DEPARTMENT OF AUTOMOBILE ENGINEERING

SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

IV Semester
U4MEA04 MATERIAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
METALLURGY
LESSON NOTES
U4MEA04 MATERIAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING METALLURGY

OBJECTIVES:

To impart knowledge on the structure, properties, treatment, testing and applications of

metals and non-metallic materials so as to identify and select suitable materials for various
engineering applications.

UNIT I Crystallography 9

Classification of Materials- Engineering properties of materials( band energy and activation

energy)- Structure of Solid materials- BCC- FCC & HCP Structures- Atomic packing factor-
Polymorphism and Allotropy- Miller Indices- Crystal imperfection, point, line, surface and
volume defects- Metallographic Analysis- Specimen preparation, metallurgical and scanning
electron microscopes

UNIT II Mechanical Properties of materials & Fracture 9

Mechanisms of Plastic and Elastic deformations, Slip and Twinning- Strengthening

mechanisms, recover recrystallization and Grain growth- Strain hardening- Work hardening,
Precipitation hardening. Types of Fracture- Ideal fracture stress, ductile and brittle fracture-
Griffith’s theory, creep mechanisms of Creep- Creep resistant materials- Fracture failure SN
curve- prevention of fatigue failure- Ductile and Brittle transition, Cup and Cone type
fracture.

UNIT III Ferrous and Non ferrous Metals and Phase Diagram 9 Ferrous
and Non ferrous Metals- Effect of alloying additions on steel (Mn, Si, Cr, Mo, V Ti & W) -
stainless steels – HSLA - maraging steels – Gray, White malleable, spheroidal - Graphite -
alloy cast irons -Copper and Copper alloys – Brass, Bronze and Cupronickel – Aluminum
and Al-Cu – precipitation strengthening treatment – Bearing alloys.

Solid Solution, Inter metallic Compound cooling curves, types of Equilibrium diagrams,
Lever rules- Phase diagrams- Gibbs phase rule- Iron carbide diagram-TTT diagram

UNIT IV Mechanical testing 9

Tensile test- Stress Strain curves for Ductile and Brittle materials- Mild steel, Copper,
Concrete, and Cast iron Proof Stress, Yield point phenomenon, Luder’s bands- compression
and shear loads, Hardness tests (Brinnel, Vicrex and Rockwell) - Impact test- Izod and
Chorpy, Fatigue and creep test, fracture toughness tests

UNIT V Heat Treatment 9

Definition – Full annealing, stress relief, recrystallisation and spheroidizing –normalising,

hardening and Tempering of steel. Isothermal transformation diagrams – cooling curves
superimposed on I.T. diagram CCR - Hardenability, Jominy end quench test – Austempering,
martempering Case hardening, carburising, nitriding, cyaniding, carbonitriding – Flame and
Induction hardening.

TOTAL : 45 periods

TEXT BOOKS
1. Dieter, G. E., Mechanical Metallurgy, McGraw Hill, Singapore, 2001
2. Thomas H. Courtney, Mechanical Behaviour of Engineering materials, McGraw Hill,
Singapore, 2000

REFERENCE BOOKS

1. Kenneth G.Budinski and Michael K.Budinski “Engineering Materials” Prentice-Hall of

India Private Limited, 4th Indian Reprint 2002.

2. William D Callsber “Material Science and Engineering”, John Wiley and Sons 1997.

3. Raghavan.V “Materials Science and Engineering”, Prentice Hall of India Pvt., Ltd., 1999.

4. Sydney H.Avner “Introduction to Physical Metallurgy” McGraw Hill Book Company,

1994.

UNIT – I
 CRYSTALLOGRAPHY

Classification of Materials:

Common engineering materials that come within the scope of Material Science
may be classified broadly into the following three types:-
1. Metals (Ferrous and Non-Ferrous)
2. Ceramics
3. Organic Polymers

Band energy:

Energy bands consisting of a large number of closely spaced energy levels exist in
crystalline materials. The bands can be thought of as the collection of the individual
energy levels of electrons surrounding each atom. The wavefunctions of the
individual electrons, however, overlap with those of electrons confined to
neighboring atoms. The Pauli exclusion principle does not allow the electron energy
levels to be the same so that one obtains a set of closely spaced energy levels,
forming an energy band. The energy band model is crucial to any detailed treatment
of semiconductor devices. It provides the framework needed to understand the
concept of an energy bandgap and that of conduction in an almost filled band as
described by the empty states.

In this section, we present the free electron model and the Kronig-Penney model.
Then we discuss the energy bands of semiconductors and present a simplified band
diagram. We also introduce the concept of holes and the effective mass.

Activation Energy

The energy that an atomic system must acquire before a process (such as an
emission or reaction) can occur "catalysts are said to reduce the energy of activation
during the transition phase of a reaction"

What is Activation Energy?

... life to take place, cells must use enzymes to selectively lower the activation energy of
reactions. Enzymes are protein molecules that act as biological

Structure of Solid materials

 In the context of correspondence, blind carbon copy (abbreviated Bcc:) refers
to the practice of sending a message to multiple recipients in such a way that
conceals individual email addresses (mentioned in "to" field of the mail) from the
complete list of recipients. [1] In some circumstances, the typist must ensure that
multiple recipients of such a document not see the names of other recipients. To
achieve this, the typist can:

 Add the names in a second step to each copy, without carbon paper
 Set the ribbon not to strike the paper, which leaves names off the top copy
(but may leave letter impressions on the paper)

To specify recipients, an e-mail message may contain addresses in any of

these three fields:

 To: Primary recipients

 Cc: Carbon copy to secondary recipients—other interested parties
 Bcc: Blind carbon copy to tertiary recipients who receive the message without
anyone else (including the To, Cc, and Bcc recipients) seeing who the tertiary
recipients are.

It is common practice to use the Bcc: field when addressing a very long list of
recipients, or a list of recipients that should not (necessarily) know each other, e.g. in
mailing lists. [2]

FCC

The purpose of this Reference Guide is to familiarize you with the Federal
Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) procedures and regulations concerning the
processing of requests for documents made under the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA). Following the guidance below will make it more likely that you will receive
the information that you are seeking in the shortest amount of time, and without
unnecessary expense. This Reference Guide also provides information on how to
obtain routinely available FCC documents through means other than making a FOIA
request

Similarities and Difference Between the FCC and HCP Structure

The face centered cubic and hexagonal close packed structures both have a
packing factor of 0.74, consist of closely packed planes of atoms, and have a
coordination number of 12. The difference between the fcc and hcp is the stacking
sequence. The hcp layers cycle among the two equivalent shifted positions whereas
the fcc layers cycle between three positions. As can be seen in the image, the hcp
structure contains only two types of planes with an alternating ABAB arrangement.
Notice how the atoms of the third plane are in exactly the same position as the atoms
in the first plane. However, the fcc structure contains three types of planes with a
ABCABC arrangement. Notice how the atoms in rows A and C are no longer
aligned. Remember that cubic lattice structures allow slippage to occur more easily
than non-cubic lattices, so hcp metals are not as ductile as the fcc metals.

The table below shows the stable room temperature crystal structures for
several elemental metals.

Metal Crystal Structure Atomic Radius (nm)

Aluminum FCC 0.1431
Cadmium HCP 0.1490
Chromium BCC 0.1249
Cobalt HCP 0.1253
Copper FCC 0.1278
Gold FCC 0.1442
Iron (Alpha) BCC 0.1241
Lead FCC 0.1750
Magnesium HCP 0.1599
Molybdenum BCC 0.1363
Nickel FCC 0.1246
Platinum FCC 0.1387
Silver FCC 0.1445
Tantalum BCC 0.1430
Titanium (Alpha) HCP 0.1445
Tungsten BCC 0.1371
Zinc HCP 0.1332

A nanometer (nm) equals 10-9 meter or 10 Angstrom units.

HCP Structures

Primary Metallic Crystalline Structures (BCC, FCC, HCP)

As pointed out on the previous page, there are 14 different types of crystal
unit cell structures or lattices are found in nature. However most metals and many
other solids have unit cell structures described as body center cubic (bcc), face
centered cubic (fcc) or Hexagonal Close Packed (hcp). Since these structures are most
common, they will be discussed in more detail.

Body-Centered Cubic (BCC) Structure

The body-centered cubic unit cell has atoms at each of the eight corners of a cube
(like the cubic unit cell) plus one atom in the center of the cube (left image below).
Each of the corner atoms is the corner of another cube so the corner atoms are shared
among eight unit cells. It is said to have a coordination number of 8. The bcc unit cell
consists of a net total of two atoms; one in the center and eight eighths from corners
atoms as shown in the middle image below (middle image below). The image below
highlights a unit cell in a larger section of the lattice.
The bcc arrangement does not allow the atoms to pack together as closely as the fcc
or hcp arrangements. The bcc structure is often the high temperature form of metals
that are close-packed at lower temperatures. The volume of atoms in a cell per the
total volume of a cell is called the packing factor. The bcc unit cell has a packing
factor of 0.68.

Some of the materials that have a bcc structure include lithium, sodium, potassium,
chromium, barium, vanadium, alpha-iron and tungsten. Metals which have a bcc
structure are usually harder and less malleable than close-packed metals such as
gold. When the metal is deformed, the planes of atoms must slip over each other,
and this is more difficult in the bcc structure. It should be noted that there are other
important mechanisms for hardening materials, such as introducing impurities or
defects which make slipping more difficult. These hardening mechanisms will be
discussed latter.

Face Centered Cubic (FCC) Structure

The face centered cubic structure has atoms located at each of the corners and the
centers of all the cubic faces (left image below). Each of the corner atoms is the
corner of another cube so the corner atoms are shared among eight unit cells.
Additionally, each of its six face centered atoms is shared with an adjacent atom.
Since 12 of its atoms are shared, it is said to have a coordination number of 12. The
fcc unit cell consists of a net total of four atoms; eight eighths from corners atoms
and six halves of the face atoms as shown in the middle image above. The image
below highlights a unit cell in a larger section of the lattice.
In the fcc structure (and the hcp structure) the atoms can pack closer together than
they can in the bcc structure. The atoms from one layer nest themselves in the empty
space between the atoms of the adjacent layer. To picture packing arrangement,
imagine a box filled with a layer of balls that are aligned in columns and rows. When
a few additional balls are tossed in the box, they will not balance directly on top of
the balls in the first layer but instead will come to rest in the pocket created between
four balls of the bottom layer. As more balls are added they will pack together to fill
up all the pockets. The packing factor (the volume of atoms in a cell per the total
volume of a cell) is 0.74 for fcc crystals. Some of the metals that have the fcc structure
include aluminum, copper, gold, iridium, lead, nickel, platinum and silver.

Hexagonal Close Packed (HPC) Structure

Another common close packed structure is the hexagonal close pack. The hexagonal
structure of alternating layers is shifted so its atoms are aligned to the gaps of the
preceding layer. The atoms from one layer nest themselves in the empty space
between the atoms of the adjacent layer just like in the fcc structure. However,
instead of being a cubic structure, the pattern is hexagonal. (See image below.) The
difference between the HPC and FCC structure is discussed later in this section.
The hcp structure has three layers of atoms. In each the top and bottom layer, there
are six atoms that arrange themselves in the shape of a hexagon and a seventh atom
that sits in the middle of the hexagon. The middle layer has three atoms nestle in the
triangular "grooves" of the top and bottom plane. Note that there are six of these
"grooves" surrounding each atom in the hexagonal plane, but only three of them can
be filled by atoms.

As shown in the middle image above, there are six atoms in the hcp unit cell. Each of
the 12 atoms in the corners of the top and bottom layers contribute 1/6 atom to the
unit cell, the two atoms in the center of the hexagon of both the top and bottom
layers each contribute ½ atom and each of the three atom in the middle layer
contribute 1 atom. The image on the right above attempts to show several hcp unit
cells in a larger lattice.

The coordination number of the atoms in this structure is 12. There are six nearest
neighbors in the same close packed layer, three in the layer above and three in the
layer below. The packing factor is 0.74, which is the same as the fcc unit cell. The hcp
structure is very common for elemental metals and some examples include
beryllium, cadmium, magnesium, titanium, zinc and zirconium.

Atomic packing factor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

In crystallography, atomic packing factor (APF) or packing fraction is the

fraction of volume in a crystal structure that is occupied by atoms. It is
dimensionless and always less than unity. For practical purposes, the APF of a
crystal structure is determined by assuming that atoms are rigid spheres. The radius
of the spheres is taken to be the maximal value such that the atoms do not overlap.
For one-component crystals (those that contain only one type of atom), the APF is
represented mathematically by

where Natoms is the number of atoms in the unit cell, Vatom is the volume of an
atom, and Vunit cell is the volume occupied by the unit cell. It can be proven
mathematically that for one-component structures, the most dense arrangement of
atoms has an APF of about 0.74. In reality, this number can be higher due to specific
intermolecular factors. For multiple-component structures, the APF can exceed 0.74.
Content
 1 Worked out example
o 1.1 Body-centered cubic crystal structure
o 1.2 Hexagonal close-packed crystal structure
 2 APF of common structures
 3 See also

 4 References

[edit] Worked out example

[edit] Body-centered cubic crystal structure

BCC structure

The primitive unit cell for the body-centered cubic (BCC) crystal structure
contains nine atoms: one on each corner of the cube and one atom in the center.
Because the volume of each corner atom is shared between adjacent cells, each BCC
cell contains two atoms.

Each corner atom touches the center atom. A line that is drawn from one
corner of the cube through the center and to the other corner passes through 4r,
where r is the radius of an atom. By geometry, the length of the diagonal is a√3.
Therefore, the length of each side of the BCC structure can be related to the radius of
the atom by

Knowing this and the formula for the volume of a sphere((4 / 3)pi r 3), it
becomes possible to calculate the APF as follows:

[edit] Hexagonal close-packed crystal structure

HCP structure

For the hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structure the derivation is similar. The
side length of the hexagon will be denoted as a while the height of the hexagon will
be denoted as c. Then:

a = 2r

It is then possible to calculate the APF as follows:

APF of common structures

 By similar procedures, the ideal atomic packing factors of all crystal structures
can be found. The common ones are collected here as reference, rounded to the
nearest hundredth.

 Simple cubic: 0.52

 Body-centered cubic: 0.68
 Hexagonal close-packed: 0.74
 Face-centered cubic: 0.74
 Diamond cubic: 0.34

Miller index

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Planes with different Miller indices in cubic crystals

Examples of directions

Miller indices are a notation system in crystallography for planes and directions in
crystal (Bravais) lattices.

In particular, a family of lattice planes is determined by three integers ℓ, m,

and n, the Miller indices. They are written (hkl), and each index denotes a plane
orthogonal to a direction (h, k, l) in the basis of the reciprocal lattice vectors. By
convention, negative integers are written with a bar, as in 3 for −3. The integers are
usually written in lowest terms, i.e. their greatest common divisor should be 1.
Miller index 100 represents a plane orthogonal to direction ℓ; index 010 represents a
plane orthogonal to direction m, and index 001 represents a plane orthogonal to n.

There are also several related notations[1]:

 the notation {ℓmn} denotes the set of all planes that are equivalent to (ℓmn) by
the symmetry of the lattice.

In the context of crystal directions (not planes), the corresponding notations are:

 [ℓmn], with square instead of round brackets, denotes a direction in the basis
of the direct lattice vectors instead of the reciprocal lattice; and
 similarly, the notation 〈 hkl 〉 denotes the set of all directions that are
equivalent to [ℓmn] by symmetry.
 Miller indices were introduced in 1839 by the British mineralogist William
Hallowes Miller. The method was also historically known as the Millerian system,
and the indices as Millerian,[2] although this is now rare.

The precise meaning of this notation depends upon a choice of lattice vectors
for the crystal, as described below. Usually, three primitive lattice vectors are used.
However, for cubic crystal systems, the cubic lattice vectors are used even when they
are not primitive (e.g., as in body-centered and face-centered crystals).

Contents
 1 Definition
 2 Case of cubic structures
 3 Case of hexagonal and rhombohedral structures
 4 The crystallographic planes and directions
 5 Integer vs. irrational Miller indices: Lattice planes and quasicrystals
 6 See also
 7 References

 8 External links

Definition

Examples of determining indices for a plane using intercepts with axes; left
(111), right (221).

There are two equivalent ways to define the meaning of the Miller indices: [1]
via a point in the reciprocal lattice, or as the inverse intercepts along the lattice
vectors. Both definitions are given below. In either case, one needs to choose the
three lattice vectors a1, a2, and a3 as described above. Given these, the three primitive
reciprocal lattice vectors are also determined (denoted b1, b2, and b3).

Then, given the three Miller indices ℓ, m, n (ℓmn) denotes planes orthogonal
to the reciprocal lattice vector:

That is, (ℓmn) simply indicates a normal to the planes in the basis of the
primitive reciprocal lattice vectors. Because the coordinates are integers, this normal
is itself always a reciprocal lattice vector. The requirement of lowest terms means
that it is the shortest reciprocal lattice vector in the given direction.

Equivalently, (ℓmn) denotes a plane that intercepts the three points a1/ℓ, a2/m,
and a3/n, or some multiple thereof. That is, the Miller indices are proportional to the
inverses of the intercepts of the plane, in the basis of the lattice vectors. If one of the
indices is zero, it means that the planes do not intersect that axis (the intercept is "at
infinity").

Considering only (ℓmn) planes intersecting one or more lattice points (the
lattice planes), the perpendicular distance d between adjacent lattice planes is related
to the (shortest) reciprocal lattice vector orthogonal to the planes by the formula: .[1]

The related notation [ℓmn] denotes the direction:

That is, it uses the direct lattice basis instead of the reciprocal lattice. Note that
[ℓmn] is not generally normal to the (ℓmn) planes, except in a cubic lattice as
described below.

Case of cubic structures

For the special case of simple cubic crystals, the lattice vectors are orthogonal
and of equal length (usually denoted a); similar to the reciprocal lattice. Thus, in this
common case, the Miller indices (ℓmn) and [ℓmn] both simply denote
normals/directions in Cartesian coordinates.

For cubic crystals with lattice constant a, the spacing d between adjacent (ℓmn)
lattice planes is (from above):

Because of the symmetry of cubic crystals, it is possible to change the place

and sign of the integers and have equivalent directions and planes:

 Coordinates in angle brackets such as 〈 100 〉 denote a family of directions

which are equivalent due to symmetry operations, such as [100], [010], [001]
or the negative of any of those directions.
 Coordinates in curly brackets or braces such as {100} denote a family of plane
normals which are equivalent due to symmetry operations, much the way
angle brackets denote a family of directions.

For face-centered cubic and body-centered cubic lattices, the primitive lattice
vectors are not orthogonal. However, in these cases the Miller indices are
conventionally defined relative to the lattice vectors of the cubic supercell and hence
are again simply the Cartesian directions.

Case of hexagonal and rhombohedral structures

Miller-Bravais indices
 With hexagonal and rhombohedral lattice systems, it is possible to use the
Bravais-Miller index which has 4 numbers (h k i l)

i = −h − k.

Here h, k and l are identical to the Miller index, and i is a redundant index.

This four-index scheme for labeling planes in a hexagonal lattice makes

permutation symmetries apparent. For example, the similarity between (110) ≡ (1120)
and (120) ≡ (1210) is more obvious when the redundant index is shown.

In the figure at right, the (001) plane has a 3-fold symmetry: it remains
unchanged by a rotation of 1/3 (2π/3 rad, 120°). The [100], [010] and the [110]
directions are really similar. If S is the intercept of the plane with the [110] axis, then

i = 1/S.

There are also ad hoc schemes (e.g. in the transmission electron microscopy
literature) for indexing hexagonal lattice vectors (rather than reciprocal lattice vectors
or planes) with four indices. However they don't operate by similarly adding a
redundant index to the regular three-index set.

For example, the reciprocal lattice vector (hkl) as suggested above can be
written as ha*+kb*+lc*if the reciprocal-lattice basis-vectors are a*, b*, and c*. For
hexagonal crystals this may be expressed in terms of direct-lattice basis-vectors a, b
and c as

Hence zone indices of the direction perpendicular to plane (hkl) are, in

suitably-normalized triplet form, simply [2h+k,h+2k,l(3/2)(a/c)2]. When four indices
are used for the zone normal to plane (hkl), however, the literature often uses [h,k,-
h-k,l(3/2)(a/c)2] instead[3]. Thus as you can see, four-index zone indices in square or
angle brackets sometimes mix a single direct-lattice index on the right with
reciprocal-lattice indices (normally in round or curly brackets) on the left.

The crystallographic planes and directions

Dense crystallographic planes

The crystallographic directions are fictitious lines linking nodes (atoms, ions
or molecules) of a crystal. Similarly, the crystallographic planes are fictitious planes
linking nodes. Some directions and planes have a higher density of nodes; these
dense planes have an influence on the behaviour of the crystal:
  optical properties: in condensed matter, the light "jumps" from one atom to
the other with the Rayleigh scattering; the velocity of light thus varies
according to the directions, whether the atoms are close or far; this gives the
birefringence
 adsorption and reactivity: the adsorption and the chemical reactions occur on
atoms or molecules, these phenomena are thus sensitive to the density of
nodes;
 surface tension: the condensation of a material means that the atoms, ions or
molecules are more stable if they are surrounded by other similar species; the
surface tension of an interface thus varies according to the density on the
surface
o the pores and crystallites tend to have straight grain boundaries
following dense planes
o cleavage
 dislocations (plastic deformation)
o the dislocation core tends to spread on dense planes (the elastic
perturbation is "diluted"); this reduces the friction (Peierls-Nabarro
force), the sliding occurs more frequently on dense planes;
o the perturbation carried by the dislocation (Burgers vector) is along a
dense direction: the shift of one node in a dense direction is a lesser
distortion;
o the dislocation line tends to follow a dense direction, the dislocation
line is often a straight line, a dislocation loop is often a polygon.

For all these reasons, it is important to determine the planes and thus to have
a notation system.

Integer vs. irrational Miller indices: Lattice planes and quasicrystals

Ordinarily, Miller indices are always integers by definition, and this

constraint is physically significant. To understand this, suppose that we allow a
plane (abc) where the Miller "indices" a, b, and c (defined as above) are not
necessarily integers.

If a, b, and c have rational ratios, then the same family of planes can be written
in terms of integer indices (ℓmn) by scaling a, b, and c appropriately: divide by the
largest of the three numbers, and then multiply by the least common denominator.
Thus, integer Miller indices implicitly include indices with all rational ratios. The
reason why planes where the components (in the reciprocal-lattice basis) have
rational ratios are of special interest is that these are the lattice planes: they are the
only planes whose intersections with the crystal are 2d-periodic.
 For a plane (abc) where a, b, and c have irrational ratios, on the other hand, the
intersection of the plane with the crystal is not periodic. It forms an aperiodic pattern
known as a quasicrystal. In fact, this construction corresponds precisely to the
standard "cut-and-project" method of defining a quasicrystal, using a plane with
irrational-ratio Miller indices. (Although many quasicrystals, such as the Penrose
tiling, are formed by "cuts" of periodic lattices in more than three dimensions,
involving the intersection of more than one such hyperplane.)

Imperfections of crystal structure

Dr. Dmitri Kopeliovich

There are three conventional types of crystal imperfections:

Point defects

The simplest point defects are as follows:

 Vacancy – missing atom at a certain crystal lattice position;

 Interstitial impurity atom – extra impurity atom in an interstitial position;
 Self-interstitial atom – extra atom in an interstitial position;
 Substitution impurity atom – impurity atom, substituting an atom in crystal
lattice;
 Frenkel defect – extra self-interstitial atom, responsible for the vacancy
nearby.
Line defects

Linear crystal defects are edge and screw dislocations.

 Edge dislocation is an extra half plane of atoms “inserted” into the crystal
lattice. Due to the edge dislocations metals possess high plasticity
characteristics: ductility and malleability.
  Screw dislocation forms when one part of crystal lattice is shifted (through
shear) relative to the other crystal part. It is called screw as atomic planes
form a spiral surface around the dislocation line.

For quantitative characterization of a difference between a crystal distorted by

a dislocation and the perfect crystal the Burgers vector is used.

The dislocation density is a total length of dislocations in a unit crystal

volume. The dislocation density of annealed metals is about 1010 - 1012 m−². After
work hardening the dislocation density increases up to 1015 - 1016 m-². Further
increase of dislocation density causes crackes formation and fracture.

Planar defects

Planar defect is an imperfection in form of a plane between uniform parts of

the material. The most important planar defect is a grain boundary. Formation of a
boundary between two grains may be imagined as a result of rotation of crystal
lattice of one of them about a specific axis. Depending on the rotation axis direction,
two ideal types of a grain boundary are possible:

 Tilt boundary – rotation axis is parallel to the boundary plane;

 Twist boundary - rotation axis is perpendicular to the boundary plane:
 An actual boundary is a “mixture” of these two ideal types.

