardens.
• Portland cement is consumed in the largest tonnages.
• It is produced by grinding and intimately mixing clay and
lime-bearing minerals in the proper proportions, and then
heating the mixture to about 1400 C in a rotary kiln; The
process, sometimes called calcination.
• The resulting “clinker” product is then ground into a very
fine powder to which is added a small amount of gypsum
(CaSO4–2H2O) to retard the setting process.
 Advanced ceramics
• The properties such as; electrical, magnetic, and optical properties and property
combinations unique to ceramics have been made use by advanced ceramics.
• Advanced ceramics are utilized in optical fiber communications systems, in
micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) and as piezoelectric materials.
• Commonly used piezoelectric ceramics include barium titanate (BaTiO3), lead
titanate (PbTiO3), lead zirconate–titanate (PZT) etc.
• Piezoelectric materials can be utilized as transducers between electrical and
mechanical energies.
• It develops voltage across two of its faces, when compressed or changes shape.
• A pyroelectric material develop voltage when there is a temperature difference.
• One of the early uses of piezoelectric ceramics was in sonar, wherein underwater
objects (e.g., submarines) are detected and their positions determined using an
ultrasonic emitting and receiving system.
• Applications that employ piezoelectric devices are found in the automotive,
computer, commercial/consumer, and medical sectors.
• Some of these applications are as follows: automotive-wheel balances, seat belt
buzzers, tread-wear indicators, keyless door entry, and airbag sensors;
commercial/consumer—ink-jet printing heads, strain gauges, ultrasonic welders,
and smoke detectors; medical—insulin pumps, ultrasonic therapy, and ultrasonic
cataract-removal devices.
 Nuclear materials
• When a large fissile atomic nucleus such as uranium-235 or plutonium-239
absorbs a neutron, it may undergo nuclear fission .
• The heavy nucleus splits into two or more lighter nuclei, releasing kinetic
energy, gamma radiation and free neutrons; collectively known as fission
products.
• A portion of these neutrons may latter be absorbed by other fissile atoms and
trigger further fission events, which release more neutrons, and so on.
• The reaction can be controlled with the help of neutron moderators which
reduces the velocity of fast neutrons.
• Increasing or decreasing the rate of fission has a corresponding effect on the
energy output of a nuclear reactor.
• In a nuclear reactor, the primary group of materials include fuel, moderator
and coolant.
• The secondary group includes structural and shielding materials.
• Reactors are extremely sensitive to the materials used in their construction.
• The structural materials need to show a superior mechanical and chemical
behavior to guarantee the safe operation of the reactor during its whole
lifetime.
 Nuclear materials
Structural Materials
• The structural materials of concern in a nuclear reactor are those
materials used:
– to construct the reactor itself.
– to clad the fuel in order to contain the fission products.
– to form channels for the coolant.
– to add strength and rigidity to control rods and other moving parts.
• The cladding material for the fuel elements must be resistant to
abrasion, resist corrosion, be resistant to radiation damage and bond
well to uranium.
• Aluminium, stainless steel, zirconium and zirconium alloys like
zircalloy are being used as cladding materials.
• In general, those materials which are suitable for use as cladding
materials are suitable for other structural purposes also.
• The engineering materials utilized for the structural applications are
concrete, steel, both carbon and stainless, which are widely used in
large amounts with much smaller quantities of nickel alloys, titanium,
zirconium, hafnium, polymers and glass.
 Nuclear materials
Structural Materials
• Concrete is used extensively for building foundations and also
as a biological shielding in a number of operating areas.
• Carbon steels are used extensively for structural steel work,
cranes, lifting beams, drive shafts, reinforcing bars, bolts, etc.
• Austenitic stainless steels are used extensively as the main
material of construction for process vessels and piping.
• The advantages of austenitic stainless steels are their inherently
high resistance to corrosion in oxidizing media such as nitric
acid.
• Nickel alloys are generally used in situations involving high
temperatures. Inconel alloy is suitable for this purpose.
• Ceramic materials are necessary for several critical applications
in fusion power reactors or as alternative for metallic materials.
• The leading candidate ceramic material for this is SiC because
of its low induced radioactivity, capability of withstanding high
temperatures and abundant availability.
 Smart Materials
• Smart or intelligent materials have one or more properties that can be
significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external stimuli, such
as stress, temperature, moisture, pH, electric or magnetic fields.
• Smart materials refers to a class of materials that is highly responsive
and have the inherent capability to sense and react according to
changes in the environment.
• A smart material should consist of a sensor (that detects an input
signal) and an actuator (that performs a responsive and adaptive
function).
• “A smart material responds to a stimulus with one predictable action".
• Normal materials have limited responses, while smart materials have
appropriate responses, but response is the same every time.
• Some examples are photo chromatic glass that darkens in bright light;
low melting point wax in a fire sprinkler which blocks the nozzle until
it gets hot; embedded optical fibres whose broken ends reflect light
back.
 Smart Materials
• Advantages of smart materials
• No moving parts.
• High reliability.
• Low power requirements.
• Provide new capabilities that are presently not possible.
Applications of smart materials
• Active control inceptors using smart material motion control.
• Removing toxic pollutants from water.
• Advanced liquid crystal displays.
• Artificial muscles.
• Embedded sensors.

There are a number of types of smart materials, some of which are

already popular. They are piezoelectric, shape memory alloys,
Magnetostrictive materials etc.
 Smart Materials
Piezoelectric materials:
• These are materials which produce a voltage when stress is
applied.
• This effect also applies in the reverse manner, a voltage across
the sample will produce stress within the sample.
• Suitably designed structures made from these materials can
therefore be made to bend, expand or contract when a voltage is
applied.
• These materials can be operated as both actuators and sensors.
• In actuator mode, elongation (strain) takes place when an
electric field is applied.
• In sensor mode, a voltage is produced when a mechanical strain
is applied.
• Some applications are in ink jet printers, medical diagnostics,
high frequency stereospeakers, computer keyboards and
microphones.
 Smart Materials
• Shape memory alloys: Shape memory alloys (SMA)
and shape memory polymers are materials in which
large deformation can be induced and recovered
through temperature changes or stress changes.
• The large deformation results due to martensitic
phase change.
• A shape memory alloy is an alloy that "remembers“
its original, cold-forged shape: returning the pre-
deformed shape by heating.
• Currently, SMAs are mainly applied in medical
sciences, electrical, aerospace and mechanical
engineering.
• This material is a lightweight, solid-state alternative
to conventional actuators such as hydraulic,
pneumatic, and motor-based systems.
 Smart Materials
Magnetostrictive materials
• Magnetostrictive materials exhibit change in shape
under the influence of magnetic field and also exhibit
change in their magnetization under the influence of
mechanical stress.
• These materials expand and contract with the
application of magnetic fields.
• Some of the applications are in high-power sonar
transducers, motors, and hydraulic actuators.
Magnetic shape memory alloys
• Magnetic shape memory alloys, or ferromagnetic
shape memory alloys, are ferromagnetic materials
exhibiting large changes in shape and size in response
to a significant change in the magnetic field.
 Biomaterials
• Biomaterials are used to make devices to replace a
part or a function of the human body in safe, reliably,
economically and physiologically acceptable manner.
• A biomaterial is essentially a material that is used and
adapted for a medical application.
• Biomaterials are used for heart valve, for hip
implants, in dental applications, surgery, and drug
delivery.
• A biomaterial is any material, natural or man made,
that comprises whole or part of a living structure or
biomedical device which performs, augments, or
replaces a natural function.
• A biomaterial used for implant should possess some
important properties for long term usage in the
human body without rejection.
 Biomaterials

Uses of Biomaterials
Problem Area. Examples
Replacement of
diseased or damaged Artificial hip joint, kidney dialysis machine
part
Assist in healing Sutures, bone plates, and screws
Improve function Cardiac pacemaker, intraocular lens
Correct functional
Cardiac pacemaker
abnormality
Correct cosmetic
Augmentation mammoplasty
problem
Aid to diagnosis Probes and catheters
Aid to treatment Catheters, drains
 Biomaterials
Uses of Biomaterials
Organ Examples
Cardiac pacemaker, artificial heart
Heart valve, total artificial heart, blood
vessels
Lung Oxygenator machine
Eye Contact lens, intraocular lens
Ear Cochlear implant
Bone Bone plate, intramedullary rod
Catheters, stent, Kidney dialysis
Kidney
machine
Bladder Catheter and stent
The most common classes of materials used as biomedical materials are polymers,
metals, ceramics and composites. These classes are used singly and in combination to form
most of the implantation devices available today.
 Biomaterials
Polymeric Biomaterials
• The polymeric systems include acrylics, polyamides,
polyesters, polyethylene, polysiloxanes, polyurethane and
a number of reprocessed biological materials.
• Some of the applications include artificial heart, kidney,
liver, pancreas, bladder, bone cement, catheters, contact
lenses, cornea and eye-lens replacements, external and
internal ear repairs, heart valves, cardiac assist devices,
implantable pumps, joint replacements, pacemaker,
encapsulations, soft-tissue replacement, artificial blood
vessels, artificial skin and sutures.
• Polymeric materials alone and in combination with metals
and ceramics are becoming increasingly incorporated into
devices used in the human body.
 Biomaterials
Metallic Biomaterials
• Metals are used as biomaterial due to their excellent electrical and thermal
conductivity and mechanical properties. Some metallic parts are used as passive
substitutes for hard tissue replacement such as:
– Total hip
– Knee joints
– Bone plates and screws
– Spinal fixation devices
– Dental implants
– Vascular stents
– Catheter guide wires
• The first metal alloy developed specifically for use as biomaterial is the vanadium
steel which was used to manufacture bone fracture plates and screws.