Grain boundaries are called large-angle boundaries if misorientation of two

neighboring grains exceeds 10º-15º.

Grain boundaries are called small-angle boundaries if misorientation of two

neighboring grains is 5º or less.

Grains, divided by small-angle boundaries are also called subgrains.

Grain boundaries accumulate crystal lattice defects (vacancies, dislocations)

and other imperfections, therefore they effect on the metallurgical processes,
occurring in alloys and their properties.

Since the mechanism of metal deformation is a motion of crystal dislocations

through the lattice, grain boundaries, enriched with dislocations, play an important
role in the deformation process.

Diffusion along grain boundaries is much faster, than throughout the grains.
 Segregation of impurities in form of precipitating phases in the boundary
regions causes a form of corrosion, associated with chemical attack of grain
boundaries. This corrosion is called Intergranular corrosion.

Discuss the article and ask questions in our Materials Forum

Related internal links

 Metals crystal structure
 Solid solutions
 Diffusion in alloys
 Grain structure
 Crystallization

SPECIMEN PREPARATION for SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

Materials for Sample Preparation

A list of equipment and materials necessary for preparation of polished

specimens is given in Table 1. For some items, substitution may be possible if
comparable supplies are available in the laboratory. The list is presented in order of
use of the equipment or supplies.

Table 1. Equipment and Supplies for Preparation of Polished Sections

Item Purpose

Diamond blade slab saw large-sized sample slabbing

Diamond blade wafering saw
Propylene glycol
Alcohol: 200 proof ethanol
Ultrasonic bath
Specimen jars and lids
Potting epoxies (medium and
low viscosity)
Dye, blue or red, alcohol
miscible
Refrigerator
Vacuum chamber and pump
Drying / curing oven
Glass plate (400 x 400 mm)
Lapidary wheel (minimum
200 mm)
cutting of thin (mm-sized) sections
diamond saw cutting lubricant
cutting lubricant, cleaning aid
specimen cleaning
for replacement steps
for powders and hardened pastes
to estimate alcohol replacement depth
epoxy storage
vacuum impregnation
capable of at least 65 ºC
smooth surface for grinding
grinding and polishing
Mold cups potting specimens
Aluminum foil (extra heavy for forming odd-sized specimen
duty) molds</TD< tr>
Mold release facilitates removal of specimen / epoxy
Metal trays to hold
contains any leaking epoxy
specimens
Diamond pen label engraving
Abrasive papers (silicon
coarse to fine grinding, 100 to 600 grit
carbide)
Polishing cloths (low-relief) µm and finer polishing
Diamond paste for polishing 6, 3, 1, 0.25 µm in non-aqueous suspension
Lint-free cloths specimen handling and cleaning
Compressed air specimen cleaning and drying
Vacuum dessiccators specimen storage
 UNIT – II

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS & FRACTURE

Mechanism of slip and twinning

The objectives are to: (1) demonstrate the mechanisms of deformation in body
centered cubic (BCC), face centered cubic (FCC), and hexagonal close-packed (HCP)-
structure metals and alloys and in some ceramics as well; (2) examine the deformed
microstructures (slip lines and twin boundaries) in different grains of metallic and
ceramic specimens; and (3) study visually the deformed macrostructure (slip and
twin bands) of metals and alloys. Some of the topics covered include: deformation
behavior of materials, mechanisms of plastic deformation, slip bands, twin bands,
ductile failure, intergranular fracture, shear failure, slip planes, crystal deformation,
and dislocations in ceramics.

KEYWORDS: Alloys, Body Centered Cubic Lattices, Ceramics, Crystal Defects,

Crystal Structure, Edge Dislocations, Face Centered Cubic Lattices, Mechanical
Twinning, Metals, Microstructure, Ductility, Failure Analysis, Fracturing, Packing
Density, Plastic Deformation

Strengthening mechanisms

Work hardening

Main article: Work hardening

The primary species responsible for work hardening are dislocations.

Dislocations interact with each other by generating stress fields in the material. The
interaction between the stress fields of dislocations can impede dislocation motion
by repulsive or attractive interactions. Additionally, if two dislocations cross,
dislocation line entanglement occurs, causing the formation of a jog which opposes
dislocation motion. These entanglements and jogs act as pinning points, which
oppose dislocation motion. As both of these processes are more likely to occur when
more dislocations are present, there is a correlation between dislocation density and
yield strength, where G is the shear modulus, b is the Burgers vector, and is the
dislocation density.

Increasing the dislocation density increases the yield strength which results in
a higher shear stress required to move the dislocations. This process is easily
observed while working a material. Theoretically, the strength of a material with no
dislocations will be extremely high (τ=G/2) because plastic deformation would
require the breaking of many bonds simultaneously. , at moderate dislocation
density values of around 107-109 dislocations/m2, the material will exhibit a
significantly lower mechanical strength. Analogously, it is easier to move a rubber
rug across a surface by propagating a small ripple through it than by dragging the
whole rug. At dislocation densities of 1014 dislocations/m2 or higher, the strength of
the material becomes high once again. It should be noted that the dislocation density
can't be infinitely high because then the material would lose its crystalline structure.

Figure 1: This is a schematic illustrating how the lattice is strained by the addition of
substitutional and interstitial solute. Notice the strain in the lattice that the solute
atoms cause. The interstitial solute could be carbon in iron for example. The carbon
atoms in the interstitial sites of the lattice creates a stress field that impedes
dislocation movement.

[edit] Solid Solution Strengthening/Alloying

Main article: Solid solution strengthening

For this strengthening mechanism, solute atoms of one element are added to
another, resulting in either substitutional or interstitial point defects in the crystal
(see Figure 1). The solute atoms cause lattice distortions that impede dislocation
motion, increasing the yield stress of the material. Solute atoms have stress fields
around them which can interact with those of dislocations. The presence of solute
atoms impart compressive or tensile stresses to the lattice, depending on solute size,
which interfere with nearby dislocations, causing the solute atoms to act as potential
barriers to dislocation propagation and/or multiplication.

The shear stress required to move dislocations in a material is:

Where c is the solute concentration and ε is the strain on the material caused
by the solute.

Increasing the concentration of the solute atoms will increase the yield
strength of a material, but there is a limit to the amount of solute that can be added,
and one should look at the phase diagram for the material and the alloy to make
sure that a second phase is not created.

In general, the solid solution strengthening depends on the concentration of

the solute atoms, shear modulus of the solute atoms, size of solute atoms, valency of
solute atoms (for ionic materials), and the symmetry of the solute stress field. Note
that the magnitude of strengthening is higher for non-symmetric stress fields
because these solutes can interact with both edge and screw dislocations whereas
symmetric stress fields, which cause only volume change and not shape change, can
only interact with edge dislocations.
Figure 2: This is a schematic illustrating how the dislocations can interact with a
particle. It can either cut through the particle or bow around the particle and create a
dislocation loop as it moves over the particle.

[edit] Precipitation Hardening

Main article: Precipitation strengthening

In most binary systems, alloying above a concentration given by the phase

diagram will cause the formation of a second phase. A second phase can also be
created by mechanical or thermal treatments. The particles that compose the second
phase precipitates act as pinning points in a similar manner to solutes, though the
particles are not necessarily single atoms.

The dislocations in a material can interact with the precipitate atoms in one of
two ways (see Figure 2). If the precipitate atoms are small, the dislocations would cut
through them. As a result, new surfaces (b in Figure 2) of the particle would get
exposed to the matrix and the particle/matrix interfacial energy would increase. For
larger precipitate particles, looping or bowing of the dislocations would occur which
results in dislocations getting longer. Hence, at a critical radius of about 5 nm,
dislocations will preferably cut across the obstacle while for a radius of 30 nm, the
dislocations will readily bow or loop to overcome the obstacle.

The mathematical descriptions are as follows:

For Particle Bowing-

For Particle Cutting-

Figure 3: This is a schematic roughly illustrating the concept of dislocation pile up

and how it effects the strength of the material. A material with larger grain size is
able to have more dislocation to pile up leading to a bigger driving force for
dislocations to move from one grain to another. Thus you will have to apply less
force to move a dislocation from a larger than from a smaller grain, leading materials
with smaller grains to exhibit higher yield stress.

[edit] Grain Boundary Strengthening

Main article: Grain boundary strengthening

In a polycrystalline metal, grain size has a tremendous influence on the

mechanical properties. Because grains usually have varying crystallographic
orientations, grain boundaries arise. While an undergoing deformation, slip motion
will take place. Grain boundaries act as an impediment to dislocation motion for the
following two reasons:
1. Dislocation must change its direction of motion due to the differing orientation of
grains.[4]
2. Discontinuity of slip planes from grain 1 to grain 2.[4]

The stress required to move a dislocation from one grain to another in order
to plastically deform a material depends on the grain size. The average number of
dislocations per grain decreases with average grain size (see Figure 3). A lower
number of dislocations per grain results in a lower dislocation 'pressure' building up
at grain boundaries. This makes it more difficult for dislocations to move into
adjacent grains. This relationship is the Hall-Petch Relationship and can be
mathematically described as follows:

Where k is a constant, d is the average grain diameter and σy,0 is the original
yield stress.

The fact that the yield strength increases with decreasing grain size is
accompanied by the caveat that the grain size cannot be decreased infinitely. As the
grain size decreases, more free volume is generated resulting in lattice mismatch.
Below approximately 10 nm, the grain boundaries will tend to slide instead; a
phenomenon known as grain-boundary sliding. If the grain size gets too small, it
becomes more difficult to fit the dislocations in the grain and the stress required to
move them is less. It was not possible to produce materials with grain sizes below
10 nm until recently, so the discovery that strength decreases below a critical grain
size is still exciting.

[edit] Strengthening Mechanisms in Amorphous Materials

[edit] Polymer

Polymers fracture via breaking of inter- and intra molecular bonds; hence, the
chemical structure of these materials plays a huge role in increasing strength. For
polymers consisting of chains which easily slide past each other, chemical and
physical cross linking can be used to increase rigidity and yield strength. In
thermoset polymers (thermosetting plastic), disulfide bridges and other covalent
cross links give rise to a hard structure which can withstand very high temperatures.
These cross-links are particularly helpful in improving tensile strength of materials
which contain lots of free volume prone to crazing, typically glassy brittle polymers
[6]
. In thermoplastic elastomer, phase separation of dissimilar monomer components
leads to association of hard domains within a sea of soft phase, yielding a physical
structure with increased strength and rigidity. If yielding occurs by chains sliding
past each other (shear bands), the strength can also be increased by introducing
kinks into the polymer chains via unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds [6].

Increasing the bulkiness of the monomer unit via incorporation of aryl rings is
another strengthening mechanism. The anisotropy of the molecular structure means
that these mechanisms are heavily dependent on the direction of applied stress.
While aryl rings drastically increase rigidity along the direction of the chain, these
materials may still be brittle in perpendicular directions. Macroscopic structure can
be adjusted to compensate for this anisotropy. For example, the high strength of
Kevlar arises from a stacked multilayer macrostructure where aromatic polymer
layers are rotated with respect to their neighbors. When loaded oblique to the chain
direction, ductile polymers with flexible linkages, such as oriented polyethylene, are
highly prone to shear band formation, so macroscopic structures which place the
load parallel to the draw direction would increase strength[6].

Mixing polymers is another method of increasing strength, particularly with

materials that show crazing preceding brittle fracture such as atactic polystyrene
(APS). For example, by forming a 50/50 mixture of APS with polyphenylene oxide
(PPO), this embrittling tendency can be almost completely suppressed, substantially
increasing the fracture strength [6].

[edit] Glass

Many silicate glasses are strong in compression but weak in tension. By

introducing compression stress into the structure, the tensile strength of the material
can be increased. This is typically done via two mechanisms: thermal treatment
(tempering) or chemical bath (via ion exchange).

In tempered glasses, air jets are used to rapidly cool the top and bottom
surfaces of a softened (hot) slab of glass. Since the surface cools quicker, there is
more free volume at the surface than in the bulk melt. The core of the slap then pulls
the surface inward, resulting in an internal compressive stress at the surface. This
substantially increases the tensile strength of the material as tensile stresses exterted
on the glass must now resolve the compressive stresses before yielding.

σy = modified = σy,0 + σcompressive

Alternately, in chemical treatment, a glass slab treated containing network

formers and modifiers is submerged into a molten salt bath containing ions larger
than those present in the modifier. Due to a concentration gradient of the ions, mass
transport must take place. As the larger cation diffuses from the molten salt into the
surface, it replaces the smaller ion from the modifier. The larger ion squeezing into
surface introduces compressive stress in the glass's surface. A common example is
treatment of sodium oxide modified silicate glass in molten potassium chloride.

[edit] Applications & Current Research

Strengthening of materials is useful in many applications. One main

application of strengthened materials is for construction. In order to have stronger
buildings and bridges, one must have a strong frame that can support high tensile or
compressive load and resist plastic deformation. The steel frame used to make the
building should be as strong as possible so that it does not bend under the entire
weight of the building. Polymeric roofing materials would also need to be strong so
that the roof does not cave in when there is build-up of snow on the rooftop.

Research is also currently being done to increase the strength of metallic

materials through the addition of polymer materials such as bonded carbon fiber
reinforced polymer to (CFRP)[1].

[edit] Molecular Dynamics Simulations

The use of computation simulations to model work hardening in materials

allows for the direct observation of critical elements that rule the process of
strengthening materials. The basic reasoning derives from the fact that, when
examining plasticity and the movement of dislocations in materials, a focus on the
atomistic level is many times not accounted for and the focus rests on the contiuum
description of materials. Since the practice of tracking these atomistic effects in
experiments and theorizing about them in textbooks cannot provide a full
understanding of these interactions, many turn to molecular dynamics simulations
to develop this understanding.[7]

The simulations work by utilizing the known atomic interactions between any
two atoms and the relationship F = ma, so that the dislocations moving through the
material are ruled by simple mechanical actions and reactions of the atoms. The
interatomic potential usually utilized to estimate these interactions is the Lennard –
Jones 12:6 potential. Lennard – Jones is widely accepted because its experimental
shortcomings are well-known.[7][8] These interactions are simply scaled up to millions
or billions of atoms in some cases to simulate materials more accurately.

Molecular dynamic simulations display the interactions based upon the

governing equations provided above for the strengthening mechanisms. They
provide an effective way to see these mechanisms in action outside the painstaking
realm of direct observation during experiments.
recover recrystallization and Grain growth

RECOVERY, RECRYSTALLIZATION, AND GRAIN GROWTH are

microstructural changes that occur during annealing after cold plastic deformation
and/or during hot working. These three mechanisms are sometimes referred to as
restoration processes, because they restore the microstructural configuration to a
lower energy level. All three processes involve diffusion and thus depend on
thermal activation to cause rearrangement of dislocations and grain boundaries. The
mechanisms of recovery and recrystallization also depend on the extent of plastic
deformation (either during hot working or by cold work prior to annealing). In
contrast, grain growth is not in direct response to deformation, but it is a thermally
driven restoration process that results in lower surface energy of individual grains.
Recovery and recrystallization can occur during hot working or during annealing
after cold plastic deformation. When a metal is cold worked by plastic deformation,
a small portion of the mechanical energy expended in deforming the metal is stored
in the specimen. This stored energy resides in the crystals as point defects (vacancies
and interstitials), dislocations, and stacking faults in various forms and
combinations, depending on the metal (see the article “Plastic Deformation
Structures” in this Volume). Therefore, a cold-worked specimen, being in a state of
higher energy, is thermodynamically unstable. With thermal activation, such as
provided by annealing, the cold-worked specimen tends to transform to states of
lower energies through a sequence of processes with microstructural changes, as
shown schematically in Fig.. Such classification is approximate; some overlapping
between the stages usually occurs because of microstructural nonhomogeneity of the
specimen. To some extent, the annealing behavior of a metal may be different from
metal to metal and for the same metal of different purity, but the basic phenomena
involved in the various annealing stages are similar. During recovery, accumulated
strain is relieved to some extent by microstructural and submicroscopic
rearrangements, but the grains are not entirely strain-free. At higher temperatures,
strain-free grains are created during the restoration process of recrystallization.
Along with the microstructural changes, the properties of the specimen also change
correspondingly (Fig.). Thus, deformation and annealing are important processing
methods for producing desired properties of the material by controlling its
microstructures. Similar restoration process can also occur during hot working. This
is shown in Fig. for hot working with moderate amount of reduction (strain) during
working (Fig.a) and high strain (Fig.b). The regions of static recovery and
recrystallization, which occur after deformation, are analogous to restoration of
worked structure by annealing. In addition, dynamic recovery can occur during
deformation at high temperature. Figure also illustrates the occurrence of either
static or dynamic recrystallization at moderate or high strains, respectively,
depending on the stacking-fault energy of a metal. Stacking faults in crystalline
 structures are planar-type defects that influence hardening and recrystallization (see
the article “Plastic Deformation Structures” in this Volume).

From: ASM Handbook Volume 14A, Metalworking: Bulk Forming (ASM

International)
Published: 2005
Pages: 552-562

Strain hardening

The strain hardening exponent (also called strain hardening index), noted as
n, is a materials constant which is used in calculations for stress-strain behaviour in
work hardening.

In the formula σ = K ε n, σ represents the applied stress on the material, ε is

the strain and K is the strength coefficient. The value of the strain hardening
exponent lies between 0 and 1. A value of 0 means that a material is a perfectly
plastic solid, while a value of 1 represents a 100% elastic solid. Most metals have an
n value between 0.10 and 0.50.

Stress–strain curve

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Stress-strain curve)
Jump to: navigation, search

Fig.1 Stress–strain curve showing typical yield behavior for nonferrous alloys. Stress
(σ) is shown as a function of strain (ε)
1: True elastic limit
2: Proportionality limit
3: Elastic limit
4: Offset yield strength

This article does not cite any references or sources.

Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

During tensile testing of a material sample, the stress–strain curve is a

graphical representation of the relationship between stress, derived from measuring
the load applied on the sample, and strain, derived from measuring the deformation
of the sample, i.e. elongation, compression, or distortion. The area under the elastic
portion of the curve is known as the modulus of resilience.

The nature of the curve varies from material to material. The following
diagrams illustrate the stress–strain behaviour of typical materials in terms of the
engineering stress and engineering strain where the stress and strain are calculated
based on the original dimensions of the sample and not the instantaneous values.

Contents
[hide]
 1 Ductile materials
 2 Brittle materials
 3 See also

 4 External links
[edit] Ductile materials

Fig 2. A stress–strain curve typical of structural steel

1. Ultimate Strength
2. Yield Strength
3. Rupture
4. Strain hardening region
5. Necking region.
A: Apparent stress (F/A0)
B: Actual stress (F/A)

Steel generally exhibits a very linear stress–strain relationship up to a well

defined yield point (Fig.2). The linear portion of the curve is the elastic region and
the slope is the modulus of elasticity or Young's Modulus. After the yield point, the
curve typically decreases slightly because of dislocations escaping from Cottrell
atmospheres. As deformation continues, the stress increases on account of strain
hardening until it reaches the ultimate strength. Until this point, the cross-sectional
area decreases uniformly because of Poisson contractions. The actual rupture point is
in the same vertical line as the visual rupture point.

However, beyond this point a neck forms where the local cross-sectional area
decreases more quickly than the rest of the sample resulting in an increase in the true
stress. As shown in Fig.2, On an engineering stress–strain curve this is seen as a
decrease in the apparent stress. However if the curve is plotted in terms of true stress
and true strain the stress will continue to rise until failure. Eventually the neck
becomes unstable and the specimen ruptures (fractures).
 Less ductile materials such as aluminum and medium to high carbon steels do
not have a well-defined yield point. For these materials the yield strength is typically
determined by the "offset yield method", by which a line is drawn parallel to the
linear elastic portion of the curve and intersecting the abscissa at some arbitrary
value (most commonly 0.2%). The intersection of this line and the stress–strain curve
is reported as the yield point. Plastic region is the point where the material will stay
deformed, The elastic region is the point where the material can stretch no further.
Failure point is when the object breaks.

[edit] Brittle materials

Fig.3 Stress Strain Curve for Brittle materials

Brittle materials such as concrete and carbon fiber do not have a yield point,
and do not strain-harden. Therefore the ultimate strength and breaking strength are
the same. A most unusual stress-strain curve is shown in Fig.3. Typical brittle
materials like glass do not show any plastic deformation but fail while the
deformation is elastic. One of the characteristics of a brittle failure is that the two
broken parts can be reassembled to produce the same shape as the original
component as there will not be a neck formation like in the case of ductile materials.
A typical stress strain curve for a brittle material will be linear. Testing of several
identical specimen, cast iron, or soil, tensile strength is negligible compared to the
compressive strength and it is assumed zero for many engineering applications.
Glass fibers have a tensile strength stronger than steel, but bulk glass usually does
not. This is because of the stress intensity factor associated with defects in the
material. As the size of the sample gets larger, the size of defects also grows. In
general, the tensile strength of a rope is always less than sum of the tensile strength
of its individual fibers.

Heat treatment of a metal or alloy is a technological procedure, including controlled

heating and cooling operations, conducted for the purpose of changing the alloy
microstructure and resulting in achieving required properties.

There are two general objectives of heat treatment: hardening and annealing.

Hardening

Hardening is a process of increasing the metal hardness, strength, toughness,

fatigue resistance.

 Strain hardening (work hardening) – strengthening by cold-work (cold

plastic deformation).
 Cold plastic deformation causes increase of concentration of dislocations,
which mutually entangle one another, making further dislocation motion difficult
and therefore resisting the deformation or increasing the metal strength.

 Grain size strengthening (hardening) – strengthening by grain refining.

Grain boundaries serve as barriers to dislocations, raising the stress required

to cause plastic deformation.

 Solid solution hardening – strengthening by dissolving an alloying element.

Atoms of solute element distort the crystal lattice, resisting the dislocations
motion. Interstitial elements are more effective in solid solution hardening, than
substitution elements.

 Dispersion strengthening – strengthening by addition of second phase into

metal matrix.

The second phase boundaries resist the dislocations motions, increasing the
material strength. The strengthening effect may be significant if fine hard particles
are added to a soft ductile matrix (composite materials).

 Hardening as a result of Spinodal decomposition. Spinodal structure is

characterized by strains on the coherent boundaries between the spinodal
phases causing hardening of the alloy.

 Precipitation hardening (age hardening) – strengthening by precipitation of

fine particles of a second phase from a supersaturated solid solution.
 The second phase boundaries resist the dislocations motions, increasing the
material strength.

The age hardening mechanism in Al-Cu alloys may be illustrated by the

phase diagram of Al-Cu system (see figure below)

When an alloy Al-3%Cu is heated up to the temperature T M, all CuAl2 particles

are dissolved and the alloy exists in form of single phase solid solution (α-phase).
This operation is called solution treatment.

Slow cooling of the alloy will cause formation of relatively coarse particles of
CuAl2 intermetallic phase, starting from the temperature TN.

However if the the cooling rate is high (quenching), solid solution will retain
even at room temperature TF. Solid solution in this non-equilibrium state is called
supersaturated solid

Solution.
Obtaining of supersaturated solid solution is possible when cooling is
considerably faster, than diffusion processes.

As the diffusion coefficient is strongly dependent on the temperature, the

precipitation of CuAl2 from supersaturated solution is much faster at elevated
temperatures (lower than TN).This process is called artificial aging. It takes usually a
time from several hours to one day.

When the aging is conducted at the room temperature, it is called natural

aging. Natural aging takes several days or more.

Precipitation from supersaturated solid solution occurred in several steps:

 Segregation of Cu atoms into plane clusters. These clusters are called Guinier-
Preston1 zones (G-P1 zones).
 Diffusion of Cu atoms to the G-P1 zones and formation larger clusters, called
GP2 zones or θ” phase. This phase is coherent with the matrix .
 Formation of θ’ phase which is partially coherent with the matrix. This phase
provides maximum hardening.

Annealing

Annealing is a heat treatment procedure involving heating the alloy and

holding it at a certain temperature (annealing temperature), followed by controlled
cooling.
 Annealing results in relief of internal stresses, softening, chemical
homogenizing and transformation of the grain structure into more stable state.

Annealing stages:

 Stress relief (recovery) – a relatively low temperature process of reducing

internal mechanical stresses, caused by cold-work, casting or welding.

During this process atoms move to more stable positions in the crystal lattice.
Vacancies and interstitial defects are eliminated and some dislocations are
annihilated.

Recovery heat treatment is used mainly for preventing stress-corrosion

cracking and decreasing distortions, caused by internal stresses.
 Recrystallization – alteration of the grain structure of the metal.

If the alloy reaches a particular temperature (recrystallization or annealing

temperature) new grains start to grow from the nuclei formed in the cold worked
metal. The new grains absorb imperfections and distortions caused by cold
deformation. The grains are equi-axed and independent to the old grain structure.

As a result of recrystallization mechanical properties (strength, ductility) of

the alloy return to the pre-cold-work level.

The annealing temperature and the new grains size are dependent on the
degree of cold-work which has been conducted. The more the cold-work degree, the
lower the annealing temperature and the fine recrystallization grain structure. Low
degrees of cold-work (less than 5%) may cause formation of large grains.

Usually the annealing temperature of metals is between one-third to one-half of

the freezing point measured in Kelvin (absolute) temperature scale.
 Grain growth (over-annealing, secondary recrystallization) – growth of the
new grains at the expense of their neighbors, occurring at temperature, above
the recrystallization temperature.

This process results in coarsening grain structure and is undesirable.

Seminar on Brittle and Ductile Fracture
Manipal Institute of Technology
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Effect of Specimen Orientation
The notched impact properties of rolled or forged products vary with the
orientation in the plate or bar. The figure shows typical form of energy-temperature
curves for specimen cit in longitudinal and transverse directions of the rolled plate.
Specimen A and B are oriented in longitudinal directions. The graphs shows that
considerably large differences are expected for different specimen orientations at
high energy levels, but difference becomes much less at energy levels below 30J.
Since the ductility transition temperatures are evaluated in this region of energy, it
seems that specimen and notch orientation are not very important. If, however
materials are compared on the basis of room temperature impact properties,
orientation can greatly affect the results.

Effect of orientation of specimen on transition temperature

Seminar on Brittle and Ductile Fracture
Manipal Institute of Technology
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Effect of specimen thickness

Probably the chief deficiency of Charpy impact test is that the small specimen
is not always a realistic model of the actual situation. Not only does the small
specimen lead to considerable scatter, but a specimen with a thickness of 10mm
cannot provide the same constraint as would be found in a structure with a much
greater thickness, at a particular service temperature the standard Charpy specimen
shows a high shelf energy, while actually the same material in a thick section
structure has low toughness at the same temperature. Effect of section thickness on
transition-temperature curves

Mechanism of Creep in Brittle Rock

A review of the experimental evidence suggests that creep in brittle rock at low
temperature is due to time-dependent cracking. A transient creep law is derived
from the mechanism of time-dependent cracking in an inhomogeneous brittle
material. The behavior is described as a Markov process with a stationary transition
probability that is obtained from experimental observations of static fatigue in
glasses. The model is compared with experimental observations and found to
predict the observed stress dependence of creep.

Abstract

Creep-resistant materials are used in machines and facilities operated at high

temperatures e.g. power engineering equipment. They must be able to withstand the
highest possible operating loads at elevated temperatures and also be sufficiently
resistant to high-temperature corrosion. In contrast to heatresistant materials, the
mechanical properties of creep-resistant materials are of prime importance.

Fulltext Preview

S–N curve

The S–N curve obtained from cantilever-type rotary bending fatigue tests using
hour-glass-shaped specimens of high carbon-chromium bearing steel clearly
distinguished the fracture modes into two groups each having a different crack
origin. One was governed by crystal slip on the specimen surface, which occurred in
the region of short fatigue life and a high stress amplitude level. The other was
governed by a non-metallic inclusion at a subsurface level which occurred in the
region of long fatigue life and low stress amplitude. The inclusion developed a fish-
eye fracture mode that was distributed over a wide range of stress amplitude not
only below the fatigue limit defined as the threshold for fracture due to the surface
slip mode but also above the fatigue limit. This remarkable shape of the S–N curve
was different from the step-wise one reported in previous literature and is
characterized as a duplex S–N curve composed of two different S–N curves
corresponding to the respective fracture modes. From detailed observations of the
fracture surface and the fatigue crack origin, the mechanisms for the internal fracture
mode and the characteristics of the S–N curve are discussed.
 UNIT – III

FERROUS AND NON FERROUS METALS AND PHASE DIAGRAM

KEY to METALS Search by Metal Properties

You can quickly and easily search over 4 million metal properties records by
designation, countries/standards, type, standard number, chemical composition,
mechanical properties, other properties or any combination of these criteria. For
example, let’s look for a Chinese stainless steel, which needs to have C < 0.05, Cr >
16%, Ni > 8%, tensile stress over 750 MPa.

Click Advanced Search from the main window. Next, click STEEL radio button,
choose China/GB in the Country/Standard list. Check boxes Stainless Steel, and
enter requested steel properties and alloying elements.

The search results screen appears. Click on a steel from the list to review its
properties, in this example the first will be selected – S31723.

After clicking on the material, a list of subgroups appears. In KEY to

METALS, the term “subgroups” refers to standard specifications that define steel
properties; in this case the specification GB/T 4234 is selected. Note that properties
defined according to different specifications may differ significantly.
 Steel properties within the KEY to METALS Database include composition,
cross-reference tables, mechanical properties, physical properties, and even creep
and fatigue properties. Click on the examples below to enlarge them.

There is no simple definition of metal; however, any chemical element having

"metallic properties" or "metal properties" is classed as a metal. Typical metal
properties are luster, good thermal and electrical conductivity, and the capability of
being permanently shaped or deformed at room temperature.

The properties of metals make them suitable for different uses in daily life.

Chemical elements lacking the typical metal properties are classed as nonmetals. A
few elements, known as metalloids, sometimes behave like a metal and at other
times like a nonmetal. Some examples of metalloids are as follows: carbon,
phosphorus, silicon, and sulfur.

The properties of different metals can be combined by mixing two or more of them
together. The resulting substance is called an alloy. Pure elemental metals are often
too soft to be of practical use which is why much of metallurgy focuses on
formulating useful alloys.

Steel, for example, is a mixture of iron and small amounts of carbon and other
elements. Other alloys like brass (copper and zinc) and bronze (copper and tin) are
easy to shape and beautiful to look at. Bronze is also used frequently in ship-
building because it is resistant to corrosion from sea water.

Titanium is much lighter and less dense than steel, but as strong; and although
heavier than aluminum, it's also twice as strong. It's also very resistant to corrosion.
All these factors make it an excellent alloy material. Titanium alloys are used in
aircraft, ships, and spacecraft, as well as paints, bicycles, and even laptop
computers!
Copper is a good conductor of electricity and is ductile. Therefore copper is used for
electrical cables.

Gold and silver are very malleable, ductile and very non-reactive. Gold and silver
are used to make intricate jewelry. Gold is especially suitable for this purpose since
it does not tarnish. Gold can also be used for oxidation-free electrical connections.

Iron and steel are both hard and strong. Therefore they are used to construct bridges
and buildings. A disadvantage of using iron is that it tends to rust, whereas most
steels rust, but they can be formulated to be rust free.
Aluminum is a good conductor of heat and is malleable. It is used to make
saucepans and foil, and also airplane bodies due to the fact that is very light.

Stainless steel or galvanized steel are used where resistance to corrosion is

important. Aluminum alloys and magnesium alloys are used for applications where
strength and lightness are required.

Copper-nickel alloys such as Monel are used in highly corrosive environments and
for non-magnetic applications. Nickel-based superalloys like Inconel are used in
high temperature applications such as turbochargers, pressure vessels, and heat
exchangers. For extremely high temperatures, single crystal alloys are used to
minimize creep.

Maraging Steels:

Maraging steels (a portmanteau of martensitic and aging) are iron alloys which are
known for possessing superior strength and toughness without losing malleability,
although they can not hold a good cutting edge. 'Aging' refers to the extended heat-
treatment process. These steels are a special class of low-carbon ultra-high-strength
steels which derive their strength not from carbon, but from precipitation of inter-
metallic compounds. The principal alloying element is 15 to 25% nickel.[1] Secondary
alloying elements are added to produce intermetallic precipitates, which include
cobalt, molybdenum, and titanium.[1] Original development was carried out on 20
and 25% Ni steels to which small additions of Al, Ti, and Nb were made.

The common, non-stainless grades contain 17–19% nickel, 8–12% cobalt, 3–5%
molybdenum, and 0.2–1.6% titanium. Addition of chromium produces stainless
grades resistant to corrosion. This also indirectly increases hardenability as they
require less nickel: high-chromium, high-nickel steels are generally austenitic and
unable to transform to martensite when heat treated, while lower-nickel steels can
transform to martensite.

Properties
Due to the low carbon content maraging steels have good machinability. Prior to
aging, they may also be cold rolled to as much as 80–90% without cracking.
Maraging steels offer good weldability, but must be aged afterward to restore the
properties of heat affected zone.[1]

When heat-treated the alloy has very little dimensional change, so it is often
machined to its final dimensions. Due to the high alloy content the alloys have a
high hardenability. Since ductile FeNi martensites are formed upon cooling, cracks
are non-existent or negligible. They can also be nitrided to increase case hardness.
They can be polished to a fine surface finish.
Non-stainless varieties of maraging steels are moderately corrosion-resistant, and
resist stress corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement. More corrosion protection can
be gained by cadmium plating or phosphating.

[edit] Heat treatment cycle

The steel is first annealed at approximately 820 °C (1,510 °F) for 15–30 minutes for
thin sections and for 1 hour per 25 mm thickness for heavy sections, to ensure
formation of a fully austenitized structure. This is followed by air cooling to room
temperature to form a soft, heavily-dislocated iron-nickel lath (untwinned)
martensite. Subsequent aging (precipitation hardening) of the more common alloys
for approximately 3 hours at a temperature of 480 to 500 °C produces a fine
dispersion of Ni3(X,Y) intermetallic phases along dislocations left by martensitic
transformation, where X and Y are solute elements added for such precipitation.
Overaging leads to a reduction in stability of the primary, metastable, coherent
precipitates, leading to their dissolution and replacement with semi-coherent Laves
phases such as Fe2Ni/Fe2Mo. Further excessive heat-treatment brings about the
decomposition of the martensite and reversion to austenite.

Newer compositions of maraging steels have revealed other intermetallic

stoichiometries and crystallographic relationships with the parent martensite,
including rhombohedral and massive complex Ni50(X,Y,Z)50, or Ni50M50 in simplified
notation.

[edit] Uses

Maraging steel's strength and malleability in the pre-aged stage allows it to be

formed into thinner rocket and missile skins than other steels, reducing weight for a
given strength. Maraging steels have very stable properties, and, even after
overaging due to excessive temperature, only soften slightly. These alloys retain
their properties at mildly elevated operating temperatures and have maximum
service temperatures of over 400 °C (752 °F).[citation needed] They are suitable for engine
components, such as crankshafts and gears, and the firing pins of automatic
weapons that cycle from hot to cool repeatedly while under substantial load. Their
uniform expansion and easy machinability before aging make maraging steel useful
in high-wear components of assembly lines and dies. Other ultra-high-strength
steels, such as Aermet alloys, are not as machinable because of their carbide content.

In the sport of fencing, blades used in competitions run under the auspices of the
Fédération Internationale d'Escrime are often made with maraging steel. Maraging
blades are required in foil and épée because crack propagation in maraging steel is
10 times slower than in carbon steel, resulting in less blade breakage and fewer
injuries. The notion that such blades break flat is a fencing urban legend: testing has
shown that the blade-breakage patterns in carbon steel and maraging steel blades
are identical[citation needed]. Stainless maraging steel is used in bicycle frames and golf
club heads. It is also used in surgical components and hypodermic syringes, but is
not suitable for scalpel blades because the lack of carbon prevents it from holding a
good cutting edge.

Maraging steel production, import, and export by certain states, such as the United
States,[2] is closely monitored by international authorities because it is particularly
suited for use in gas centrifuges for uranium enrichment; lack of maraging steel
significantly hampers this process. Older centrifuges used aluminum tubes; modern
ones, carbon fiber composite.

Physical properties

 Density: 8.1 g/cm³ (0.29 lb/in³)

 Specific heat, mean for 0–100 °C (32–212 °F): 813 J/(kg·K) (0.108 Btu/(lb·°F))
 Melting point: 2575 °F, 1413 °C
 Thermal conductivity: 25.5 W·m/(m²·K)
 Mean coefficient of thermal expansion: 11.3×10−6
 Yield tensile strength: typically 1030–2420 MPa (150,000–350,000 psi)[3]
 Ultimate tensile strength: typically 1600–2500 MPa (230,000–360,000 psi).
Grades exist up to 3.5 GPa (500,000 psi)
 Elongation at break: up to 15%
 KIC fracture toughness: up to 175 MPa-m½
 Young's modulus: 210 GPa[4]
 Shear modulus: 77 GPa
 Bulk modulus: 140 GPa
 Hardness (aged): 50 HRC (grade 250); 54 HRC (grade 300); 58 HRC (grade
350)

The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham
Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Greek γράφειν (graphein): "to draw/write", for its
use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead (not to be confused with the
metallic element lead). Unlike diamond (another carbon allotrope), graphite is an
electrical conductor, a semimetal. Thus, e.g., it is useful in arc lamp electrodes.
Graphite is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Therefore, it
is used in thermochemistry as the standard state for defining the heat of formation
of carbon compounds. Graphite may be considered the highest grade of coal, just
above anthracite and alternatively called meta-anthracite, although it is not
normally used as fuel because it is hard to ignite.

There are three principal types of natural graphite, each occurring in different types
of ore deposit:

1. Crystalline flake graphite (or flake graphite for short) occurs as isolated, flat,
plate-like particles with hexagonal edges if unbroken and when broken the
edges can be irregular or angular;
2. Amorphous graphite occurs as fine particles and is the result of thermal
metamorphism of coal, the last stage of coalification, and is sometimes called
meta-anthracite. Very fine flake graphite is sometimes called amorphous in
the trade;
3. Lump graphite (also called vein graphite) occurs in fissure veins or fractures
and appears as massive platy intergrowths of fibrous or acicular crystalline
aggregates, and is probably hydrothermal in origin.

Highly ordered pyrolytic graphite or highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG)

refers to graphite with an angular spread between the graphite sheets of less than 1°.
This highest-quality synthetic form is used in scientific research. [3] The name
"graphite fiber" is also sometimes used to refer to carbon fiber or carbon fiber-
reinforced polymer.

Occurrence

Graphite output in 2005

Minerals associated with graphite include quartz, calcite, micas, iron meteorites, and
tourmalines. Graphite has various other characteristics. Thin flakes are flexible but
inelastic, the mineral can leave black marks on hands and paper, it conducts
electricity, and displays superlubricity. Its best field indicators are softness, luster,
density and streak.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), world production of
natural graphite in 2008 was 1,110 thousand tonnes (kt), of which the following
major exporters are: China (800 kt), India (130 kt), Brazil (76 kt), North Korea (30 kt)
and Canada (28 kt). Graphite is not mined in US, but US production of synthetic
graphite in 2007 was 198 kt valued at $1.18 billion. US graphite consumption was 42
kt and 200 kt for natural and synthetic graphite, respectively.[4]

graphite's side view of

unit cell layer stacking
Scanning tunneling
microscope image of ball-and-stick model of
graphite surface atoms graphite (2 graphene layers)

[edit] Properties

Graphite has a layered, planar structure. In each layer, the carbon atoms are
arranged in a hexagonal lattice with separation of 0.142 nm, and the distance
between planes is 0.335 nm.[5] The two known forms of graphite, alpha (hexagonal)
and beta (rhombohedral), have very similar physical properties (except that the
graphene layers stack slightly differently).[6] The hexagonal graphite may be either
flat or buckled.[7] The alpha form can be converted to the beta form through
mechanical treatment and the beta form reverts to the alpha form when it is heated
above 1300 °C.[8] The layering contributes to its lower density.[clarification needed]

The acoustic and thermal properties of graphite are highly anisotropic, since
phonons propagate very quickly along the tightly-bound planes, but are slower to
travel from one plane to another.
Graphite can conduct electricity due to the vast electron delocalization within the
carbon layers (a phenomenon called aromaticity). These valence electrons are free to
move, so are able to conduct electricity. However, the electricity is only conducted
within the plane of the layers.

Graphite and graphite powder are valued in industrial applications for its self-
lubricating and dry lubricating properties. There is a common belief that graphite's
lubricating properties are solely due to the loose interlamellar coupling between
sheets in the structure.[9] However, it has been shown that in a vacuum environment
(such as in technologies for use in space), graphite is a very poor lubricant. This
observation led to the discovery that the lubrication is due to the presence of fluids
between the layers, such as air and water, which are naturally adsorbed from the
environment. This molecular property is unlike other layered, dry lubricants such as
molybdenum disulfide. Recent studies suggest that an effect called superlubricity
can also account for graphite's lubricating properties. The use of graphite is limited
by its tendency to facilitate pitting corrosion in some stainless steel,[10][11] and to
promote galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals (due to its electrical
conductivity). It is also corrosive to aluminium in the presence of moisture. For this
reason, the US Air Force banned its use as a lubricant in aluminium aircraft,[12] and
discouraged its use in aluminium-containing automatic weapons. [13] Even graphite
pencil marks on aluminium parts may facilitate corrosion.[14] Another high-
temperature lubricant, hexagonal boron nitride, has the same molecular structure as
graphite. It is sometimes called white graphite, due to its similar properties.

When a large number of crystallographic defects bind these planes together,

graphite loses its lubrication properties and becomes what is known as pyrolytic
carbon. This material is useful for blood-contacting implants such as artificial heart
valves. It is also highly diamagnetic, thus it will float in mid-air above a strong
magnet.

Natural and crystalline graphites are not often used in pure form as structural
materials, due to their shear-planes, brittleness and inconsistent mechanical
properties.

[edit] History

Graphite was used by the 4th millennium B.C. Marica culture to create a ceramic
paint to decorate pottery during the Neolithic Age in southeastern Europe.[15]

Some time before 1565 (some sources say as early as 1500), an enormous deposit of
graphite was discovered on the approach to Grey Knotts from the hamlet of
Seathwaite in Borrowdale parish, Cumbria, England, which the locals found very
useful for marking sheep.[16][17] This particular deposit of graphite was extremely
pure and soft, and could easily be broken into sticks. This remains the only deposit
of graphite found in this packed form.[18]

[edit] Other names

Graphite has also been known historically under other names: blacklead and
plumbago.[19]

Plumbago was commonly used for its massive mineral form. Both of these names
arise from confusion with the similar-appearing lead ores, particularly galena. The
Latin word for lead is plumbum, which gave its name to both the English term for
this grey metallic-sheened mineral and even the leadworts or plumbagos, plants
with flowers that resemble this colour.

Blacklead has usually been applied to a powdered or processed form, where this
fine powder then appears as a matt non-metallic black.

[edit] Uses of natural graphite

Natural graphite is mostly consumed for refractories, steelmaking, expanded

graphite, brake linings, foundry facings and lubricants. [4] Graphene, which occurs
naturally in graphite, has unique physical properties and might be one of the
strongest substances known; however, the process of separating it from graphite
will require some technological development before it is economically feasible to
use it in industrial processes.

[edit] Refractories

This end-use begins before 1900 with the graphite crucible used to hold molten
metal; this is now a minor part of refractories. In the mid 1980s, the carbon-
magnesite brick became important, and a bit later the alumina-graphite shape.
Currently the order of importance is alumina-graphite shapes, carbon-magnesite
brick, monolithics (gunning and ramming mixes), and then crucibles.

Crucibles began using very large flake graphite, and carbon-magnesite brick
requiring not quite so large flake graphite; for these and others there is now much
more flexibility in size of flake required, and amorphous graphite is no longer
restricted to low-end refractories. Alumina-graphite shapes are used as continuous
casting ware, such as nozzles and troughs, to convey the molten steel from ladle to
mold, and carbon magnesite bricks line steel converters and electric arc furnaces to
withstand extreme temperatures. Graphite Blocks are also used in parts of blast
furnace linings where the high thermal conductivity of the graphite is critical. High-
purity monolithics are often used as a continuous furnace lining instead of the
carbon-magnesite bricks.

The US and European refractories industry had a crisis in 2000–2003, with an

indifferent market for steel and a declining refractory consumption per tonne of
steel underlying firm buyouts and many plant closings. Many of the plant closings
resulted from the acquisition of Harbison-Walker Refractories by Radex-Heraklith,
Inc. (RHI); some plants had their equipment auctioned off. Since much of the lost
capacity was for carbon-magnesite brick, graphite consumption within refractories
area moved towards alumina-graphite shapes and monolithics, and away from the
brick.The major source of carbon-magnesite brick is now imports from China.
Almost all of the above refractories are used to make steel and account for 75% of
refractory consumption; the rest is used by a variety of industries, such as cement.

According to the USGS, US natural graphite consumption in refractories was 11,000

tonnes in 2006.[4]

[edit] Steelmaking

Natural graphite in this end use mostly goes into carbon raising in molten steel,
although it can be used to lubricate the dies used to extrude hot steel. Supplying
carbon raisers is very competitive, therefore subject to cut-throat pricing from
alternatives such as synthetic graphite powder, petroleum coke, and other forms of
carbon. A carbon raiser is added to increase the carbon content of the steel to the
specified level. An estimate based on USGS US graphite consumption statistics
indicates that 10,500 tonnes were used in this fashion in 2005.[4]
[edit] Expanded graphite

Expanded graphite is made by immersing natural flake graphite in a bath of

chromic acid, then concentrated sulfuric acid, which forces the crystal lattice planes
apart, thus expanding the graphite. The expanded graphite can be used to make
graphite foil or used directly as "hot top" compound to insulate molten metal in a
ladle or red-hot steel ingots and decrease heat loss, or as firestops fitted around a fire
door or in sheet metal collars surrounding plastic pipe (during a fire, the graphite
expands and chars to resist fire penetration and spread), or to make high-
performance gasket material for high-temperature use. After being made into
graphite foil, the foil is machined and assembled into the bipolar plates in fuel cells.
The foil is made into heat sinks for laptop computers which keeps them cool while
saving weight, and is made into a foil laminate that can be used in valve packings or
made into gaskets. Old-style packings are now a minor member of this grouping:
fine flake graphite in oils or greases for uses requiring heat resistance. A GAN
estimate of current US natural graphite consumption in this end use is 7,500 tonnes.
[4]

[edit] Intercalated graphite

Main article: Graphite intercalation compound

 Structure of CaC6

Graphite forms intercalation compounds with some metals and small molecules. In
these compounds, the host molecule or atom gets "sandwiched" between the
graphite layers, resulting in compounds with variable stoichiometry. A prominent
example of an intercalation compound is potassium graphite, denoted by the
formula KC8. Graphite intercalation compounds are superconductors. The highest
transition temperature (by June 2009) Tc = 11.5 K is achieved in CaC6 and it further
increases under applied pressure (15.1 K at 8 GPa).[20]

[edit] Brake linings

Natural amorphous and fine flake graphite are used in brake linings or brake shoes
for heavier (nonautomotive) vehicles, and became important with the need to
substitute for asbestos. This use has been important for quite some time, but
nonasbestos organic (NAO) compositions are beginning to cost graphite market
share. A brake-lining industry shake-out with some plant closings has not helped
either, nor has an indifferent automotive market. According to the USGS, US natural
graphite consumption in brake linings was 6,510 tonnes in 2005.[4]

[edit] Foundry facings and lubricants

A foundry facing mold wash is a water-based paint of amorphous or fine flake

graphite. Painting the inside of a mold with it and letting it dry leaves a fine
graphite coat that will ease separation of the object cast after the hot metal has
cooled. Graphite lubricants are specialty items for use at very high or very low
temperatures, as forging die lubricant, an antiseize agent, a gear lubricant for
mining machinery, and to lubricate locks. Having low-grit graphite, or even better
no-grit graphite (ultra high purity), is highly desirable. It can be used as a dry
powder, in water or oil, or as colloidal graphite (a permanent suspension in a
liquid). An estimate based on USGS graphite consumption statistics indicates that
2,200 tonnes was used in this fashion in 2005.[4]
[edit] Other uses

Natural graphite has found uses as the marking material ("lead") in common
pencils, in zinc-carbon batteries, in electric motor brushes, and various specialized
applications.