• The biocompatibility of the metallic implant is of considerable concern because
these implants can corrode in prolonged usage.
• The consequences of corrosion are the disintegration of the implant material and
the harmful effect of corrosion products on the surrounding tissues and organs.
 Biomaterials
Stainless Steels:
• Stainless steels of different types are used successfully. As
biomaterials .
• Type 302 stainless steel is stronger and more resistant to corrosion
than the vanadium steel.
• The type 316 stainless steel, contains a small percentage of
molybdenum to improve the corrosion resistance in chloride solution,
• In the Type 316 L stainless steel, carbon content is reduced from
0.08 to a maximum amount of 0.03%, for better corrosion resistance
to chloride solutions.
• The inclusion of molybdenum enhances resistance to pitting corrosion
in salt water.
• Even the 316L stainless steels may corrode in the body under
certain circumstances in highly stressed and oxygen depleted region,
such as the contacts under the screws of the bone fracture plate.
• Thus, these stainless steels are suitable for use only in temporary
implant devices, such as fracture plates, screws, and hip nails.
 Biomaterials
CoCr Alloys:
• There are basically two types of cobalt-chromium alloys popularly used as
biomaterials:
– The CoCrMo alloy [ Cr (27-30%), Mo (5-7%), Ni (2.5%)) has been used for many decades
in dentistry and in making artificial joints
– The CoNiCrMo alloy (Cr (19-21%), Ni (33-37%), and Mo (9- 1 1%)) has been used for
making the sterns of prostheses for heavily loaded joints, such as knee and hip.
• The ASTM lists four types of CoCr alloys, which are recommended for surgical
implant applications:
– CoCrMo alloy [Cr (29-30%), Mo (5-7 %), Ni (2 . 5 % ))
– CoCrWNi alloy (Cr (19 - 21%), W (1 4 - 16 %), Ni (9 - 1 1 %))
– CoNiCrMo alloy [Ni (3 3 -3 7 %), Cr (19 -2 1 %), Mo (9 - 1 1%)]
– CoNiCrMoWFe alloy [Ni (15-2 5 %), Cr (18 - 2 2 %), Mo (3 -4 %), W (3 -4 %),
Fe (4 - 6 %)]
• The two basic elements of the CoCr alloys form a solid solution of up to 65%Co.
• Molybdenum is added to produce finer grains, which results in higher strengths after
casting.
• The chromium enhances corrosion resistance, as well as solid solution strengthening
of the alloy.
• The CoNiCrMo alloy contains approximately 35% Co and Ni each . The alloy is
highly corrosion resistant under stress.
 Biomaterials
Titanium and its Alloys
• Titanium and its alloys are getting great attention in both medical and dental
fields because of
– Excellent biocompatibility
– Light weight
– Excellent balance of mechanical properties
– Excellent corrosion resistance
• They are commonly used for implant devices replacing failed hard tissue like
artificial hip joints, artificial knee joint, bone plate, dental implants, dental
products, such as crowns, bridges and dentures.
• The titanium alloy Ti6Al4V is widely used to manufacture implants. The main
alloying elements of this alloy are Aluminum (5.5-6.5 % ) and Vanadium (3.5 -
4.5 %).
• The addition of alloying elements to titanium enables it to have a wide
range of properties :
• Aluminum tends to stabilize the -phase; it increases the transformation
temperature from - to β-phase.
• Vanadium stabilizes the β-phase by lowering the temperature of transformation
from  to β.
 Biomaterials
Ceramic Biomaterials
• The most important properties for a biomaterial like,
non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, non-allergic, non-
inflammatory, biocompatible and biofunctional for its
lifetime in the host are all satisfied by certain ceramic
materials.
• Ceramics such as alumina, zirconia, silicone nitrides,
and carbons are inert bioceramics.
• Certain glass ceramics are semi-inert (bioreactive), and
calcium phosphates and calcium aluminates are
resorbable ceramics.
 Biomaterials
Composite Biomaterials
• By definition, composites contain two or more distinct constituent materials.
• In biomaterials, it is important that each constituent of the composite be
biocompatible.
• The interface between constituents should not be degraded by the biological
environment.
• Some applications of composites in biomaterial applications are: dental filling
composites, reinforced methyl methacrylate bone cement and ultra-high-
molecular-weight polyethylene and orthopedic implants with porous surfaces .
• The dental composite resins consist of a polymer matrix and stiff inorganic
inclusions.
• The inorganic inclusions confer a relatively high stiffness and high wear
resistance on the material.
• Available dental composite resins use quartz, barium glass and colloidal silica
as fillers.
• Rubber, used in catheters, rubber gloves, etc. is usually reinforced with very
fine particles of silica (SiO2 to make the rubber stronger and tougher.)
)