[edit] Uses of synthetic graphite

[edit] Electrodes

These electrodes carry the electricity that heats electric arc furnaces, the vast
majority steel furnaces. They are made from petroleum coke after it is mixed with
petroleum pitch, extruded and shaped, then baked to sinter it, and then graphitized
by heating it above the temperature (3000 °C) that converts carbon to graphite. They
can vary in size up to 11 ft. long and 30 in. in diameter. An increasing proportion of
global steel is made using electric arc furnaces, and the electric arc furnace itself is
getting more efficient and making more steel per tonne of electrode. An estimate
based on USGS data indicates that graphite electrode consumption was 197,000
tonnes in 2005.[4]

[edit] Powder and scrap

The powder is made by heating powdered petroleum coke above the temperature of
graphitization, sometimes with minor modifications. The graphite scrap comes from
pieces of unusable electrode material (in the manufacturing stage or after use) and
lathe turnings, usually after crushing and sizing. Most synthetic graphite powder
goes to carbon raising in steel (competing with natural graphite), with some used in
batteries and brake linings. According to the USGS, US synthetic graphite powder
and scrap production was 95,000 tonnes in 2001 (latest data).[4]

[edit] Neutron moderator

Main article: Nuclear graphite

Special grades of synthetic graphite also find use as a matrix and neutron moderator
within nuclear reactors. Its low neutron cross-section also recommends it for use in
proposed fusion reactors. Care must be taken that reactor-grade graphite is free of
neutron absorbing materials such as boron, widely used as the seed electrode in
commercial graphite deposition systems—this caused the failure of the Germans'
World War II graphite-based nuclear reactors. Since they could not isolate the
difficulty they were forced to use far more expensive heavy water moderators.
Graphite used for nuclear reactors is often referred to as nuclear graphite.
[edit] Other uses

Graphite (carbon) fiber and carbon nanotubes are also used in carbon fiber
reinforced plastics, and in heat-resistant composites such as reinforced carbon-
carbon (RCC). Products made from carbon fiber graphite composites include fishing
rods, golf clubs, bicycle frames, and pool cue sticks and have been successfully
employed in reinforced concrete. The mechanical properties of carbon fiber
graphite-reinforced plastic composites and grey cast iron are strongly influenced by
the role of graphite in these materials. In this context, the term "(100%) graphite" is
often loosely used to refer to a pure mixture of carbon reinforcement and resin,
while the term "composite" is used for composite materials with additional
ingredients.[21]

Graphite has been used in at least three radar absorbent materials. It was mixed
with rubber in Sumpf and Schornsteinfeger, which were used on U-boat snorkels to
reduce their radar cross section. It was also used in tiles on early F-117 Nighthawks.
Modern smokeless powder is coated in graphite to prevent the buildup of static
charge.

[edit] Graphite mining, beneficiation, and milling

Graphite is mined around the world by both open pit and underground methods.
While flake graphite and amorphous graphite are both mined open pit and
underground, lump (vein) graphite is only mined underground in Sri Lanka. The
open pit mines usually employ equipment (i.e. bulldozers) to scoop up the ore,
which is usually put in trucks and moved to the plant. Since the original rock is
usually lateritized or weathered, this amounts to moving dirt with flecks or pieces of
graphite in it from the pit (blasting is seldom required). The underground graphite
mines employ drilling and blasting to break up the hard rock (ore), which is then
moved by mine cars pulled by a locomotive, or moved by automotive vehicles, to
the surface and then to the plant. In less-developed areas of the world, the ore can
be mined by pick and shovel and transported by mine cars pushed by a laborer or
by women carrying baskets of ore on their heads.

Graphite usually needs beneficiation, although thick-bedded amorphous graphite

and vein graphite is almost always beneficiated, if beneficiated at all, by laborers
hand-picking out the pieces of gangue (rock) and hand-screening the product. The
great majority of world flake graphite production is crushed and ground if
necessary and beneficiated by flotation. Treating graphite by flotation encounters
one big difficulty: graphite is very soft and "marks" (coats) the particles of gangue.
This makes the "marked" gangue particles float off with the graphite to yield a very
impure concentrate. There are two ways of obtaining a saleable concentrate or
product: regrinding and floating it again and again (up to seven times) to obtain a
purer and purer concentrate, or by leaching (dissolving) the gangue with
hydrofluoric acid (for a silicate gangue) or hydrochloric acid (for a carbonate
gangue).

In the milling process, the incoming graphite products and concentrates can be
ground before being classified (sized or screened), with the coarser flake size
fractions (below 8 mesh, 8–20 mesh, 20–50 mesh) carefully preserved, and then the
carbon contents are determined. Then some standard blends can be prepared from
the different fractions, each with a certain flake size distribution and carbon content.
Custom blends can also be made for individual customers who want a certain flake
size distribution and carbon content. If flake size is unimportant, the concentrate can
be ground more freely. Typical final products include a fine powder for use as a
slurry in oil drilling; in zirconium silicate, sodium silicate and isopropyl alcohol
coatings for foundry molds; and a carbon raiser in the steel industry (Synthetic
graphite powder and powdered petroleum coke can also be used as carbon raiser).
Rough graphite is typically classified, ground, and packaged at a graphite mill; often
the more complex formulations are also mixed and packaged at the mill facility.
Environmental impacts from graphite mills consist of air pollution including fine
particulate exposure of workers and also soil contamination from powder spillages
leading to heavy metals contaminations of soil. Dust masks are normally worn by
workers during the production process to avoid worker exposure to the fine
airborne graphite and zircon silicate.

[edit] Graphite recycling

The most common way graphite is recycled occurs when synthetic graphite
electrodes are either manufactured and pieces are cut off or lathe turnings are
discarded, or the electrode (or other) are used all the way down to the electrode
holder. A new electrode replaces the old one, but a sizeable piece of the old
electrode remains. This is crushed and sized, and the resulting graphite powder is
mostly used to raise the carbon content of molten steel. Graphite-containing
refractories are sometimes also recycled, but often not because of their graphite: the
largest-volume items, such as carbon-magnesite bricks that contain only 15–25%
graphite, usually contain too little graphite. However, some recycled carbon-
magnesite brick is used as the basis for furnace repair materials, and also crushed
carbon-magnesite brick is used in slag conditioners. While crucibles have a high
graphite content, the volume of crucibles used and then recycled is very small.

A high-quality flake graphite product that closely resembles natural flake graphite
can be made from steelmaking kish. Kish is a large-volume near-molten waste
skimmed from the molten iron feed to a basic oxygen furnace, and is a mix of
graphite (precipitated out of the supersaturated iron), lime-rich slag, and some iron.
The iron is recycled on site, so what is left is a mixture of graphite and slag. The best
recovery process uses hydraulic classification (Which utilizes a flow of water to
separate minerals by specific gravity: graphite is light and settles nearly last.) to get
a 70% graphite rough concentrate. Leaching this concentrate with hydrochloric acid
gives a 95% graphite product with a flake size ranging from 10 mesh down.

Alloy Cast Iron

Cast iron containing the usual components, as well as specially introduced alloying
elements, which impart to it specific properties, such as increased strength,
durability, and refractoriness. Alloy cast irons are usually classified chemically (for
example, nickel or chromium cast iron). In naturally alloyed cast iron the alloying
additives come from the iron ore.

Copper and Copper Alloys (Brass, Bronze)

MatWeb has data sheets for 2200+ coppers and copper alloys such as brass and
bronze, including unique data for different product forms and heat treatments.
Once you navigate to specific data sheets, you will find the properties you need for
the copper alloys of your choice - such as the tensile strength and melting point of
SAE 40 Bronze or the density of Leaded Muntz Metal, UNS C36500.

The fastest and surest way to find the database entries for all copper alloys is to
follow the link to our Search By Material Category and then select Metal --> Non-
Ferrous --> Copper Alloy.

You can also choose "Copper Alloy" in conjunction with property values when you
Search By Property. This will help you to naviagate through our large collection to
find the exact copper, brass, or bronze alloys that meet your property specifications.

Copper alloys can be difficult to find by a text-based search due to ambiguous

common names and misnomers. For example, the term "Silver-bearing tough pitch
copper" is used for alloys with at least four different composition ranges with
different UNS numbers. When choosing text for our Quick Search, please keep in
mind that the MatWeb text-based search is sensitive to punctuation, spacing, and
abbreviations; it will treat Copper-tin differently than Copper tin. The UNS number
is the most widely available search term but coppers can sometimes be found in
MatWeb by entering ASTM, CDA, CEN, and ISO designations. The UNS Number is
often created from the Copper Development Agency (CDA) number by adding a 'C'
at the begionning and two zeroes at the end (ex: CDA 360 = UNS C36000).
No matter how you reach MatWeb's entries for specific copper, brass, or bronze
entries, you will find complete physical property data. The MatWeb staff has
collected extensive data to bring you values for properties such as composition,
density, hardness, ultimate tensile strength, electrical resisitivity or conductivity,
elastic modulus, etc.

For more information about copper, choose one of the following links:

 How Alloying Elements Affect the Properties of Copper

 ASTM B601 Heat Treating Temper Codes for Coppers and Copper Alloys
 ASTM Specification Codes for Coppers and Copper Alloys
 Federal Specification Codes for Coppers and Copper Alloys

Small amounts of alloying elements are often added to metals to improve certain
characteristics of the metal. Alloying can increase or reduce the strength, hardness,
electrical and thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, or change the color of a
metal. The addition of a substance to improve one property may have unintended
effects on other properties. This page describes the effects of various alloying
elements on copper and copper alloys such as brass and bronze.

 Strength

Solid solution strengthening of copper is a common strengthening method. Small

amounts of an alloying element added to molten copper will completely dissolve
and form a homogeneous microstructure (a single phase). At some point, additional
amounts of the alloying element will not dissolve; the exact amount is dependent on
the solid solubility of the particular element in copper. When that solid solubility
limit is exceeded, two distinct microstructures form with different compositions and
hardnesses. Copper by itself is relatively soft compared with common structural
metals. An alloy with tin added to copper is known as bronze; the resulting alloy is
stronger and harder than either of the pure metals. The same is true when zinc is
added to copper to form alloys known as brass. Tin is more effective in
strengthening copper than zinc, but is also more expensive and has a greater
detrimental effect on the electrical and thermal conductivities than zinc. Aluminum
(forming alloys known as aluminum bronzes), Manganese, Nickel, and Silicon can
also be added to strengthen copper.

Another copper strengthening method is precipitation hardening. The process

involves quenching a supersaturated solid solution from an elevated temperature,
then reheating to a lower temperature (aging) to allow the excess solute to
precipitate out and form a second phase. This process is often used for copper
alloys containing beryllium, chromium, nickel, or zirconium. Precipitation
hardening offers distinct advantages. Fabrication is relatively easy using the soft
solution-annealed form of the quenched metal. The subsequent aging process of the
fabricated part can be performed using relatively inexpensive and unsophisticated
furnaces. Often the heat treatment can be performed in air, at moderate furnace
temperatures, and with little or no controlled cooling. Many combinations of
ductility, impact resistance, hardness, conductivity, and strength can be obtained by
varying the heat treatment times and temperatures.

 Electrical and Thermal Conductivity.

Pure copper is a very good conductor of both electricity and heat. The International
Annealed Copper Standard (IACS; a high purity copper with a resistivity of
0.0000017 Ohm-cm) is still sometimes used as an electrical conductivity standard for
metals. The best way to increase the electrical and thermal conductivity of copper is
to decrease the impurity levels. The existence of impurities and all common
alloying elements, except for silver, will decrease the electrical and thermal
conductivity of copper. As the amount of the second element increases, the
electrical conductivity of the alloy decreases. Cadmium has the smallest effect on
resulting alloy's electrical conductivity, followed by increasing effects from zinc, tin,
nickel, aluminum, manganese, silicon, then phosphorus. Although different
mechanisms are involved in thermal conductivity, the addition of increasing
amounts of elements or impurities also produces a drop in thermal conductivity.
Zinc has very minor effect on the thermal conductivity of copper, followed by
increasing effects from nickel, tin, manganese, silicon, and serious effects from
phosphorus. Phosphorus is often used to deoxidize copper, which can increase the
hardness and strength, but severely affect the conductivity. Silicon can be used
instead of phosphorus to deoxidize copper when conductivity is important.

 Color

Pure copper has a reddish gold color which quickly oxides to a dull green. Since
copper often contains natural impurities or is alloyed with more than one element, it
is difficult to state the specific effect each alloying element has on the resulting
alloy's color. Electrolytic tough pitch copper contains silver and often trace amount
of iron and sulfur and has a soft pink color. Gilding copper is a reddish brown color
and contains zinc, iron, and lead. Brass is often used as an ornamental metal, since
it has an appearance very similar to that of gold and is much less expensive. Brasses
contain varying amounts of zinc, iron, and lead and can vary from reddish to
greenish to brownish gold. Nickel silver, which contains nickel, zinc, iron, lead, and
manganese, can have a grayish-white to silver appearance.
ASTM B601 Heat Treating Temper Codes for Copper Metal and Copper Alloys

Because of the wide variation in important physical properties as a function of an

alloy's treatment history, it is imperitive to know and understand the temper in
which a copper alloy is to be treated prior to its application.

Copper Temper Name ASTM As Manufactured Tempers ASTM

Code Code
1/8 Hard H00 As Sand Cast M01
1/4 Hard H01 As Centrifugal Cast M02
1/2 Hard H02 As Plaster Cast M03
3/4 Hard H03 As Pressure Die Cast M04
Hard H04 As Permanent Mold Cast M05
Extra Hard H06 As Investment Cast M06
Spring H08 As Continuous Cast M07
Extra Spring H10 As Hot Forged and AirM10
Special Spring H12 Cooled
Ultra Spring H13 As Forged and Quenched M11
Super Spring H14 As Hot Rolled M20
Extruded and Drawn H50 As Hot Extruded M30
Pierced and Drawn H52 As Hot Pierced M40
Light Drawn, Light ColdH55 As Hot Pierced and Rerolled M45
Rolled Cold Worked and Stress Relieved
Drawn General Purpose H58 Tempers
Cold Heading andH60 ASTM Code
Forming H01 Temper and StressHR01
Rivet H63 Relieved
Screw H64 H02 Temper and StressHR02
Bolt H66 Relieved
Bending H70 H04 Temper and StressHR04
Hard Drawn H80 Relieved
Medium Hard DrawnH85 H08 Temper and StressHR08
Electrical Wire Relieved
Hard Drawn ElectricalH86 H10 Temper and StressHR10
Wire Relieved
As Finned H90 As Finned HR20
Drawn and Stress Relieved HR50
Cold Rolled and OrderASTM
Strengthened Tempers Code
H04 Temper and OrderHT04
Heat Treated
 H08 Temper and OrderHT08
Heat Treated
ASTM Specification Codes for Copper and Copper Alloys - Brass and Bronze
Copper or Copper Alloy ASTM
Product Spec
Hard drawn copper wire B1
Medium hard drawnB2
copper wire
Annealed copper wire B3
Bronze trolley wire B9
Free cutting brass rod, bar,B16
and shapes for use in screw
machines
Cartridge brass sheet, strip,B19
plate, bar, and disks
Naval brass rod, bar, andB22
shapes
Bronze castings for bridgesB22
and turntables
Copper alloy ingots B30
Tinned soft or annealedB33
copper electrical wire
Standard sized seamlessB43
copper pipe
Copper trolley wire B47
Annealed rectangular andB48
square bare copper
electrical wire
Hot rolled copper rodB49
redraw for electrical use
Steam or valve bronzeB61
castings
Bronze rough castings forB66
locomotive wear parts
Car and tender linedB67
journal bearings
Seamless bright annealedB68
copper tube
Seamless copper tube B75
Seamless copper waterB88
Copper or Copper AlloyASTM
Product Spec
Copper conductors forB286
electronic equipment wire
hookups
Manganese brass (Cu-Zn-B291
Mn) sheet and strip
Silver coated annealedB298
copper wire
Free cutting copper rodB301
and bar
Threadless copper pipe B302
Copper drainage tubeB306
(DWV)
Seamless copper alloy pipeB315
and tube
Nickel coated annealedB355
copper wire
Copper and copper alloyB359
seamless condenser and
heat exchanger tubes with
fins
Hard drawn copperB360
capillary tube for restrictor
applications
Cu-Ni alloy castings B369
Copper sheet and strip forB370
building construction
Cu-Zinc-Si alloy rod B371
Seamless copper andB372
copper alloy rectangular
wave guide tube
U-bend seamless copperB395
and copper alloy heat
exchanger and condenser
tubes
Cu-Ni-Si alloy rod and bar B411
tube
General purpose andB96
pressure vessel Cu-Si alloy
plate, sheet, strip, and
rolled bar
Cu-Si alloy rod, bar, andB98
shapes
General purpose Cu-SiB99
alloy wire
Rolled copper alloy bearingB100
and expansion plates and
sheets for bridges and
structural use
Lead coated copper sheet B101
Phosphor bronze plate,B103
sheet, strip, and rolled bar
Hard drawn copper alloyB105
wires for electrical
conductors
Copper and copper alloyB111
seamless condenser tubes
and ferrule stock
Fig. 9 deep section groovedB116
and fig. 8 Cur trolley wire
for industrial haulage
Leaded brass plate, sheet,B121
strip, and rolled bar
Copper and copper alloyB124
forging rod, bar, and
shapes
Cartridge brass cartridgeB129
case cups
Commercial bronze stripB130
for bullet jackets
Copper alloy bullet jacketB131
cups
Copper rod, bar, andB133
shapes
Brass wire B134
Seamless brass tube B135
Manganese bronze rod,B138
Cu-Ni-Si alloy wire B412
Cu-Al-Si-Co alloy and Cu-B422
Ni-Al-Si alloy sheet and
strip
Gear bronze castings B427
Copper and copper alloyB432
clad steel plate
Cu-Co-Be (UNS C17500)B441
and Cu-Ni-Be (UNS
C17510) rod and bar
Welded copper tube B447
Copper foil, strip and sheetB451
for printed circuits and
carrier tapes
Leaded brass (Cu-Zn-Pb)B453
rod
Leaded brass (Cu-Zn-Pb)B455
extruded shapes
Cu-Fe alloy plate, sheet,B465
strip, and rolled bar
Seamless Cu-Ni pipe andB466
tube
Welded Cu-Ni pipe B467
Seamless Cu-Ni pipe andB469
tube
Bonded copper conductorsB470
for use in hookup wire for
electronic equipment
Cast Cu-Ni ship tailshaftB492
sleeves
Compact roundB496
concentric-lay-stranded
copper conductors
Copper alloy continuousB505
castings
Copper clad stainless steelB506
sheet and strip for building
construction
Copper alloy strip forB508
flexible metal hose
Cu-Co-Be alloy, plate,B534
bar, and shapes
Phosphor bronze rod, bar,B139
and shapes
Leaded red brass hardwareB140
bronze rod, bar, and shapes
Aluminum bronze sandB148
castings
Aluminum bronze rod, bar,B150
and shapes
Nickel Silver (Cu-Ni-Zn)B151
and Cu-Ni rod and bar
Copper sheet, strip, plate,B152
and rolled bar
Phosphor bronze wire
Aluminum bronze, plate,B169
sheet, strip, and rolled bar
Copper alloy condenserB171
tube plates
Rope lay standardB172
conductors w/ bunch
stranded members
Rope lay standardB173
conductors w/ concentric
stranded members
Bunch stranded conductors B174
Brass die castings
Copper bus bar, rod, andB187
shapes
Seamless copper bus pipeB188
and tube
Lead copper and LeadB189
copper alloy coated soft
copper electrical wire
Beryllium Copper (Cu-Be)B194
alloy plate, sheet, strip, and
rolled bar
Beryllium Copper (Cu-Be)B196
alloy rod and bar
Beryllium Copper (Cu-Be)B197
alloy wire
Nickel Silver (Cu-Ni-Zn)B206
sheet, strip, and rolled bar
Welded copper and copperB543
alloy heat exchanger tube
Seamless and welded Cu-B552
Ni tubes for water
desalination plants
Light gauge UNS C26000B569
brass strip in narrow
widths for heat exchanger
tubing
Beryllium Copper (Cu-Be)B570
alloy forgings and
extrusions
B159 General purpose copperB584
alloy sand castings
Welded brass tube B587
Cu-Zn-Sn alloy plate,B591
sheet, strip, and rolled bar
Cu-Zn-Al-Co alloy plate,B592
sheet, strip, and rolled bar
Welded copper alloy pipe B608
High-strength, high-B624
conductivity copper alloy
electronic wire
Copper and copper alloyB638
B176 solar heat absorber panels
Welded copper and copperB640
alloy tube for AC or
refrigeration use
Seamless and type D weldedB641
copper distribution tube
Beryllium Copper (Cu-Be)B643
alloy seamless tube
Brass, Cu, and Cr platedB687
pipe nipples
Cu, copper alloy, and Cu-B694
clad stainless steel sheet
and strip for electrical
cable shielding
UNS C69100 seamlessB706
copper alloy pipe and tube
and Cu-Ni alloy wire Welded copper water tube B716
Cored, annular, concentric-B226 Fine wire and rope-layB738
lay stranded copper bunch stranded copper
conductors electrical conductors
Concentric-lay strandedB229 Cu-Ni-Sn spinodal alloyB740
copper and copper clad strip
steel conductors Seamless copper tube coils B743
Tinned hard drawn andB246 Cu-Zn alloy sheet andB747
medium hard drawn strip
copper electrical wire Sand cast copper alloy forB743
Copper base alloyB271 valve applications
centrifugal castings Cu-Co-Be alloy sheet andB768
Copper flat wire and stripB272 strip
w/rolled or drawn edges Round wire for use as gridF9
Seamless copper tube forB280 side rods in electron tubes
air conditioning and Wrought oxygen-freeF68
refrigerator use copper for electronic
Copper and copper alloyB283 devices
hot pressed die forgings Wrought electronic gradeF96
copper alloys
General use nonferrousF467
nuts
General use nonferrousF468
bolts, hex cap screws, and
studs
Miscellaneous

Federal Specification Codes for Coppers and Copper Alloys

Copper or Copper Alloy Product Federal

Spec
Flat or Tubular, tin-coated or silver-coated, copper braid or wire QQ-B-575
Leaded and non-leaded brass plate, bar, sheet, and strip QQ-B-613
Leaded and non-leaded brass forging and flat products w/QQ-B-626
finished edges (i.e. bar and strip)
Naval brass forgings, rod, shapes, wire and flat products w/ QQ-B-637
finished edges (i.e. bar and flat wire)
Naval brass plate, bar, sheet, and strip QQ-B-639
Copper, Cu-Zn, and Cu-P brazing alloy QQ-B-650
Aluminum bronze ingots QQ-B-675
Manganese bronze bar, forgings, flat wire, plate, rod, shapes,QQ-B-728
 sheet, strip

Phosphor bronze bar, flat wire, plate, sheet, strip, and structural QQ-B-750
shapes
Copper alloy castings QQ-C-390
Aluminum bronze bar, plate, sheet, and strip QQ-C-450
Aluminum bronze flat products with finished edges QQ-C-465
Copper flat products, rods, and shapes with finished edges QQ-C-502
Copper ingot QQ-C-521
Yellow brass, manganese brass, aluminum- manganese bronze,QQ-C-523
and manganese bronze ingots
Leaded and non-leaded red brass, semi-red brass, and tin bronze QQ-C-525
ingots
Beryllium-copper (BeCu) bar, rod, and wire QQ-C-530
Beryllium-copper (BeCu) strip QQ-C-533
Copper flat products with slit, slit and edge-rolled, sheared, QQ-C-576
sawed, or machined edges
Nickel silver (Cu-Ni-Zn) sheet, strip and bar QQ-C-585
Nickel silver (Cu-Ni-Zn) flat products with finished edges, rod, QQ-C-586
and shapes
Cu-Si, Cu-Zn-Si, and Cu-Ni-Si alloy flat products, forgings, rod, QQ-C-591
shapes, and wire
Copper-Nickel (Cu-Ni) alloy welding rod QQ-R-571
Copper alloy wire QQ-W-321
Uninsulated electrical wire QQ-W-343
Seamless standard size red brass pipe, regular and extra strong WW-P-351
Seamless standard size copper pipe WW-P-377
Brass or bronze pipe fittings WW-P-460
Copper and copper alloy tube fittings WW-T-725
Seamless brass tubing WW-T-791
Seamless copper tubing for use with solder-type or flared-tube WW-T-799
fittings
Brass or bronze unions WW-T-516
Brass or bronze butterfly valves WW-T-967

Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be
varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties. [1] In comparison, bronze
is principally an alloy of copper tin.[2] Bronze does not necessarily contain tin, and a
variety of alloys of copper, including alloys with arsenic, phosphorus, aluminum,
manganese, and silicon, are commonly termed "bronze". The term is applied to a
variety of brasses and the distinction is largely historical. [3] Brass is a substitutional
alloy. It is used for decoration for its bright gold-like appearance; for applications
where low friction is required such as locks, gears, bearings, doorknobs,
ammunition, and valves; for plumbing and electrical applications; and extensively
in musical instruments such as horns and bells for its acoustic properties. It is also
used in zippers. Because it is softer than most other metals in general use, brass is
often used in situations where it is important that sparks not be struck, as in fittings
and tools around explosive gases.[4]

Brass has a muted yellow color, which is somewhat similar to gold. It is relatively
resistant to tarnishing, and is often used as decoration and for coins. In antiquity,
polished brass was often used as a mirror.

Although forms of brass have been in use since prehistory,[5] its true nature as a
copper-zinc alloy was not understood until the post medieval period because the
zinc vapour which reacted with copper to make brass was not recognised as a metal.
[6]
The King James Bible makes many references to "brass".[7] The Shakespearean
English form of the word 'brass' can mean any bronze alloy, or copper, rather than
the strict modern definition of brass. [citation needed] The earliest brasses may have been
natural alloys made by smelting zinc-rich copper ores.[8] By the Roman period brass
was being deliberately produced from metallic copper and zinc minerals using the
cementation process and variations on this method continued until the mid 19th
century.[9] It was eventually replaced by speltering, the direct alloying of copper and
zinc metal which was introduced to Europe in the 16th century.[8]

Contents

[hide]
 1 Properties
 2 Lead content
 3 Applications
 4 Season cracking
 5 Brass types
 6 History
o 6.1 Early copper zinc alloys
o 6.2 Brass making in the Roman World
o 6.3 Brass making in the Medieval Period
o 6.4 Brass making in Renaissance and Post Medieval Europe
 7 See also
 8 References
 9 External links
[edit] Properties

Microstructure of rolled and annealed brass (400X magnification)

The malleability and acoustic properties of brass have made it the metal of choice
for brass musical instruments such as the trombone, tuba, trumpet, cornet,
euphonium, tenor horn, and the French horn. Even though the saxophone is
classified as a woodwind instrument and the harmonica is a free reed aerophone,
both are also often made from brass. In organ pipes of the reed family, brass strips
(called tongues) are used as the reeds, which beat against the shallot (or beat
"through" the shallot in the case of a "free" reed).

Brass has higher malleability than bronze or zinc. The relatively low melting point
of brass (900 to 940°C, depending on composition) and its flow characteristics make
it a relatively easy material to cast. By varying the proportions of copper and zinc,
the properties of the brass can be changed, allowing hard and soft brasses. The
density of brass is approximately 8400 to 8730 kilograms per cubic metre [10]
(equivalent to 8.4 to 8.73 grams per cubic centimetre).

Today almost 90% of all brass alloys are recycled. [11] Because brass is not
ferromagnetic, it can be separated from ferrous scrap by passing the scrap near a
powerful magnet. Brass scrap is collected and transported to the foundry where it is
melted and recast into billets. Billets are heated and extruded into the desired form
and size.

Aluminium makes brass stronger and more corrosion resistant. Aluminium also
causes a highly beneficial hard layer of aluminium oxide (Al2O3) to be formed on the
surface that is thin, transparent and self healing. Tin has a similar effect and finds its
use especially in sea water applications (naval brasses). Combinations of iron,
aluminium, silicon and manganese make brass wear and tear resistant.

[edit] Lead content

To enhance the machinability of brass, lead is often added in concentrations of
around 2%. Since lead has a lower melting point than the other constituents of the
brass, it tends to migrate towards the grain boundaries in the form of globules as it
cools from casting. The pattern the globules form on the surface of the brass
increases the available lead surface area which in turn affects the degree of leaching.
In addition, cutting operations can smear the lead globules over the surface. These
effects can lead to significant lead leaching from brasses of comparatively low lead
content.[12]

Silicon is an alternative to lead; however, when silicon is used in a brass alloy, the
scrap must never be mixed with leaded brass scrap because of contamination and
safety problems.[13]

In October 1999 the California State Attorney General sued 13 key manufacturers
and distributors over lead content. In laboratory tests, state researchers found the
average brass key, new or old, exceeded the California Proposition 65 limits by an
average factor of 19, assuming handling twice a day.[14] In April 2001 manufacturers
agreed to reduce lead content to 1.5%, or face a requirement to warn consumers
about lead content. Keys plated with other metals are not affected by the settlement,
and may continue to use brass alloys with higher percentage of lead content.[15][16]

Also in California, lead-free materials must be used for "each component that comes
into contact with the wetted surface of pipes and pipe fittings, plumbing fittings and
fixtures." On January 1, 2010, the maximum amount of lead in "lead-free brass" in
California was reduced by more than an order of magnitude from 4% to 0.25% lead.
The common practice of using pipes for electrical grounding is discouraged, as it
accelerates lead corrosion.[17][18]

[edit] Applications

This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can
help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available.
(November 2009)

Harsh environments: The so called dezincification resistant (DZR) brasses are used
where there is a large corrosion risk and where normal brasses do not meet the
standards. Applications with high water temperatures, chlorides present or
deviating water qualities (soft water) play a role. DZR-brass is excellent in water
boiler systems. This brass alloy must be produced with great care, with special
attention placed on a balanced composition and proper production temperatures
and parameters to avoid long-term failures.

Germicidal properties: The copper in brass makes brass germicidal, via the
oligodynamic effect. For example, brass doorknobs disinfect themselves of many
bacteria within eight hours.[19] This effect is important in hospitals, and useful in
many contexts.

Brass door hardware: Brass hardware is generally lacquered when new, which
prevents tarnishing of the metal. Freshly polished brass is similar to gold in
appearance, but becomes more reddish within days of exposure to the elements. A
traditional polish is Brasso.

Other: Brass was used to make fan blades, fan cages and motor bearings in many
antique fans that date before the 1930s. Brass can also be used for fixings for use in
cryogenic systems.[20] Brass has also been used to make cymbals for the modern
drum kit.

[edit] Season cracking

Cracking in brass caused by ammonia attack

Brass is susceptible to stress corrosion cracking, especially from ammonia or

substances containing or releasing ammonia. The problem is sometimes known as
season cracking after it was first discovered in brass cartridge cases used for rifle
ammunition during the 1920s in the Indian Army. The problem was caused by high
residual stresses from cold forming of the cases during manufacture, together with
chemical attack from traces of ammonia in the atmosphere. The cartridges were
stored in stables and the ammonia concentration rose during the hot summer
months, so initiating brittle cracks. The problem was resolved by annealing the
cases, and storing the cartridges elsewhere.
[edit] Brass types

 Admiralty brass contains 30% zinc, and 1% tin which inhibits dezincification
in many environments.
 Aich's alloy typically contains 60.66% copper, 36.58% zinc, 1.02% tin, and
1.74% iron. Designed for use in marine service owing to its corrosion
resistance, hardness and toughness. A characteristic application is to the
protection of ships' bottoms, but more modern methods of cathodic
protection have rendered its use less common. Its appearance resembles that
of gold.[21]
 Alpha brasses with less than 35% zinc, are malleable, can be worked cold,
and are used in pressing, forging, or similar applications. They contain only
one phase, with face-centered cubic crystal structure. Prince's metal or Prince
Rupert's metal is a type of alpha brass containing 75% copper and 25% zinc.
Due to its beautiful yellow color, it is used as an imitation of gold. [22] The
alloy was named after Prince Rupert of the Rhine.

 Alpha-beta brass (Muntz metal), also called duplex brass, is 35–45% zinc and
is suited for hot working. It contains both α and β' phase; the β'-phase is
body-centered cubic and is harder and stronger than α. Alpha-beta brasses
are usually worked hot.
 Aluminium brass contains aluminium, which improves its corrosion
resistance. It is used for seawater service [23] and also in Euro coins (Nordic
gold).
 Arsenical brass contains an addition of arsenic and frequently aluminium
and is used for boiler fireboxes.
 Beta brasses, with 45–50% zinc content, can only be worked hot, and are
harder, stronger, and suitable for casting.
 Cartridge brass is a 30% zinc brass with good cold working properties.
 Common brass, or rivet brass, is a 37% zinc brass, cheap and standard for
cold working.
 DZR brass is dezincification resistant brass with a small percentage of
arsenic.
 Gilding metal is the softest type of brass commonly available. An alloy of
95% copper and 5% zinc, gilding metal is typically used for ammunition
components.
 High brass contains 65% copper and 35% zinc, has a high tensile strength
and is used for springs, screws, and rivets.
 Leaded brass is an alpha-beta brass with an addition of lead. It has excellent
machinability.
 Lead-free brass as defined by California Assembly Bill AB 1953 contains "not
more than 0.25 percent lead content".[17]
  Low brass is a copper-zinc alloy containing 20% zinc with a light golden
color and excellent ductility; it is used for flexible metal hoses and metal
bellows.
 Manganese brass is a brass most notably used in making golden dollar coins
in the United States. It contains roughly 70% copper, 29% zinc, and 1.3%
manganese.[24]
 Muntz metal is about 60% copper, 40% zinc and a trace of iron, used as a
lining on boats.
 Nickel brass is composed of 70% copper, 24.5% zinc and 5.5% nickel used to
make pound coins in the pound sterling currency.
 Naval brass, similar to admiralty brass, is 40% zinc and 1% tin.

 Nordic gold, used in 10, 20 and 50 cts euro coins, contains 89% copper, 5%
aluminium, 5% zinc, and 1% tin.
 Red brass is both an American term for the copper-zinc-tin alloy known as
gunmetal, and an alloy which is considered both a brass and a bronze. It
typically contains 85% copper, 5% tin, 5% lead, and 5% zinc.[25] Red brass is
also an alternative name for copper alloy C23000, which is composed of 14–
16% zinc, 0.05% iron and lead, and the remainder copper.[26] It may also refer
to ounce metal, another copper-zinc-tin alloy.
 Rich low brass (Tombac) is 15% zinc. It is often used in jewelry applications.
 Tonval brass (also called CW617N or CZ122 or OT58) is a copper-lead-zinc
alloy. It is not recommended for seawater use, being susceptible to
dezincification.[27][28]
 White brass contains more than 50% zinc and is too brittle for general use.
The term may also refer to certain types of nickel silver alloys as well as Cu-
Zn-Sn alloys with high proportions (typically 40%+) of tin and/or zinc, as well
as predominantly zinc casting alloys with copper additive.
 Yellow brass is an American term for 33% zinc brass.

[edit] History

[edit] Early copper zinc alloys

In West Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean early copper zinc alloys are now
known in small numbers from a number of third Millennium BC sites in the Aegean,
Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kalmikia, Turkmenistan and Georgia and from 2nd
Millennium BC sites in West India, Uzbekistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq and Palestine.[29]
However, isolated examples of copper-zinc alloys are known in China from as early
as the 5th Millennium BC.[30]

The compositions of these early "brass" objects are very variable and most have zinc
contents of between 5% and 15% wt which is lower than in brass produced by
cementation.[31] These may be "natural alloys" manufactured by smelting zinc rich
copper ores in reducing conditions. Many have similar tin contents to contemporary
bronze artefacts and it is possible that some copper-zinc alloys were accidental and
perhaps not even distinguished from copper. [31] However the large number of
copper-zinc alloys now known suggests that at least some were deliberately
manufactured and many have zinc contents of more than 12% wt which would have
resulted in a distinctive golden color.[32]
By the 8th-7th century BC Assyrian cuneiform tablets mention the exploitation of
the "copper of the mountains" and this may refer to "natural" brass. [33] Oreichalkos,
the Ancient Greek translation of this term, was later adapted to the Latin aurichalcum
meaning "golden copper" which became the standard term for brass. [34] In the 4th
century BC Plato knew oreichalkos as rare and nearly as valuable as gold [35] and Pliny
describes how aurichalcum had come from Cypriot ore deposits which had been
exhausted by the 1st century AD.[36] '

[edit] Brass making in the Roman World

During the later part of first Millennium BC the use of brass spread across a wide
geographical area from Britain[37] and Spain[38] in the west to Iran, and India in the
east.[39] This seems to have been encouraged by exports and influence from the
Middle-East and eastern Mediterranean where deliberate production of brass from
metallic copper and zinc ores had been introduced. [40] The 4th century BC writer
Theopompus, quoted by Strabo, describes how heating earth from Andeira in
Turkey produced "droplets of false silver", probably metallic zinc, which could be
used to turn copper into oreichalkos. [41] In the 1st century BC the Greek Dioscorides
seems to have recognised a link between zinc minerals and brass describing how
Cadmia (zinc oxide) was found on the walls of furnaces used to heat either zinc ore
or brass and explaining that it can then be used to make brass.[42]

By the first century BC brass was available in sufficient supply to use as coinage in
Phrygia and Bithynia,[43] and after the Augustan currency reform of 23 BC it was also
used to make Roman dupondii and sestertii.[44] The uniform use of brass for coinage
and military equipment across the Roman world may indicate a degree of state
involvement in the industry,[45] and brass even seems to have been deliberately
boycotted by Jewish communities in Palestine because of its association with Roman
authority.[46]

Brass was produced by the cementation process where copper and zinc ore are
heated together until zinc vapour is produced which reacts with the copper. There is
good archaeological evidence for this process and crucibles used to produce brass
by cementation have been found on Roman period sites including Xanten[47] and
Nidda[48] in Germany, Lyon in France[49] and at a number of sites in Britain.[50] They
vary in size from tiny acorn sized to large amphorae like vessels but all have
elevated levels of zinc on the interior and are lidded. [49] They show no signs of slag
or metal prills suggesting that zinc minerals were heated to produce zinc vapour
which reacted with metallic copper in a solid state reaction. The fabric of these
crucibles is porous, probably designed to prevent a build up of pressure, and many
have small holes in the lids which may be designed to release pressure [49] or to add
additional zinc minerals near the end of the process. Dioscorides mentioned that
zinc minerals were used for both the working and finishing of brass, perhaps
suggesting secondary additions.[51]

Brass made during the early Roman period seems to have varied between 20% to
28% wt zinc.[52] The high content of zinc in coinage and brass objects declined after
the first century AD and it has been suggested that this reflects zinc loss during
recycling and thus an interruption in the production of new brass. [53] However it is
now thought this was probably a deliberate change in composition [54] and overall the
use of brass increases over this period making up around 40% of all copper alloys
used in the Roman world by the 4th century AD.[55]

[edit] Brass making in the Medieval Period

Baptism of Christ on the 12th century Baptismal font at St Bartholomew's Church,

Liège.

Little is known about the production of brass during the centuries immediately after
the collapse of the Roman Empire. Disruption in the trade of tin for bronze from
Western Europe may have contributed to the increasing popularity of brass in the
east and by the 6th-7th centuries AD over 90% of copper alloy artefacts from Egypt
were made of brass.[56] However other alloys such as low tin bronze were also used
and they vary depending on local cultural attitudes, the purpose of the metal and
access to zinc, especially between the Islamic and Byzantine world.[57] Conversely
the use of true brass seems to have declined in Western Europe during this period in
favour of gunmetals and other mixed alloys[58] but by the end of the first Millennium
AD brass artefacts are found in Scandinavian graves in Scotland,[59] brass was being
used in the manufacture of coins in Northumbria[60] and there is archaeological and
historical evidence for the production of brass in Germany [61] and The Low
Countries[62] areas rich in calamine ore which would remain important centres of
brass making throughout the medieval period,[63] especially Dinant - brass objects
are still collectively known as dinanterie in French. The Baptismal font at St
Bartholomew's Church, Liège in modern Belgium (before 1117) is an outstanding
masterpiece of Romanesque brass casting.

The cementation process continued to be used but literary sources from both Europe
and the Islamic world seem to describe variants of a higher temperature liquid
process which took places in open topped crucibles. [64] Islamic cementation seems to
have used zinc oxide known as tutiya or tutty rather than zinc ores for brass making
resulting in a metal with lower iron impurities.[65] A number of Islamic writers and
the 13th century Italian Marco Polo describe how this was obtained by sublimation
from zinc ores and condensed onto clay or iron bars, archaeological examples of
which have been identified at Kush in Iran.[66] It could then be used for brass making
or medicinal purposes. In 10th century Yemen al-Hamdani described how
spreading al-iglimiya, probably zinc oxide, onto the surface of molten copper
produced tutiya vapour which then reacted with the metal. [67] The 13th century
Iranian writer al-Kashani describes a more complex process whereby tutiya was
mixed with raisins and gently roasted before being added to the surface of the
molten metal. A temporary lid was added at this point presumably to minimise the
escape of zinc vapour.[68]

In Europe a similar liquid process in open topped crucibles took place which was
probably less efficient than the Roman process and the use of the term tutty by
Albertus Magnus in the 13th century suggests influence from Islamic technology. [69]
The 12th century German monk Theophilus described how preheated crucibles
were one sixth filled with powdered calamine and charcoal then topped up with
copper and charcoal before being melted, stirred then filled again. The final product
was cast, then again melted with calamine. It has been suggested that this second
melting may have taken place at a lower temperature to allow more zinc to be
absorbed.[70] Albertus Magnus noted that the "power" of both calamine and tutty
could evaporate and described how the addition of powdered glass could create a
film to bind it to the metal. [71] German brass making crucibles are known from
Dortmund dating to the 10th century AD and from Soest and Schwerte in
Westphalia dating to around the 13th century confirm Theophilus' account as they
are open topped, although ceramic discs from Soest may have served as loose lids
which may have been used to reduce zinc evaporation, and have slag on the interior
resulting from a liquid process.[72]
[edit] Brass making in Renaissance and Post Medieval Europe

The Renaissance saw important changes to both the theory and practice of
brassmaking in Europe. By the 15th century there is evidence for the renewed use of
lidded cementation crucibles at Zwickau in Germany.[73] These large crucibles were
capable of producing c.20 kg of brass.[74] There are traces of slag and pieces of metal
on the interior. Their irregular composition suggesting that this was a lower
temperature not entirely liquid process.[75] The crucible lids had small holes which
were blocked with clay plugs near the end of the process presumably to maximise
zinc absorption in the final stages.[76] Triangular crucibles were then used to melt the
brass for casting.[77]

16th century technical writers such as Biringuccio, Ercker and Agricola described a
variety of cementation brass making techniques and came closer to understanding
the true nature of the process noting that copper became heavier as it changed to
brass and that it became more golden as additional calamine was added. [78] Zinc
metal was also becoming more commonplace By 1513 metallic zinc ingots from
India and China were arriving in London and pellets of zinc condensed in furnace
flues at the Rammelsberg in Germany were exploited for cementation brass making
from around 1550.[79]

Eventually it was discovered that metallic zinc could be alloyed with copper to
make brass; a process known as speltering [80] and by 1657 the German chemist
Johann Glauber had recognised that calamine was "nothing else but unmeltable
zinc" and that zinc was a "half ripe metal." [81] However some earlier high zinc, low
iron brasses such as the 1530 Wightman brass memorial plaque from England may
have been made by alloying copper with zinc and include traces of cadmium similar
those found in some zinc ingots from China.[80]

However the cementation process was not abandoned and as late as the early 19th
century there are descriptions of solid state cementation in a domed furnace at
around 900-950 degrees Celsius and lasting up to 10 hours. [82] The European brass
industry continued to flourish into the post medieval period buoyed by innovations
such as the 16th century introduction of water powered hammers for the production
of battery wares.[83] By 1559 the Germany city of Aachen alone was capable of
producing 300,000 cwt of brass per year.[83] After several false starts during the 16th
and 17th centuries the brass industry was also established in England taking
advantage of abundant supplies of cheap copper smelted in the new coal fired
reverberatory furnace.[84] In 1723 Bristol brass maker Nehemiah Champion patented
the use of granulated copper, produced by pouring molten metal into cold water. [85]
This increased the surface area of the copper helping it react and zinc contents of up
to 33% wt were reported using this new technique.[86]
In 1738 Nehemiah's son William Champion patented a technique for the first
industrial scale distillation of metallic zinc known as distillation per descencum or "the
English process."[87] This local zinc was used in speltering and allowed greater
control over the zinc content of brass and the production of high zinc copper alloys
which would have been difficult or impossible to produce using cementation, for
use in expensive objects such as scientific instruments, clocks, brass buttons and
costume jewellery.[88] However Champion continued to use the cheaper calamine
cementation method to produce lower zinc brass [88] and the archaeological remains
of bee-hive shaped cementation furnaces have been identified at his works at
Warmley.[89] By the mid late 18th century developments in cheaper zinc distillation
such as John-Jaques Dony's horizontal furnaces in Belgium and the reduction of
tariffs on zinc[90] as well as demand for corrosion resistant high zinc alloys increased
the popularity of speltering and as a result cementation was largely abandoned by
the mid 19th century.[91]
Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main
additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese,
aluminum, or silicon. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in
antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal. However,
since "bronze" is a somewhat imprecise term, and historical pieces have variable
compositions, in particular with an unclear boundary with brass, modern museum
and scholarly descriptions of older objects increasingly use the more cautious term
"copper alloy" instead.[1]

The word Bronze is believed to be cognate with the Italian: bronzo and German:
brunst, perhaps ultimately taken from the Persian word birinj ("bronze") or possibly
from the Latin name of the city of Brindisi

HISTORY

The discovery of bronze enabled people to create metal objects which were better
than was previously possible. Tools, weapons, armor, and various building
materials, like decorative tiles, made of bronze were harder and more durable than
their stone and copper ("Chalcolithic") predecessors. Initially bronze was made out
of copper and arsenic to form arsenic bronze. It was only later that tin was used,
becoming the sole type of bronze in the late 3rd millennium BC. Tin bronze was
superior over arsenic bronze in that the alloying process itself could more easily be
controlled (as tin was available as a metal) and the alloy was stronger and easier to
cast. Also, unlike arsenic, tin is not toxic.
The earliest tin-alloy bronzes date to the late 4th millennium BC in Susa (Iran) and
some ancient sites in Luristan (Iran) and Mesopotamia (Iraq).

Copper and tin ores are rarely found together (exceptions include one ancient site in
Thailand and one in Iran), so serious bronze work has always involved trade. In
Europe, the major source for tin was Great Britain's deposits of ore in Cornwall,
which were traded as far as Phoenicia in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Though bronze is generally harder than wrought iron, with Vickers hardness of 60–
258[3] vs. 30–80,[4] the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age; this happened because
iron was easier to find. Bronze was still used during the Iron Age, but, for many
purposes, the weaker wrought iron was found to be sufficiently strong.
Archaeologists suspect that a serious disruption of the tin trade precipitated the
transition. The population migrations around 1200–1100 BC reduced the shipping of
tin around the Mediterranean (and from Great Britain), limiting supplies and raising
prices.[5] As ironworking improved, iron became cheaper; and as cultures advanced
from wrought iron to forged iron, they learned how to make steel, which is stronger
than bronze and holds a sharper edge longer.[6]
Composition

There are many different bronze alloys but modern bronze is typically 88% copper
and 12% tin.[7] Alpha bronze consists of the alpha solid solution of tin in copper.
Alpha bronze alloys of 4–5% tin are used to make coins, springs, turbines and
blades. Historical "bronzes" are highly variable in composition, as most
metalworkers probably used whatever scrap was to hand; the metal of the 12th
century English Gloucester Candlestick is bronze containing a mixture of copper,
zinc, tin, lead, nickel, iron, antimony, arsenic with an unusually large amount of
silver - between 22.5% in the base and 5.76% in the pan below the candle. The
proportions of this mixture may suggest that the candlestick was made from a hoard
of old coins. The Benin Bronzes are really brass, and the Romanesque Baptismal font
at St Bartholomew's Church, Liège is described as both bronze and brass.

Commercial bronze (90% copper and 10% zinc) and Architectural bronze (57%
Copper, 3% Lead, 40% Zinc) are more properly regarded as brass alloys because
they contain zinc as the main alloying ingredient. They are commonly used in
architectural applications.[8][9]

Bismuth bronze is a bronze alloy with a composition of 52% copper, 30% nickel, 12%
zinc, 5% lead, 1% bismuth. It is able to hold a good polish and so is sometimes used
in light reflectors and mirrors.[10]

Other bronze alloys include aluminum bronze, phosphor bronze, manganese

bronze, bell metal, speculum metal and cymbal alloys.

[edit] Properties

Assorted ancient bronze castings

Bronze is considerably less brittle than iron. Typically bronze only oxidizes
superficially; once a copper oxide (eventually becoming copper carbonate) layer is
formed, the underlying metal is protected from further corrosion. However, if
copper chlorides are formed, a corrosion-mode called "bronze disease" will
eventually completely destroy it.[11] Copper-based alloys have lower melting points
than steel or iron, and are more readily produced from their constituent metals.
They are generally about 10 percent heavier than steel, although alloys using
aluminum or silicon may be slightly less dense. Bronzes are softer and weaker than
steel—bronze springs, for example, are less stiff (and so store less energy) for the
same bulk. Bronze resists corrosion (especially seawater corrosion) and metal
fatigue more than steel and is also a better conductor of heat and electricity than
most steels. The cost of copper-base alloys is generally higher than that of steels but
lower than that of nickel-base alloys.

Copper and its alloys have a huge variety of uses that reflect their versatile physical,
mechanical, and chemical properties. Some common examples are the high electrical
conductivity of pure copper, the excellent deep drawing qualities of cartridge case
brass, the low-friction properties of bearing bronze, the resonant qualities of bell
bronze, and the resistance to corrosion by sea water of several bronze alloys.

The melting point of Bronze varies depending on the actual ratio of the alloy
components and is about 950 °C.
[edit] Uses

Ewer from 7th century Iran. Cast, chased, and inlaid bronze. New York
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bronze was especially suitable for use in boat and ship fittings prior to the wide
employment of stainless steel owing to its combination of toughness and resistance
to salt water corrosion. Bronze is still commonly used in ship propellers and
submerged bearings.

In the twentieth century, silicon was introduced as the primary alloying element,
creating an alloy with wide application in industry and the major form used in
contemporary statuary. Aluminum is also used for the structural metal aluminum
bronze.
It is also widely used for cast bronze sculpture. Many common bronze alloys have
the unusual and very desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set,
thus filling in the finest details of a mold. Bronze parts are tough and typically used
for bearings, clips, electrical connectors and springs.
Spring bronze weatherstripping comes in rolls of thin sheets and is nailed or stapled
to wood windows and doors. There are two types, flat and v-strip. It has been used
for hundreds of years because it has low friction, seals well and is long lasting. It is
used in building restoration and custom construction.

Bronze also has very little metal-on-metal friction, which made it invaluable for the
building of cannon where iron cannonballs would otherwise stick in the barrel.[citation
needed]
It is still widely used today for springs, bearings, bushings, automobile
transmission pilot bearings, and similar fittings, and is particularly common in the
bearings of small electric motors. Phosphor bronze is particularly suited to
precision-grade bearings and springs. It is also used in guitar and piano strings.

Unlike steel, bronze struck against a hard surface will not generate sparks, so it
(along with beryllium copper) is used to make hammers, mallets, wrenches and
other durable tools to be used in explosive atmospheres or in the presence of
flammable vapors.

[edit] Bronze statues

See also: Bronze sculpture

Indian Hindu artisans from the period of the Chola empire in Tamil Nadu, used
bronze to create intricate statues via the lost wax casting method with ornate
detailing depicting the Gods of Hinduism mostly, but also the lifestyle of the period.
The art form survives to this day, with many silpis, craftsmen, working in the areas
of Swamimalai and Chennai.

In antiquity other cultures also produced works of high art using bronze. For
example: in Africa, the bronze heads of the Kingdom of Benin; in Europe, Grecian
bronzes typically of figures from Greek mythology; in east Asia, Chinese bronzes of
the Shang and Zhou dynasty — more often ceremonial vessels but including some
figurine examples.

Bronze continues into modern times as one of the materials of choice for
monumental statuary.
[edit] Musical instruments

Bronze is the most popular metal for top-quality bells, particularly bell metal, which
is about 23% tin.

Nearly all professional cymbals are made from a bronze alloy. The alloy used in
drum kit cymbal bronze is unique in the desired balance of durability and timbre.

Modern cymbals consist of several types of bronze, the most common being B20
bronze, which is roughly 20% tin, 80% copper, with traces of silver. Zildjian and
Sabian use this alloy for their professional lines. A Swiss company, Paiste, uses a
softer B8 bronze which is made from 8% tin and 92% copper in nearly all of their
cymbals. Zildjian and Sabian use this metal too, in their budget priced cymbals.

As the tin content in a bell or cymbal rises, the timbre drops. [12] As well as B8 and
B20, Meinl Percussion uses B10 (10% tin) and B12 (12% tin) alloys for cymbals,
which have timbres roughly between B8 and B20.[13]

Bronze is also used for the windings of steel strings of various stringed instruments
such as the double bass, piano, harpsichord, and the guitar, replacing former gut
and nylon strings. Bronze strings are commonly reserved on pianoforte for the
lower pitch tones, as they possess a superior sustain quality to that of high-tensile
steel.[14]

Bronzes of various metallurgical properties are widely used in struck idiophones

around the world, notably in South East Asia, and most famously for the Javanese
gamelan and other glockenspiel-like musical instruments. The earliest bronze
archeological finds in Indonesia date from 1–2 BCE, including flat plates probably
suspended and struck by a wooden or bone mallet.[14][15]

Some companies are now making saxophones from phosphor bronze (3.5 to 10% tin
and up to 1% phosphorus content).

[edit] Medals

A large bronze cast medallion, some 9.5 by 8.7 centimetres in measurement, created
by the celebrated medalist Valerio Belli in the sixteenth century.
Bronze has been used in the manufacture of various types of medals for centuries,
and are known in contemporary times for being awarded to the second-runner up
in sporting competitions and other events. The later usage was in part attributed to
the choices of Gold, Silver and Bronze to represent the first three Ages of Man in
Greek mythology: the Golden Age, when men lived among the gods; the Silver age,
where youth lasted a hundred years; and the Bronze Age, the era of heroes, and was
first adopted at the 1904 Summer Olympics. At the 1896 event, silver was awarded
to winners and bronze to runners-up, while at 1900 other prizes were given, not
medals.

[edit] See also

Fragment of the grave of Cyprian Kamil Norwid in the Bards' crypt in Wawel
Cathedral, Kraków, Poland by sculptor Czesław Dźwigaj

 List of copper alloys

 Art object
 Bronze medal
 Bronze sculpture
 Bronzing
 Chinese bronze inscriptions
 French Empire mantel clock
 Seagram Building
 DZR Dezincification Resistant Brass
 UNS C69100

Cupronickel

Cupronickel or copper-nickel (sometimes incorrectly referred to as "cupernickel") is

an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and
manganese. Cupronickel is highly resistant to corrosion in seawater, because its
electrode potential is adjusted to be neutral with regard to seawater. Because of this,
it is used for piping, heat exchangers and condensers in seawater systems as well as
marine hardware, and sometimes for the propellers, crankshafts and hulls of
premium tugboats, fishing boats and other working boats.
A more familiar common use is in silver-coloured modern circulation coins. A
typical mix is 75% copper, 25% nickel, and a trace amount of manganese. In the past
true silver coins were debased with cupronickel. Despite high copper content, the
colour of cupro-nickel remarkably is silver.
It is used in thermocouples, and the 55% copper/45% nickel alloy constantan is used
to make resistors whose resistance is stable across changes in temperature.

Monel metal is a nickel-copper alloy, containing minimum 63% nickel.

Other names

Aside from cupro-nickel, many other terms exist which describe the same material.
Still registered as tradenames are Alpaka or Alpacca (registered trademark), Argentan
Minargent, the French term name Cuivre blanc Occasionally cupro-nickel is also
referred to as "hotel silver", plata alemana (Spanish for "German Silver"), "German
silver" and "Chinese silver"[1].

[edit] History

Cupronickel coin of king Pantaleon c. 170 BCE.

Obv: Bust of Dionysos with a wreath of leaves.
Rev: Panther with a small bell around the neck, touching a vine with the left leg.
Greek legend: BASILEOS PANTALEONTOS "King Pantaleon".
Cupro-nickel was known to the Romans as an artificial "white" gold or silver termed
"claudianum" and very possibly the"molybdochalcum" of the Alexandrians.

The cupro-nickel alloy was known by Chinese since circa 3rd century BCE as "white
copper" (some weapons from the Warring States Period were in copper-nickel
alloy).[2]

The ancient Greeks were producing it and a lower quality imitation of it in the
Aegean Bronze Age and known as "orichalum". The Greco-Bactrian kings
Euthydenus II dating from 180 to 170 BCE and his younger brothers Pantaleon and
Agathocles around 170 BC.[3]

The theory of Chinese origins of Bactrian cupro-nickel was suggested in 1868 by

Flight, who found the coins and considered the oldest cupro-nickel coins yet
discovered were of a very similar alloy to Chinese paktong.[4] Cunningham in 1873
argued the coins must have been the result of overland trade from China, through
India to Greece — highly controversial at the time and much derided. In 1973,
Cheng and Schwitter in their new analyses argued the Bactrian alloys (copper, lead,
iron, nickel and cobalt) were closely similar to Chinese paktong, and that out of nine
known Asian nickel deposits, only those in China could provide same identical
chemical content ratios.[4] However this hypothesis, although widely publicised, was
later disproven by a perhaps over-enthusiastic oversight of the well-known Persian
arsenic-nickel mines much closer to Bactria and known to be exploited by the
Greeks and Persians.[4]

[edit] Chinese history of cupronickel

The author-scholar Ho Wei describes most exactly the process in circa 1095 CE,
which suggest the Chinese were not aware that nickel was a metal in its own right.
The paktong alloy was described as being made from adding small pills of naturally-
occurring "Yunnan" ore to a bath of molten copper. When a crust of slag formed,
saltpeter was added, the alloy stirred and the ingot immediately cast. Zinc is
mentioned as an ingredient — but not detailed when exactly it was added. The ore
used is noted as solely available from Yunnan, related from the story:

San Mao Chun were at Tanyang during a famine year when many people died, so
taking certain chemicals, Ying projected them onto silver, turning it into gold, and
he also transmuted iron into silver — thus enabling the lives of many to be saved
[through purchasing grain through this fake silver and gold] Thereafter all those
who prepared chemical powders by heating and transmuting copper by projection
called their methods "Tanyang techniques".[5]

The late Ming and Ching literature have very little information about paktong.
However, it is first mentioned specifically by name in the Thien Kung Khai Wu of
circa 1637:

When lu kan shih (zinc carbonate, calamine) or wo chhein (zinc metal) is mixed and
combined with chih thung (copper), one gets 'yellow bronze' (ordinary brass). When
phi shang and other arsenic substances are heated with it, one gets 'white bronze' or
white copper: pai thong. When alum and niter and other chemicals are mixed
together one gets ching thung: green bronze.[5]

Ko Hung of the 300 CE stated:" The Tanyang copper was created by throwing a
mercuric elixir into Tanyang copper and heated- gold will be formed." However, the
Pha Phu Tsu and the Shen I Ching describing a statue in the Western provinces as
being of silver, tin, lead and Tanyang copper — which looked like gold, and could
be forged for plating and inlaying vessels and swords.[4]

Needham et al. argue that cupro-nickel was at least known as a unique alloy by the
Chinese during the reign of Liu An in 120 BCE in Yunnan. Moreover the Yunnanese
State of Tien was founded in 334 BCE as a colony of the Chu. Most likely modern
paktong was unknown to Chinese of the day — but the naturally occurring Yunnan
ore upro-nickek alloy was likely a valuable internal trade commodity.[4]

[edit] Western re-discovery

The alloy seems to have been re-discovered by the West during alchemy
experiments, notably Andreas Libavius, in his Alchemia of 1597 where he mentions a
surface-whitened copper aes album by mercury or silver, but in De Natura Metallorum
in Singalarum Part 1, of 1599 the same term was applied to '"tin" from the East Indies
(modern-day Indonesia and the Philippines) and given the Spanish name: tintinaso.
[5]

Bishop Watson of Cambridge appears to be the first to discover cupro-nickel was an

alloy of three metals. In attempting to re-discover the secret of white-copper
critiqued du Halde's History of China (1688) confusing the term paktong', Bishop
Watson noted the Chinese of his day did not form it as an alloy, but smelt readily available
unprocessed ore:

appeared from a vast series of experiments made at Peking- that it occurred

naturally as an ore mined at the region, the most extraordinary copper is pe-tong or
white copper: it is white when dug out of the mine and even more white within
than without. It appears , by a vast number of experiments made at Peking, that its
colour is owing to no mixture; on the contrary, all mixtures diminish its beauty, for,
when it is rightly managed it looks exactly like silver and were there not a necessity
of mixing a little tutenag or such metal to soften it, it would be so much more the
extraordinary as this sort of copper is found no where but in China and that only in
the Province of Yunnan". Notwithstanding what is here said, of the colour of the
copper being owing to no mixture, it is certain the Chinese white copper as brought
to us, is a mixt [sic: mixed] metal; so that the ore from which it was extracted must
consist of various metallic substances; and from such ore that the natural orichalum if
it ever existed, was made".[4]

During the peak European importation of Chinese white-copper during 1750 to

1800, increased attention was made to its discovering its constituents—Peat and
Cookson found that: "the darkest proved to contain 7.7% nickel and the lightest said
to be indistinguishable from silver with a characteristic bell-like resonance when
struck and considerable resistance to corrosion, 11.1%".

Another trial by Fyfe estimated the nickel content at 31.6%. Guesswork ended when
a Dr Dinwiddie of the Macartney Embassy of 1793 brought back, at considerable
personal risk (smuggling of paktong ore was a capital crime by the Chinese Emperor)
some of the ore from which paktong was made. [6] Cupro-nickel was now widely
understood and published by E. Thomason, in 1823, in his submission later rejected
for not being new knowledge to the Royal Society of Arts.

Efforts to duplicate exactly the Chinese paktong failed in Europe due to a general
lack of requisite complex cobalt-nickel-arsenic naturally occurring ore. However, the
Schneeburg district of Germany, where the famous Blaufarbenwerke made cobalt
blue and other pigments solely held the requisite complex cobalt-nickel-arsenic ores
in Europe.
At the same time the Prussian Verein zur Beförderung des Gewerbefleißes ("Society for
the Improvement of Business Diligence/Industriousness") offered a prize for the
mastery of the process and unsurprisingly, Dr E.A. Geitner and J.R. von Gersdoff of
Schneeburg duly won the prize and launched their German silver under the trade
name Argentan and Neusilber ("new Silver")[6]

In 1829, Percival Norton Johnston persuaded Dr Geitner to establish a foundry in

Bow Common behind Regents' Park Canal in London and obtained ingots of nickel-
silver of 18% Ni, 55% Cu and 27% Zn.[6]

Between 1829 and 1833—Percival Norton Johnson was the first man to refine cupro-
nickel on the British Isles: and became a wealthy man producing in excess of 16.5
tonnes per year, mainly made into cutlery by the Birmingham firm William Hutton
and sold under the trade-name "Argentine".
Johnsons' most serious competitor, Charles Askin and Brok Evans, under the
brilliant chemist Dr. EW Benson devised greatly improved methods of cobalt and
nickel suspension and marketed their own brand of nickel-silver: British Plate.[6]

[edit] Coinage

Five Swiss franks

In Europe, Switzerland pioneered the nickel billion coinage in 1850, with the
addition of silver. In 1879, Switzerland adopted the far cheaper 75:25 copper to
nickel ratio then being used by the Belgians, the United States, and Germany.

Cupro-nickel was not used again in coinage until the 20th century. Cupro-nickel is
the cladding on either side of United States Half Dollars (50¢) since 1971, and all
quarters (25¢) and dimes (10¢) made after 1964. Currently some circulating coins
like the United States Jefferson Nickel (5¢),[7] the Swiss franc, and the South Korean
500 and 100 won are made of solid cupro-nickel (75/25 ratio).[8]
[edit] Marine engineering grades

By the 1920s, a 70-30 copper-nickel grade was developed for naval condensers. Soon
afterwards, a 2% manganese and 2% iron alloy was also developed for a UK power
station which needed better erosion resistance because the levels of entrained sand
in the seawater. A 90-10 alloy first became available in the 1950s, initially for
seawater piping, and is now the more widely used alloy.

The alloys are:

UNS Standard Compositions* of wrought alloys. Maximum or Range

Alloy UNS No. Common name Nickel Iron Manganese Copper

C70600 90-10 9-11 1-1.8 1 Remainder
C71500 70-30 29-33 0.4-1.0 1 Remainder
C71640 66-30-2-2 29-32 1.7-2.3 1.5-2.5 Remainder

 These values may vary in other standards

There are subtle differences in corrosion resistance and strength which determine
which alloy is selected. Descending the table, the maximum allowable flow rate in
piping increases as does the strength.

Typical minimum mechanical properties and maximum velocities

Yield Tensile
Typical max. velocity at 100 mm
Copper Nickel Alloy strength strength
piping bore diameter (m/s)
(MPa) (MPa)
90-10 105 125 3.5
70-30 275 358 4.0
66-30-2-2 170 435 6.0
Panels after 12 months exposure at Langstone Harbour, UK. Left to right: steel, 90-
10 copper-nickel sheathed steel, copper-nickel; all three with aluminium sacrificial
anodes for corrosion protection. Far right: unprotected copper nickel showing no
macrofouling

In seawater, the alloys have excellent corrosion rates which remain low as long as
the maximum design flow velocity is not exceeded. This velocity depends on
geometry and pipe diameter. They have high resistance to crevice corrosion, stress
corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement that can be troublesome to other
alloy systems. Copper-nickels naturally form a thin protective surface layer over the
first several weeks of exposure to seawater and this provides its on-going resistance.
Additionally, they have a high inherent biofouling resistance to attachment by
macrofoulers ( e.g. seagrasses and molluscs) living in the seawater. To use this
property to its full potential, the alloy needs to be free of the effects or insulated
from any form of cathodic protection.

However, copper-nickels can show high corrosion rates in polluted or stagnant

seawater when sulfides or ammonia are present. It is important therefore to avoid
exposure to such conditions particularly during commissioning and refit while the
surface films are maturing. Ferrous sulfate dosing to sea water systems can provide
improved resistance.

As copper and nickel alloy with each other easily and have simple structures, the
alloys are ductile and readily fabricated. Strength and hardness for each individual
alloy is increased by cold working; they are not hardened by heat treatment. Joining
of 90-10 (C70600) and 70-30 (C71500) is possible by both welding or brazing. They
are both weldable by the majority of techniques although autogenous (welding
without weld consumables) or oxy-acetylene methods are not recommended. 70-30
rather than 90-10 weld consumables are normally preferred for both alloys and no
post-weld heat treatment is required. They can also be welded directly to steel
providing a 65% nickel-copper weld consumable is used to avoid iron dilution
effects. Brazing requires appropriate silver-base brazing alloys. The C71640 alloy
tends to be used as seamless tubing and expanded rather than welded into the tube
plate.

The Asperida nearing 40 years old; its 70-30 copper-nickel hull is being inspected
before being refitted.

Applications for copper-nickels have withstood the test of time as they are still
widely used and range from seawater system piping, condensers and heat
exchangers in naval vessels, commercial shipping, multi-stage flash desalination
and power stations. They have also been used as splash zone cladding on offshore
structures and protective cladding on boat hulls as well as for solid hulls
themselves.

For a discussion about copper nickel alloys in aquaculture, go to: [[1]]

[edit] Other usage

Single-core thermocouple cables use a single conductor pair of thermocouple

conductors such as iron-constantan, copper constantan or nickel-chromium/nickel-
aluminium. These have the heating element of constantan or nickel-chromium alloy
within a sheath of copper, cupro-nickel or stainless steel.[9]
Beginning around the turn of the 20th century, bullet jackets were commonly made
from this material. It was soon replaced with gilding metal to reduce metal fouling
in the bore.

Currently, cupronickel remains the basic material for silver-plated cutlery. It is

commonly used for mechanical and electrical equipment, medical equipment,
zippers, jewelry items, and as material for strings for string instruments.

For side-arms (pistols), nickel is the favoured metal for the trigger. For high-quality
cylinder lock and locking systems, the cylinder core is made from wear-resistant
cupronickel.

[edit] Physical properties

Cupro-nickel (70/30 ratio) melts at 1170 °C and has a density of 8,910 kg/m3
(0.322 lb/in3).[10]
Broad properties overview for the whole family of Cupro-nickel alloys:

 Melting point: from about 900 °C, depending on alloy content

 Density: 8.1 to 8.7 g·cm−3 (depending on the mix)
 Electrical conductivity: approx (3–5)×106 (Ω·m)−1
 Thermal conductivity: about 25-35 W·m−1·K−1
 Thermal expansion coefficient: 16 to 17 µm·m−1·K−1

Aluminium (UK i /ˌæljʉˈmɪniəm/ AL-ew-MIN-ee-əm)[4] or aluminum (US i /ə

ˈluːmɪnəm/ ə-LOO-mi-nəm) is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical
elements. It has the symbol Al and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water
under normal circumstances. Aluminium is the most abundant metal in the Earth's
crust, and the third most abundant element, after oxygen and silicon. It makes up
about 8% by weight of the Earth's solid surface. Aluminium is too reactive
chemically to occur in nature as a free metal. Instead, it is found combined in over
270 different minerals.[5] The chief source of aluminium is bauxite ore.

Aluminium is remarkable for the metal's low density and for its ability to resist
corrosion due to the phenomenon of passivation. Structural components made from
aluminium and its alloys are vital to the aerospace industry and are very important
in other areas of transportation and building. Its reactive nature makes it useful as a
catalyst or additive in chemical mixtures, including ammonium nitrate explosives,
to enhance blast power.

Despite its prevalence in the environment, aluminum salts are not known to be used
by any form of life. Also in keeping with the element's abundance, it is well
tolerated by plants in soils (in which it is a major component), and to a lesser extent,
by animals as a component of plant materials in the diet (which often contain traces
of dust and soil). Soluble aluminum salts have some demonstrated toxicity to
animals if delivered in quantity by unnatural routes, such as injection. Controversy
still exists about aluminum's possible long-term toxicity to humans from larger
ingested amounts.

Characteristics

Etched surface from a high purity (99.9998%) aluminium bar, size 55×37 mm

Aluminium is a soft, durable, lightweight, ductile and malleable metal with

appearance ranging from silvery to dull gray, depending on the surface roughness.
Aluminium is nonmagnetic and nonsparking. It is also insoluble in alcohol, though
it can be soluble in water in certain forms. The yield strength of pure aluminium is
7–11 MPa, while aluminium alloys have yield strengths ranging from 200 MPa to
600 MPa.[6] Aluminium has about one-third the density and stiffness of steel. It is
easily machined, cast, drawn and extruded.

Corrosion resistance can be excellent due to a thin surface layer of aluminium oxide
that forms when the metal is exposed to air, effectively preventing further oxidation.
The strongest aluminium alloys are less corrosion resistant due to galvanic reactions
with alloyed copper.[6] This corrosion resistance is also often greatly reduced when
many aqueous salts are present, particularly in the presence of dissimilar metals.

Aluminium atoms are arranged in a face-centered cubic (fcc) structure. Aluminium

has a stacking-fault energy of approximately 200 mJ/m2.[7]

Aluminium is one of the few metals that retain full silvery reflectance in finely
powdered form, making it an important component of silver paints. Aluminium
mirror finish has the highest reflectance of any metal in the 200–400 nm (UV) and
the 3,000–10,000 nm (far IR) regions; in the 400–700 nm visible range it is slightly
outperformed by tin and silver and in the 700–3000 (near IR) by silver, gold, and
copper.[8]

Aluminium is a good thermal and electrical conductor, having 62% the conductivity
of copper. Aluminium is capable of being a superconductor, with a superconducting
critical temperature of 1.2 kelvins and a critical magnetic field of about 100 gauss (10
milliteslas).[9]

Creation

Stable aluminium is created when hydrogen fuses with magnesium in either large
stars or in supernovae.[10]

Isotopes

Main article: Isotopes of aluminium

Aluminium has nine isotopes, whose mass numbers range from 23 to 30. Only 27Al
(stable isotope) and 26Al (radioactive isotope, t1/2 = 7.2×105 y) occur naturally; 27Al has
a natural abundance above 99.9%. 26Al is produced from argon in the atmosphere by
spallation caused by cosmic-ray protons. Aluminium isotopes have found practical
application in dating marine sediments, manganese nodules, glacial ice, quartz in
rock exposures, and meteorites. The ratio of 26Al to 10Be has been used to study the
role of transport, deposition, sediment storage, burial times, and erosion on 10 5 to
106 year time scales.[11] Cosmogenic 26Al was first applied in studies of the Moon and
meteorites. Meteoroid fragments, after departure from their parent bodies, are
exposed to intense cosmic-ray bombardment during their travel through space,
causing substantial 26Al production. After falling to Earth, atmospheric shielding
drastically reduces 26Al production, and its decay can then be used to determine the
meteorite's terrestrial age. Meteorite research has also shown that 26Al was relatively
abundant at the time of formation of our planetary system. Most meteorite scientists
believe that the energy released by the decay of 26Al was responsible for the melting
and differentiation of some asteroids after their formation 4.55 billion years ago.[12]

Natural occurrence
See also: Aluminium in Africa

In the Earth's crust, aluminium is the most abundant (8.3% by weight) metallic
element and the third most abundant of all elements (after oxygen and silicon).[13]
Because of its strong affinity to oxygen, it is almost never found in the elemental
state; instead it is found in oxides or silicates. Feldspars, the most common group of
minerals in the Earth's crust, are aluminosilicates. Native aluminium metal can be
found as a minor phase in low oxygen fugacity environments, such as the interiors
of certain volcanoes.[14] It also occurs in the minerals beryl, cryolite, garnet, spinel
and turquoise.[15] Impurities in Al2O3, such as chromium or cobalt yield the
gemstones ruby and sapphire, respectively.[13] Pure Al2O3, known as corundum, is
one of the hardest materials known.[15]

Although aluminium is an extremely common and widespread element, the

common aluminium minerals are not economic sources of the metal. Almost all
metallic aluminium is produced from the ore bauxite (AlOx(OH)3-2x). Bauxite occurs
as a weathering product of low iron and silica bedrock in tropical climatic
conditions.[16] Large deposits of bauxite occur in Australia, Brazil, Guinea and
Jamaica but the primary mining areas for the ore are in Ghana, Indonesia, Russia
and Surinam.[17] Smelting of the ore mainly occurs in Australia, Brazil, Canada,
Norway, Russia and the United States. [17] Because smelting is an energy-intensive
process, regions with excess natural gas supplies (such as the United Arab Emirates)
are becoming aluminium refiners.

Production and refinement

Although aluminium is the most abundant metallic element in the Earth's crust, it is
never found in free, metallic form, and it was once considered a precious metal
more valuable than gold. Napoleon III, Emperor of France, is reputed to have given
a banquet where the most honoured guests were given aluminium utensils, while
the others made do with gold.[18][19] The Washington Monument was completed,
with the 100 ounce (2.8 kg) aluminium capstone being put in place on December 6,
1884, in an elaborate dedication ceremony. It was the largest single piece of
aluminium cast at the time, when aluminium was as expensive as silver. [20]
Aluminium has been produced in commercial quantities for just over 100 years.
Bauxite

Aluminium is a strongly reactive metal that forms a high-energy chemical bond

with oxygen. Compared to most other metals, it is difficult to extract from ore, such
as bauxite, due to the energy required to reduce aluminium oxide (Al 2O3). For
example, direct reduction with carbon, as is used to produce iron, is not chemically
possible, since aluminium is a stronger reducing agent than carbon. There is an
indirect carbothermic reduction possible by using carbon and Al 2O3, which forms an
intermediate Al4C3 and this can further yield aluminium metal at a temperature of
1900–2000°C. This process is still under development. This process costs less energy
and yields less CO2 than the Hall-Héroult process, the major industrial process for
aluminium extraction.[21] Aluminium oxide has a melting point of about 2,000 °C
(3,600 °F). Therefore, it must be extracted by electrolysis. In this process, the
aluminium oxide is dissolved in molten cryolite with calcium fluoride and then
reduced to the pure metal. The operational temperature of the reduction cells is
around 950 to 980 °C (1,740 to 1,800 °F). Cryolite is found as a mineral in Greenland,
but in industrial use it has been replaced by a synthetic substance. Cryolite is a
chemical compound of aluminium and sodium fluorides: (Na3AlF6). The aluminium
oxide (a white powder) is obtained by refining bauxite in the Bayer process of Karl
Bayer. (Previously, the Deville process was the predominant refining technology.)

The electrolytic process replaced the Wöhler process, which involved the reduction
of anhydrous aluminium chloride with potassium. Both of the electrodes used in the
electrolysis of aluminium oxide are carbon. Once the refined alumina is dissolved in
the electrolyte, its ions are free to move around. The reaction at the cathode is:
Al3+ + 3 e− → Al

Here the aluminium ion is being reduced. The aluminium metal then sinks to the
bottom and is tapped off, usually cast into large blocks called aluminium billets for
further processing.

At the anode, oxygen is formed:

2 O2− → O2 + 4 e−
This carbon anode is then oxidized by the oxygen, releasing carbon dioxide:

O2 + C → CO2

The anodes in a reduction cell must therefore be replaced regularly, since they are
consumed in the process.

Unlike the anodes, the cathodes are not oxidized because there is no oxygen present,
as the carbon cathodes are protected by the liquid aluminium inside the cells.
Nevertheless, cathodes do erode, mainly due to electrochemical processes and metal
movement. After five to ten years, depending on the current used in the electrolysis,
a cell has to be rebuilt because of cathode wear.

World production trend of aluminium

Aluminium electrolysis with the Hall-Héroult process consumes a lot of energy, but
alternative processes were always found to be less viable economically and/or
ecologically. The worldwide average specific energy consumption is approximately
15±0.5 kilowatt-hours per kilogram of aluminium produced (52 to 56 MJ/kg). The
most modern smelters achieve approximately 12.8 kW·h/kg (46.1 MJ/kg). (Compare
this to the heat of reaction, 31 MJ/kg, and the Gibbs free energy of reaction, 29
MJ/kg.) Reduction line currents for older technologies are typically 100 to 200
kiloamperes; state-of-the-art smelters[22] operate at about 350 kA. Trials have been
reported with 500 kA cells.

Electric power represents about 20% to 40% of the cost of producing aluminium,
depending on the location of the smelter. Smelters tend to be situated where electric
power is both plentiful and inexpensive, such as South Africa, Ghana, the South
Island of New Zealand, Australia, the People's Republic of China, the Middle East,
Russia, Quebec and British Columbia in Canada, and Iceland.[23]

Aluminium output in 2005

In 2005, the People's Republic of China was the top producer of aluminium with
almost a one-fifth world share, followed by Russia, Canada, and the USA, reports
the British Geological Survey.

Over the last 50 years, Australia has become a major producer of bauxite ore and a
major producer and exporter of alumina.[24] Australia produced 62 million tonnes of
bauxite in 2005. The Australian deposits have some refining problems, some being
high in silica, but have the advantage of being shallow and relatively easy to mine.
[25]
See also: Category:Aluminium minerals

Recycling

Aluminium recycling code

Main article: Aluminium recycling

Aluminium is 100% recyclable without any loss of its natural qualities. Recovery of
the metal via recycling has become an important facet of the aluminium industry.

Recycling involves melting the scrap, a process that requires only 5% of the energy
used to produce aluminium from ore, though a significant part (up to 15% of the
input material) is lost as dross (ash-like oxide).[26] The dross can undergo a further
process to extract aluminium.

Recycling was a low-profile activity until the late 1960s, when the growing use of
aluminium beverage cans brought it to the public awareness.

In Europe aluminium experiences high rates of recycling, ranging from 42% of

beverage cans, 85% of construction materials and 95% of transport vehicles.[27]

Recycled aluminium is known as secondary aluminium, but maintains the same

physical properties as primary aluminium. Secondary aluminium is produced in a
wide range of formats and is employed in 80% of the alloy injections. Another
important use is for extrusion.

White dross from primary aluminium production and from secondary recycling
operations still contains useful quantities of aluminium that can be extracted
industrially.[28] The process produces aluminium billets, together with a highly
complex waste material. This waste is difficult to manage. It reacts with water,
releasing a mixture of gases (including, among others, hydrogen, acetylene, and
ammonia), which spontaneously ignites on contact with air; [29] contact with damp air
results in the release of copious quantities of ammonia gas. Despite these difficulties,
the waste has found use as a filler in asphalt and concrete.[30]
Chemistry

Oxidation state +1

AlH is produced when aluminium is heated in an atmosphere of hydrogen. Al2O is

made by heating the normal oxide, Al2O3, with silicon at 1,800 °C (3,272 °F) in a
vacuum.[31]

Al2S can be made by heating Al2S3 with aluminium shavings at 1,300 °C (2,372 °F) in
a vacuum.[31] It quickly disproportionates to the starting materials. The selenide is
made in a parallel manner.

AlF, AlCl and AlBr exist in the gaseous phase when the tri-halide is heated with
aluminium. Aluminium halides usually exist in the form AlX 3, where X is F, Cl, Br,
or I.[31]

Oxidation state +2

Aluminium monoxide, AlO, has been detected in the gas phase after explosion [32]
and in stellar absorption spectra.[33]

Oxidation state +3

Fajans' rules show that the simple trivalent cation Al3+ is not expected to be found in
anhydrous salts or binary compounds such as Al2O3. The hydroxide is a weak base
and aluminium salts of weak acids, such as carbonate, cannot be prepared. The salts
of strong acids, such as nitrate, are stable and soluble in water, forming hydrates
with at least six molecules of water of crystallization.

Aluminium hydride, (AlH3)n, can be produced from trimethylaluminium and an

excess of hydrogen. It burns explosively in air. It can also be prepared by the action
of aluminium chloride on lithium hydride in ether solution, but cannot be isolated
free from the solvent. Alumino-hydrides of the most electropositive elements are
known, the most useful being lithium aluminium hydride, Li[AlH4]. It decomposes
into lithium hydride, aluminium and hydrogen when heated, and is hydrolysed by
water. It has many uses in organic chemistry, particularly as a reducing agent. The
aluminohalides have a similar structure.
Aluminium hydroxide may be prepared as a gelatinous precipitate by adding
ammonia to an aqueous solution of an aluminium salt. It is amphoteric, being both a
very weak acid, and forming aluminates with alkalis. It exists in various crystalline
forms.
Aluminium carbide, Al4C3 is made by heating a mixture of the elements above
1,000 °C (1,832 °F). The pale yellow crystals have a complex lattice structure, and
react with water or dilute acids to give methane. The acetylide, Al2(C2)3, is made by
passing acetylene over heated aluminium.

Aluminium nitride, AlN, can be made from the elements at 800 °C (1,472 °F). It is
hydrolysed by water to form ammonia and aluminium hydroxide. Aluminium
phosphide, AlP, is made similarly, and hydrolyses to give phosphine.

Aluminium oxide, Al2O3, occurs naturally as corundum, and can be made by

burning aluminium in oxygen or by heating the hydroxide, nitrate or sulfate. As a
gemstone, its hardness is only exceeded by diamond, boron nitride, and
carborundum. It is almost insoluble in water. Aluminium sulfide, Al2S3, may be
prepared by passing hydrogen sulfide over aluminium powder. It is polymorphic.

Aluminium iodide, AlI3, is a dimer with applications in organic synthesis.

Aluminium fluoride, AlF3, is made by treating the hydroxide with HF, or can be
made from the elements. It is a macromolecule, which sublimes without melting at
1,291 °C (2,356 °F). It is very inert. The other trihalides are dimeric, having a bridge-
like structure.

When aluminium and fluoride are together in aqueous solution, they readily form
complex ions such as [AlF(H2O)5]2+, AlF3(H2O)3, and [AlF6]3−. Of these, [AlF6]3− is the
most stable. This is explained by the fact that aluminium and fluoride, which are
both very compact ions, fit together just right to form the octahedral aluminium
hexafluoride complex. When aluminium and fluoride are together in water in a 1:6
molar ratio, [AlF6]3− is the most common form, even in rather low concentrations.
Organometallic compounds of empirical formula AlR3 exist and, if not also
polymers, are at least dimers or trimers. They have some uses in organic synthesis,
for instance trimethylaluminium.

Analysis

The presence of aluminium can be detected in qualitative analysis using aluminon.

Applications

General use

Aluminium is the most widely used non-ferrous metal. [34] Global production of
aluminium in 2005 was 31.9 million tonnes. It exceeded that of any other metal
except iron (837.5 million tonnes).[35] Forecast for 2012 is 42–45 million tons, driven
by rising Chinese output.[36] Relatively pure aluminium is encountered only when
corrosion resistance and/or workability is more important than strength or
hardness. A thin layer of aluminium can be deposited onto a flat surface by physical
vapour deposition or (very infrequently) chemical vapour deposition or other
chemical means to form optical coatings and mirrors. When so deposited, a fresh,
pure aluminium film serves as a good reflector (approximately 92%) of visible light
and an excellent reflector (as much as 98%) of medium and far infrared radiation.

Pure aluminium has a low tensile strength, but when combined with thermo-
mechanical processing, aluminium alloys display a marked improvement in
mechanical properties, especially when tempered. Aluminium alloys form vital
components of aircraft and rockets as a result of their high strength-to-weight ratio.
Aluminium readily forms alloys with many elements such as copper, zinc,
magnesium, manganese and silicon (e.g., duralumin). Today, almost all bulk metal
materials that are referred to loosely as "aluminium", are actually alloys. For
example, the common aluminium foils and beverage cans are alloys of 92% to 99%
aluminium.[37]

Household aluminium foil

Aluminium-bodied Austin "A40 Sports" (circa 1951)

Aluminium slabs being transported from a smelter.

Some of the many uses for aluminium metal are in:

 Transportation (automobiles, aircraft, trucks, railway cars, marine vessels,

bicycles etc.) as sheet, tube, castings etc.
 Packaging (cans, foil, etc.)
 Construction (windows, doors, siding, building wire, etc.)
 A wide range of household items, from cooking utensils to baseball bats,
watches.[38]
 Street lighting poles, sailing ship masts, walking poles etc.
 Outer shells of consumer electronics, also cases for equipment e.g.
photographic equipment.
 Electrical transmission lines for power distribution
 MKM steel and Alnico magnets
 Super purity aluminium (SPA, 99.980% to 99.999% Al), used in electronics
and CDs.
 Heat sinks for electronic appliances such as transistors and CPUs.
 Substrate material of metal-core copper clad laminates used in high
brightness LED lighting.
 Powdered aluminium is used in paint, and in pyrotechnics such as solid
rocket fuels and thermite.
 Aluminium can be reacted with hydrochloric acid to form hydrogen gas.
 A variety of countries, including France, Italy, Poland, Finland, Romania,
Israel, and the former Yugoslavia, have issued coins struck in aluminium or
aluminium-copper alloys.[39]

Aluminium compounds

 Aluminium ammonium sulfate ([Al(NH4)](SO4)2), ammonium alum is used as

a mordant, in water purification and sewage treatment, in paper production,
as a food additive, and in leather tanning.
 Aluminium acetate is a salt used in solution as an astringent.
 Aluminium borate (Al2O3 B2O3) is used in the production of glass and
ceramic.
 Aluminium borohydride (Al(BH4)3) is used as an additive to jet fuel.
 Aluminium bronze (CuAl5)
 Aluminium chloride (AlCl3) is used in paint manufacturing, in
antiperspirants, in petroleum refining and in the production of synthetic
rubber.
 Aluminium chlorohydrate is used as an antiperspirant and in the treatment
of hyperhidrosis.
 Aluminium fluorosilicate (Al2(SiF6)3) is used in the production of synthetic
gemstones, glass and ceramic.
 Aluminium hydroxide (Al(OH)3) is used: as an antacid, as a mordant, in
water purification, in the manufacture of glass and ceramic and in the
waterproofing of fabrics.
 Aluminium oxide (Al2O3), alumina, is found naturally as corundum (rubies
and sapphires), emery, and is used in glass making. Synthetic ruby and
sapphire are used in lasers for the production of coherent light. Used as a
refractory, essential for the production of high pressure sodium lamps.
 Aluminium phosphate (AlPO4) is used in the manufacture: of glass and
ceramic, pulp and paper products, cosmetics, paints and varnishes and in
making dental cement.
 Aluminium sulfate (Al2(SO4)3) is used in the manufacture of paper, as a
mordant, in a fire extinguisher, in water purification and sewage treatment,
as a food additive, in fireproofing, and in leather tanning.
 Aqueous aluminium ions (such as found in aqueous aluminium sulfate) are
used to treat against fish parasites such as Gyrodactylus salaris.

 In many vaccines, certain aluminium salts serve as an immune adjuvant

(immune response booster) to allow the protein in the vaccine to achieve
sufficient potency as an immune stimulant.

Aluminium alloys in structural applications

 Aluminium foam

Main article: Aluminium alloy

Aluminium alloys with a wide range of properties are used in engineering

structures. Alloy systems are classified by a number system (ANSI) or by names
indicating their main alloying constituents (DIN and ISO).

The strength and durability of aluminium alloys vary widely, not only as a result of
the components of the specific alloy, but also as a result of heat treatments and
manufacturing processes. A lack of knowledge of these aspects has from time to
time led to improperly designed structures and gained aluminium a bad reputation.

One important structural limitation of aluminium alloys is their fatigue strength.

Unlike steels, aluminium alloys have no well-defined fatigue limit, meaning that
fatigue failure eventually occurs, under even very small cyclic loadings. This implies
that engineers must assess these loads and design for a fixed life rather than an
infinite life.
Another important property of aluminium alloys is their sensitivity to heat.
Workshop procedures involving heating are complicated by the fact that
aluminium, unlike steel, melts without first glowing red. Forming operations where
a blow torch is used therefore require some expertise, since no visual signs reveal
how close the material is to melting. Aluminium alloys, like all structural alloys, also
are subject to internal stresses following heating operations such as welding and
casting. The problem with aluminium alloys in this regard is their low melting
point, which make them more susceptible to distortions from thermally induced
stress relief. Controlled stress relief can be done during manufacturing by heat-
treating the parts in an oven, followed by gradual cooling—in effect annealing the
stresses.

The low melting point of aluminium alloys has not precluded their use in rocketry;
even for use in constructing combustion chambers where gases can reach 3500 K.
The Agena upper stage engine used a regeneratively cooled aluminium design for
some parts of the nozzle, including the thermally critical throat region.

Household wiring

See also: Aluminium wire

Compared to copper, aluminium has about 65% of the electrical conductivity by

volume, although 200% by weight. Traditionally copper is used as household wiring
material. In the 1960s aluminium was considerably cheaper than copper, and so was
introduced for household electrical wiring in the United States, even though many
fixtures were not designed to accept aluminium wire. In some cases the greater
coefficient of thermal expansion of aluminium causes the wire to expand and
contract relative to the dissimilar metal screw connection, eventually loosening the
connection. Also, pure aluminium has a tendency to creep under steady sustained
pressure (to a greater degree as the temperature rises), again loosening the
connection. Finally, galvanic corrosion from the dissimilar metals increased the
electrical resistance of the connection.

All of this resulted in overheated and loose connections, and this in turn resulted in
fires. Builders then became wary of using the wire, and many jurisdictions outlawed
its use in very small sizes in new construction. Eventually, newer fixtures were
introduced with connections designed to avoid loosening and overheating. The first
generation fixtures were marked "Al/Cu" and were ultimately found suitable only
for copper-clad aluminium wire, but the second generation fixtures, which bear a
"CO/ALR" coding, are rated for unclad aluminium wire. To adapt older assemblies,
workers forestall the heating problem using a properly done crimp of the
aluminium wire to a short "pigtail" of copper wire. Today, new alloys, designs, and
methods are used for aluminium wiring in combination with aluminium
termination.

History
The statue of the Anteros (commonly mistaken for either The Angel of Christian
Charity or Eros) in Piccadilly Circus London, was made in 1893 and is one of the first
statues to be cast in aluminium.

Ancient Greeks and Romans used aluminium salts as dyeing mordants and as
astringents for dressing wounds; alum is still used as a styptic. In 1761 Guyton de
Morveau suggested calling the base alum alumine. In 1808, Humphry Davy
identified the existence of a metal base of alum, which he at first termed alumium
and later aluminum (see Etymology section, below).

The metal was first produced in 1825 (in an impure form) by Danish physicist and
chemist Hans Christian Ørsted. He reacted anhydrous aluminium chloride with
potassium amalgam and yielded a lump of metal looking similar to tin. [40] Friedrich
Wöhler was aware of these experiments and cited them, but after redoing the
experiments of Ørsted he concluded that this metal was pure potassium. He
conducted a similar experiment in 1827 by mixing anhydrous aluminium chloride
with potassium and yielded aluminium.[40] Wöhler is generally credited with
isolating aluminium (Latin alumen, alum), but also Ørsted can be listed as its
discoverer.[41] Further, Pierre Berthier discovered aluminium in bauxite ore and
successfully extracted it.[42] Frenchman Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville
improved Wöhler's method in 1846, and described his improvements in a book in
1859, chief among these being the substitution of sodium for the considerably more
expensive potassium.
(Deville's book is De l'aluminium, ses propriétés, sa fabrication (Paris, 1859). Deville
likely also conceived the idea of the electrolysis of aluminium oxide dissolved in
cryolite; Charles Martin Hall and Paul Héroult might have developed the more
practical process after Deville.)

Before the Hall-Héroult process was developed, aluminium was exceedingly

difficult to extract from its various ores. This made pure aluminium more valuable
than gold.[43] Bars of aluminium were exhibited at the Exposition Universelle of 1855,
[44]
and Napoleon III was said[citation needed] to have reserved a set of aluminium dinner
plates for his most honoured guests.

Aluminium was selected as the material to be used for the apex of the Washington
Monument in 1884, a time when one ounce (30 grams) cost the daily wage of a
common worker on the project;[45] aluminium was about the same value as silver.

The Cowles companies supplied aluminium alloy in quantity in the United States
and England using smelters like the furnace of Carl Wilhelm Siemens by 1886.[46]
Charles Martin Hall of Ohio in the U.S. and Paul Héroult of France independently
developed the Hall-Héroult electrolytic process that made extracting aluminium
from minerals cheaper and is now the principal method used worldwide. The Hall-
Heroult process cannot produce Super Purity Aluminium directly. Hall's process, [47]
in 1888 with the financial backing of Alfred E. Hunt, started the Pittsburgh
Reduction Company today known as Alcoa. Héroult's process was in production by
1889 in Switzerland at Aluminium Industrie, now Alcan, and at British Aluminium,
now Luxfer Group and Alcoa, by 1896 in Scotland.[48]

By 1895 the metal was being used as a building material as far away as Sydney,
Australia in the dome of the Chief Secretary's Building.

Many navies have used an aluminium superstructure for their vessels; the 1975 fire
aboard USS Belknap that gutted her aluminium superstructure, as well as
observation of battle damage to British ships during the Falklands War, led to many
navies switching to all steel superstructures. The Arleigh Burke class was the first
such U.S. ship, being constructed entirely of steel.

In 2008 the price of aluminium peaked at $1.45/lb in July but dropped to $0.70/lb by
December.[49]

Etymology

Nomenclature history
The earliest citation given in the Oxford English Dictionary for any word used as a
name for this element is alumium, which British chemist and inventor Humphry
Davy employed in 1808 for the metal he was trying to isolate electrolytically from
the mineral alumina. The citation is from the journal Philosophical Transactions of the
Royal Society of London: "Had I been so fortunate as to have obtained more certain
evidences on this subject, and to have procured the metallic substances I was in
search of, I should have proposed for them the names of silicium, alumium,
zirconium, and glucium."[50][51]

Davy settled on aluminum by the time he published his 1812 book Chemical
Philosophy: "This substance appears to contain a peculiar metal, but as yet
Aluminum has not been obtained in a perfectly free state, though alloys of it with
other metalline substances have been procured sufficiently distinct to indicate the
probable nature of alumina."[52] But the same year, an anonymous contributor to the
Quarterly Review, a British political-literary journal, in a review of Davy's book,
objected to aluminum and proposed the name aluminium, "for so we shall take the
liberty of writing the word, in preference to aluminum, which has a less classical
sound."[53]

The -ium suffix conformed to the precedent set in other newly discovered elements
of the time: potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, and strontium (all of which
Davy isolated himself). Nevertheless, -um spellings for elements were not unknown
at the time, as for example platinum, known to Europeans since the sixteenth
century, molybdenum, discovered in 1778, and tantalum, discovered in 1802. The -
um suffix is consistent with the universal spelling alumina for the oxide, as lanthana
is the oxide of lanthanum, and magnesia, ceria, and thoria are the oxides of
magnesium, cerium, and thorium respectively.

The spelling used throughout the 19th century by most U.S. chemists ended in -ium,
but common usage is less clear.[54] The -um spelling is used in the Webster's
Dictionary of 1828. In his advertising handbill for his new electrolytic method of
producing the metal 1892, Charles Martin Hall used the -um spelling, despite his
constant use of the -ium spelling in all the patents[47] he filed between 1886 and 1903.
[55]
It has consequently been suggested that the spelling reflects an easier to
pronounce word with one fewer syllable, or that the spelling on the flier was a
mistake. Hall's domination of production of the metal ensured that the spelling
aluminum became the standard in North America; the Webster Unabridged Dictionary
of 1913, though, continued to use the -ium version.

In 1926, the American Chemical Society officially decided to use aluminum in its
publications; American dictionaries typically label the spelling aluminium as a
British variant.
The name "aluminium" derives from its status as a base of alum. "Alum" in turn is a
Latin word that literally means "bitter salt".[56]

Present-day spelling

Most countries use the spelling aluminium (with an i before -um). In the United
States, this spelling is largely unknown, and the spelling aluminum predominates.[57]
[58]
The Canadian Oxford Dictionary prefers aluminum, whereas the Australian
Macquarie Dictionary prefers aluminium.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) adopted

aluminium as the standard international name for the element in 1990, but three
years later recognized aluminum as an acceptable variant. Hence their periodic table
includes both.[59] IUPAC prefers the use of aluminium in its internal publications,
although nearly as many IUPAC publications use the spelling aluminum.[60]

Health concerns

NFPA 704
0
0
0
Fire
diamond
for
aluminium
shot

Despite its natural abundance, aluminium has no known function in living cells and
presents some toxic effects in elevated concentrations. Its toxicity can be traced to
deposition in bone and the central nervous system, which is particularly increased
in patients with reduced renal function. Because aluminium competes with calcium
for absorption, increased amounts of dietary aluminium may contribute to the
reduced skeletal mineralization (osteopenia) observed in preterm infants and infants
with growth retardation. In very high doses, aluminium can cause neurotoxicity,
and is associated with altered function of the blood-brain barrier.[61] A small
percentage of people are allergic to aluminium and experience contact dermatitis,
digestive disorders, vomiting or other symptoms upon contact or ingestion of
products containing aluminium, such as deodorants or antacids. In those without
allergies, aluminium is not as toxic as heavy metals, but there is evidence of some
toxicity if it is consumed in excessive amounts. [62] Although the use of aluminium
cookware has not been shown to lead to aluminium toxicity in general, excessive
consumption of antacids containing aluminium compounds and excessive use of
aluminium-containing antiperspirants provide more significant exposure levels.
Studies have shown that consumption of acidic foods or liquids with aluminium
significantly increases aluminium absorption,[63] and maltol has been shown to
increase the accumulation of aluminium in nervous and osseus tissue. [64]
Furthermore, aluminium increases estrogen-related gene expression in human
breast cancer cells cultured in the laboratory.[65] The estrogen-like effects of these
salts have led to their classification as a metalloestrogen.
Because of its potentially toxic effects, aluminium's use in some antiperspirants,
dyes (such as aluminium lake), and food additives is controversial. Although there
is little evidence that normal exposure to aluminium presents a risk to healthy
adults,[66] several studies point to risks associated with increased exposure to the
metal.[67] Aluminium in food may be absorbed more than aluminium from water. [68]
Some researchers have expressed concerns that the aluminium in antiperspirants
may increase the risk of breast cancer,[69] and aluminium has controversially been
implicated as a factor in Alzheimer's disease.[70] The Camelford water pollution
incident involved a number of people consuming aluminium sulfate. Investigations
of the long-term health effects are still ongoing, but elevated brain aluminium
concentrations have been found in post-mortem examinations of victims who have
later died, and further research to determine if there is a link with cerebral amyloid
angiopathy has been commissioned.[71]

According to The Alzheimer's Society, the overwhelming medical and scientific

opinion is that studies have not convincingly demonstrated a causal relationship
between aluminium and Alzheimer's disease.[72] Nevertheless, some studies, such as
those on the PAQUID cohort,[73] cite aluminium exposure as a risk factor for
Alzheimer's disease. Some brain plaques have been found to contain increased
levels of the metal.[74] Research in this area has been inconclusive; aluminium
accumulation may be a consequence of the disease rather than a causal agent. In any
event, if there is any toxicity of aluminium, it must be via a very specific mechanism,
since total human exposure to the element in the form of naturally occurring clay in
soil and dust is enormously large over a lifetime.[75][76] Scientific consensus does not
yet exist about whether aluminium exposure could directly increase the risk of
Alzheimer's disease.[72]

Effect on plants

Aluminium is primary among the factors that reduce plant growth on acid soils.
Although it is generally harmless to plant growth in pH-neutral soils, the
concentration in acid soils of toxic Al3+ cations increases and disturbs root growth
and function.[77][78][79]
Most acid soils are saturated with aluminium rather than hydrogen ions. The acidity
of the soil is therefore a result of hydrolysis of aluminium compounds.[80] This
concept of "corrected lime potential"[81] to define the degree of base saturation in
soils became the basis for procedures now used in soil testing laboratories to
determine the "lime requirement"[82] of soils.[83]

Wheat's adaptation to allow aluminium tolerance is such that the aluminium

induces a release of organic compounds that bind to the harmful aluminium cations.
Sorghum is believed to have the same tolerance mechanism. The first gene for
aluminium tolerance has been identified in wheat. It was shown that sorghum's
aluminium tolerance is controlled by a single gene, as for wheat. [84] This is not the
case in all plants.

See also

Book:Aluminium
Books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.
 Aluminium: The Thirteenth Element
 Aluminium alloy
 The Aluminum Association
 Aluminium battery
 Aluminium foil
 Beverage can
 Institute for the History of Aluminium (IHA)
 List of countries by aluminium production
 Aluminium industry in Russia

Al-Cu

Copper has been the most common alloying element almost since the beginning of
the aluminum industry, and a variety of alloys in which copper is the major
addition were developed.

In the cast alloys the basic structure consists of cored dendrites of aluminum solid
solution, with a variety of constituents at the grain boundaries or interdendritic
spaces, forming a brittle, more or less continuous network of eutectics. Wrought
products consist of a matrix of aluminum solid solution with the other solible and
insoluble constituents dispersed within it.

Copper has been the most common alloying element almost since the beginning of
the aluminum industry, and a variety of alloys in which copper is the major
addition were developed. Most of these alloys fall within one of the following
groups:

Cast alloys with 5% Cu, often with small amounts of silicon and magnesium.

Cast alloys with 7-8% Cu, which often contain large amounts of iron and silicon and
appreciable amounts of manganese, chromium, zinc, tin, etc.

Cast alloys with 10-14% Cu. These alloys may contain small amounts of magnesium
(0.10-0.30% Mg), iron up to 1.5%, up to 5% Si and smaller amounts of nickel,
manganese, chromium.

Wrought alloys with 5-6% Cu and often small amounts of manganese, silicon,
cadmium, bismuth, tin, lithium, vanadium and zirconium. Alloys of this type
containing lead, bismuth, and cadmium have superior machinability.

Durals, whose basic composition is 4-4.5% Cu, 0.5-1.5% Mg, 0.5-1.0% Mn,
sometimes with silicon additions.

Copper alloys containing nickel, which can be subdivided in two groups: the Y alloy
type, whose basic composition is 4% Cu, 2% Ni, 1.5% Mg; and the Hyduminiums,
which usually have lower copper contents and in which iron replaces 30me of the
nickel.

In most of the alloys in this group aluminum is the primary constituent and in the
cast alloys the basic structure consists of cored dendrites of aluminum solid
solution, with a variety of constituents at the grain boundaries or interdendritic
spaces, forming a brittle, more or less continuous network of eutectics.

Wrought products consist of a matrix of aluminum solid solution with the other
constituents dispersed within it. Constituents formed in the alloys can be divided in
two groups: in the soluble ones are the constituents containing only one or more of
copper, lithium, magnesium, silicon, zinc; in the insoluble ones are the constituents
containing at least one of the more or less insoluble iron, manganese, nickel, etc.

The type of soluble constituents formed depends not only on the amount of soluble
elements available but also on their ratio. Available copper depends on the iron,
manganese and nickel contents; the copper combined with them is not available.

Copper forms (CuFe)Al6 and Cu2FeAl7, with iron, (CuFeMn)Al6 and Cu2Mn3Al20
with manganese, Cu4NiAl, and several not too well known compounds with nickel
and iron. The amount of silicon available to some extent controls the copper
compounds formed. Silicon above 1% favors the FeSiAl5, over the iron-copper
compounds and (CuFeMn)3Si2Al15, over the (CuFeMn)Al6 and Cu2Mn3Al20
compounds.

Similarly, but to a lesser extent, available silicon is affected by iron and manganese
contents. With the Cu:Mg ratio below 2 and the Mg:Si ratio well above 1.7 the
CuMg4Al6 compound is formed, especially if appreciable zinc is present. When
Cu:Mg > 2 and Mg:Si > 1.7, CuMgAl2 is formed. If the Mg:Si ratio is approximately
1.7, Mg2Si and CuAl2 are in equilibrium. With the Mg:Si ratio 1 or less,
Cu2Mg8Si6Al5, is formed, usually together with CuAl2. When the copper exceeds
5%, commercial heat treatment cannot dissolve it and the network of eutectics does
not break up. Thus, in the 10-15% Cu alloys there is little difference in structure
between the as-cast and heat treated alloys.

Magnesium is usually combined with silicon and copper. Only if appreciable

amounts of lead, bismuth or tin are present, Mg2Sn, Mg2Pb, Mg2Bi3 can be formed.

The effect of alloying elements on density and thermal expansion is additive; thus,
densities range from 2 700 to 2 850 kg/m3, with the lower values for the high-
magnesium, high-silicon and low-copper alloys, the higher for the high-copper,
high-nickel, high-manganese and high-iron contents.

Expansion coefficients are of the order of 21-24 x 10 -6 1/K for the 300-4000 K range
and 23-26 x 10-6 1/K for the 300-700 K range, with the higher values for the high-
magnesium, low-copper and low-silicon alloys, the lower ones for the higher silicon
and higher copper contents. At subzero temperatures the coefficient decreases
practically in the same way as that of pure aluminum. However, release of casting
stresses or precipitation and solution of copper and magnesium produce changes in
length of up to 0.2%, which may affect the dimensional accuracy of parts exposed to
high temperature. Subzero treatment of castings to reduce warpage has been
recommended.
Specific heat of the commercial alloys is practically the same as for the binary
aluminum-copper. Thermal conductivity is little affected by alloying elements other
than copper: for the commercial alloys with 4-12% Cu, < 4% other elements, it is
approximately 70% of that of pure aluminum at room temperature, some 75-80% at
600 K and 30-35% at 200 K.

Electric conductivity is very sensitive to copper in solution, and to a much lesser

extent to magnesium and zinc, but is little affected by alloying elements out of
solution. In an alloy with 5% Cu in solution the conductivity is approximately half
that of pure aluminum (30-33% IACS), but in the annealed state an alloy with 12%
Cu and up to 5% other elements has a conductivity of 37-42% IACS, only 25-30%
lower than that of pure aluminum.

The mechanical properties of the alloys vary over an extremely wide range, from
those of the sand cast 8% Cu alloys, which are among the lowest in aluminum
alloys, to those of durals or wrought 5% Cu alloys, which may reach values of up to
650 MPa.

Higher purity, special compositions, fabricating techniques or heat treatments may

produce higher properties. Porosity, poor feeding of castings, excessive amounts of
impurities, segregation and poor quality control in fabrication may reduce the
properties well below the determined limits. Surface defects reduce the properties of
castings more than internal ones. Prestrain or elastic strain during testing have no
effect on properties. Ultrasonic vibration may reduce or increase them; and
irradiation at cryogenic temperatures may slightly increase strength. Dynamic
loading may produce strength and ductility values higher or lower, depending on
the speed, but not at high temperature. Temperatures below room temperature
increase strength and hardness, with some loss of ductility and a decrease in
anisotropy.

Correspondingly, exposure to temperatures above room temperature eventually

results in a decrease in strength and hardness with a decided increase in elongation.
Heat treatment has a substantial effect: if the alloys are quenched from high
temperature and only naturally aged, exposure to temperatures in the range up to
500-600 K may produce a temporary increase in hardness and strength due to
artificial aging. Eventually this increase disappears, the faster the higher the
temperature, and the normal decline sets in, as in alloys already aged to peak
hardness. Prolonged heating (for up to 2 years) results in appreciable softening at all
temperatures. For intermediate exposure times this softening is less if the materials
are thermo-mechanically treated. In short-time tests fast heating to test temperature
increases the strength.

Impact resistance is low, as for all aluminum alloys: in the Charpy test values range
from a minimum of 2-3 x 10 4N/m for cast alloys with 7% Cu to a maximum of 30-40
x 104N/m for wrought products in the naturally aged temper. Notch sensitivity is
usually low, especially in the wrought alloys, or in the cast alloys heat treated to
maximum ductility. The plane strain fracture toughness ranges from 85 to 100% of
the yield strength, depending on a variety of factors. Both impact resistance and
notch toughness increase with increasing temperature, but the decrease with
subzero temperatures is limited. In the softer alloys at 70 K the difference is within
error of testing; only for the higher-strength alloys is the decrease appreciable.
Shear strength is of the order of 70-75% of tensile strength, even at high
temperature; bearing strength is approximately 1.5 of tensile; compressive yield
strength is 10-15% higher or lower than ultimate tensile strength.

Most alloying elements raise the modulus of elasticity of aluminum, but the increase
is not substantial: for the aluminum-copper alloys the modulus of elasticity at room
temperature is of the order of 70-75 GPa and practically the same in tension and in
compression. It changes regularly with temperature from a value of 76-78 GPa at 70
K to a value of the order of 60 GPa at 500 K. The change during aging is negligible
for practical purposes. The Poisson ratio is slightly lower and of the order of 0.32-
0.34, and so is the compressibility. The Poisson ratio increases with increasing
temperature.

Many of the cast alloys and of the aluminum-copper-nickel alloys are used for high-
temperature applications, where creep resistance is important. Resistance is the
same whether the load is tensile or compressive.

Wear resistance is favored by high hardness and the presence of hard constituents.
Alloys with 10-15% Cu or treated to maximum hardness have very high wear
resistance.

Silicon increases the strength in cast alloys, mainly by increasing the castability and
thus the soundness of the castings, but with some loss of ductility and fatigue
resistance, especially when it changes the iron-bearing compounds from FeM 2SiAl8
or Cu2FeAl7, to FeSiAl5.

Magnesium increases the strength and hardness of the alloys, but, especially in
castings, with a decided decrease in ductility and impact resistance.

Iron has some beneficial strengthening effect, especially at high temperature and at
the lower contents (< 0.7% Fe).

Nickel has a strengthening effect, similar to that of manganese, although more

limited because it only acts to reduce the embrittling effect of iron. Manganese and
nickel together decrease the room-temperature properties because they combine in
aluminum-manganese-nickel compounds and reduce the beneficial effects of each
other. The main effect of-nickel is the increase in high-temperature strength, fatigue
and creep resistance.

Titanium is added as grain refiner and it is very effective in reducing the grain size.
If this results in a better dispersion of insoluble constituents, porosity and
nonmetallic inclusions, a decided improvement in mechanical properties results.

Lithium has an effect very similar to that of magnesium: it increases strength,

especially after heat treatment and at high temperatures, and there is a
corresponding decrease in ductility. Zinc increases the strength but reduces
ductility.

Precipitation hardening

Precipitation hardening, also called age hardening, is a heat treatment technique

used to increase the yield strength of malleable materials, including most structural
alloys of aluminium, magnesium, nickel and titanium, and some stainless steels. It
relies on changes in solid solubility with temperature to produce fine particles of an
impurity phase, which impede the movement of dislocations, or defects in a crystal's
lattice. Since dislocations are often the dominant carriers of plasticity, this serves to
harden the material. The impurities play the same role as the particle substances in
particle-reinforced composite materials. Just as the formation of ice in air can
produce clouds, snow, or hail, depending upon the thermal history of a given
portion of the atmosphere, precipitation in solids can produce many different sizes
of particles, which have radically different properties. Unlike ordinary tempering,
alloys must be kept at elevated temperature for hours to allow precipitation to take
place. This time delay is called aging.

Note that two different heat treatments involving precipitates can alter the strength
of a material: solution heat treating and precipitation heat treating. Solid solution
strengthening involves formation of a single-phase solid solution via quenching and
leaves a material softer. Precipitation heat treating involves the addition of impurity
particles to increase a material's strength. [1] Precipitation hardening via precipitation
heat treatment is the main topic of discussion in this article.

Kinetics versus thermodynamics

This technique exploits the phenomenon of supersaturation, and involves careful

balancing of the driving force for precipitation and the thermal activation energy
available for both desirable and undesirable processes.

Nucleation occurs at a relatively high temperature (often just below the solubility
limit) so that the kinetic barrier of surface energy can be more easily overcome and
the maximum number of precipitate particles can form. These particles are then
allowed to grow at lower temperature in a process called aging. This is carried out
under conditions of low solubility so that thermodynamics drive a greater total
volume of precipitate formation.
Diffusion's exponential dependence upon temperature makes precipitation
strengthening, like all heat treatments, a fairly delicate process. Too little diffusion
(under aging), and the particles will be too small to impede dislocations effectively;
too much (over aging), and they will be too large and dispersed to interact with the
majority of dislocations.

[edit] Alloy design

Precipitation strengthening is possible if the line of solid solubility slopes strongly

toward the center of a phase diagram. While a large volume of precipitate particles
is desirable, a small enough amount of the alloying element should be added that it
remains easily soluble at some reasonable annealing temperature.
Elements used for precipitation strengthening in typical aluminum and titanium
alloys, make up about 10% of their composition. While binary alloys are more easily
understood as an academic exercise, commercial alloys often use three components
for precipitation strengthening, in compositions such as Al(Mg, Cu) and Ti(Al, V). A
large number of other constituents may be unintentional, but benign, or may be
added for other purposes such as grain refinement or corrosion resistance. In some
cases, such as many aluminum alloys, an increase in strength is achieved at the
expense of corrosion resistance.

The addition of large amounts of nickel and chromium needed for corrosion
resistance in stainless steels means that traditional hardening and tempering
methods are not effective. However, precipitates of chromium, copper or other
elements can strengthen the steel by similar amounts in comparison to hardening
and tempering. The strength can be tailored by adjusting the annealing process,
with lower initial temperatures resulting in higher strengths. The lower initial
temperature increase driving force of nucleation. More driving force means more
nucleation sites, and more sites, means more places for dislocations to be disrupted
while the finished part is in use.

Many alloy systems allow the aging temperature to be adjusted. For instance, some
aluminium alloys used to make rivets for aircraft construction are kept in dry ice
from their initial heat treatment until they are installed in the structure. After this
type of rivet is deformed into its final shape, aging occurs at room temperature and
increases its strength, locking the structure together. Higher aging temperatures
would risk over-aging other parts of the structure, and require expensive post-
assembly heat treatment. Too high of an aging temperature promotes the precipitate
to grow too readily.

[edit] Theory
The primary species of precipitation strengthening are second phase particles. These
particles impede the movement of dislocations throughout the lattice. You can
determine whether or not second phase particles will precipitate into solution from
the solidus line on the phase diagram for the particles. Physically, this strengthening
effect can be attributed both to size and modulus effects, and to interfacial or surface
energy.

The presence of second phase particles often causes lattice distortions. These lattice
distortions result when the precipitate particles differ in size from the host atoms.
Smaller precipitate particles in a host lattice leads to a tensile stress, whereas larger
precipitate particles leads to a compressive stress. Dislocation defects also create a
stress field. Above the dislocation there is a compressive stress and below there is a
tensile stress. Consequently, there is a negative interaction energy between a
dislocation and a precipitate that each respectively cause a compressive and a tensile
stress or vice versa. In other words, the dislocation will be attracted to the
precipitate. In addition, there is a positive interaction energy between a dislocation
and a precipitate that have the same type of stress field. This means that the
dislocation will be repulsed by the precipitate.

Precipitate particles also serve by locally changing the stiffness of a material.

Dislocations are repulsed by regions of higher stiffness. Conversely, if the
precipitate causes the material to be locally more compliant, then the dislocation
will be attracted to that region.

Furthermore, a dislocation may cut through a precipitate particle. This interaction

causes an increase in the surface area of the particle. The area created is where, r is
the radius of the particle and b is the magnitude of the burgers vector. The resulting
increase in surface energy is where is the surface energy. The dislocation can also
bow around a precipitate particle.

[edit] Governing Equations

There are two equations to describe the two mechanisms for precipitation
hardening:

Dislocations cutting through particles:

where τ is material strength, r is the second phase particle radius, γ is the surface
energy, b is the magnitude of the Burgers vector, and L is the spacing between
pinning points. This governing equation shows that the strength is proportional to r,
the radius of the precipitate particles. This means that it is easier for dislocations to
cut through a material with smaller second phase particles (small r). As the size of
the second phase particles increases, the particles impede dislocation movement and
it becomes increasingly difficult for the particles to cut through the material. In other
words, the strength of a material increases with increasing r.
Dislocations bowing around particle:

Where τ is the material strength, G is the shear modulus, b is the magnitude of the
Burgers vector, L is the distance between pinning points, and r is the second phase
particle radius. This governing equation shows that for dislocation bowing the
strength is inversely proportional to the second phase particle radius r. Dislocation
bowing is more likely to occur when there are large particles present in the material.

These governing equations show that the precipitation hardening mechanism

depends on the size of the precipitate particles. At small r, cutting will dominate,
while at large r, bowing will dominate.

Looking at the plot of both equations, it is clear that there is a critical radius at which
max strengthening occurs. This critical radius is typically 5-30 nm.

[edit] Some precipitation hardening materials

 2000-series aluminum alloys (important examples: 2024 and 2019, also Y alloy
and Hiduminium)
 6000-series aluminum alloys (important example: 6061 for bicycle frames and
aeronautical structures)
 7000-series aluminum alloys (important examples: 7075 and 7475)
 17-4PH stainless steel (UNS S17400)
 Maraging steel
 Inconel 718
 Alloy X-750
 René 41
 Waspaloy

See also
 Alfred Wilm
 Strength of Materials
 Strengthening mechanisms of materials
 Metallurgy
 Superalloy

Bearing alloys.
Properties of the Alloys: Tinbase babbitts commonly containcopper and antimony
following the pattern, though not necessarily the proportions, of Isaac Babbitt’s
original alloy. They have hardness up to 32BHN which gives them excellent load-
carrying characteristics. They show low friction resistance, low wear, good run-in
properties and good emergency behavior in the absence of adequate lubrication.
They “wet” easily and maintain an oil film, resist corrosion, are easily cast and
bonded and retain good mechanical properties at elevated temperatures.
Conventional leadbase babbitts contain antimony and tin, which greatly increase the
strength and hardness of lead. Properties of the lead-base alloy simprove with the
addition of antimony up to a maximum of 18%, above which the alloy becomes
excessively brittle. The addition of tin to the lead and antimony improves
mechanical and casting properties. At 10% tin, room-temperature strength and
hardness reach a maximum. The lead-antimony-tin alloys are not the equal of tin-
base alloys but are fully adequate for lower loads and moderate temperatures.
Though alloys with lower tin content are easier to handle in the kettle, they are more
difficult to bond. The very good frictional properties, reasonably good corrosion
resistance and low cost of the lead-antimony-tin alloys makes them ideal for a wide
range of applications.The lead-antimony-arsenic alloys are the equal of tin-base
alloys in their ability to retain hardness and strength at elevated temperatures. In
this respect they are superior to conventional lead-base alloys.

Bearing Operating Conditions:

The method or efficiency of lubrication is one of the factors affecting the choice of an
alloy. Under poor lubricating conditions, an alloy of good conformity and run-in
behavior is required. Temperature, rotating speed, pressure per unit area and even
the procedure for fabricating the bearing have an influence on alloy selection; the
design of the bearing and its bonding are also significant. For example, a thick
lining, mechanically anchored, requires a babbitt of good ductility at room
temperature that will seat itself in the anchors under load. The tin-base alloys, which
have good plasticity at room temperature, adjust well to these conditions under
moderate to severe loads. For bearings which are difficult to seal and align, and
where line contact occurs in the early moments of operation before full lubrication is
established, the conventional lead-base alloys have the required ductility and
conformability. Their use is limited, however, to moderate speeds and loads.Where
thin linings and precision castings are used, certain leadbase alloys containing only
a nominal 1% tin should be considered; in properly designed and properly cast
bearings they perform as well as tin-base babbitts and are much less expensive.
They have excellent fatigue resistance, which is important to bearings of this type.
Naturally, they do not have the ductility of lead-base antimony-tin bearings but this
is a minor factor with thin liners. Most important of all: In selecting a bearing alloy,
seek the advice of your Fry Technology representative. Through Fry Technology
you can draw on our group’s Central Research Department and their many years of
experience in the theory and application of bearing alloys.

Melting of Bearing Alloys

Because of the relatively low melting point of bearing metal alloys, it is easy to
convert in gots to liquid alloy. To make molten metal suitable for casting, however,
requires careful control. The melting pot can be of any size suitable for the amount of
metal needed. Heatresistant iron containing nickel, chromium or molybdenum is the
preferred material for its long service life. Clay graphite crucibles are sometimes
used where contamination from iron is a serious problem.

The melting pot must be clean. After melting, the pot should be scraped to remove
accumulations of metal and dross. If not, subsequent casting may show hard spots
on the machined surface. A semi-spherical melting pot with a flange supported by a
refractory shell is recommended, and heating should be arranged so that a uniform
temperature prevails throughout the melt. Uneven heating may cause segregation or
allow partial solidification. Segregation may occur in tin-base alloys of high copper
content and may result in a deposit in the kettle after pouring which is much higher
in copper than the desired alloy. This obviously deprives the cast metal of some of
its specified alloy content of copper. After complete melting, the metal should be
stirred, manually or mechanically, to insure uniformity of the melt but carefully to
avoid producing too much dross. Manual stirring is best done with a circular
perforated plate on a long-handled steel rod. Stirring is from the bottom upward
using a figure “8” motion. After stirring, the metal should remain at rest for a few
minutes, then be skimmed. The temperature of the melt should be controlled-or
checked-by pyrometer. Constant thermal control is required for efficient and
uniform results. High temperatures lead to excessive drossing, which is wasteful.
Further, dross may be carried over into the casting and causefailure of the bearing.
Also, fuel costs are higher and pot life shortened. On the other hand, a melt
temperature which is too low can cause segregation in the pot as well as premature
solidification before bonding on the shell takes place. The most suitable pyrometer is
the shielded type which is submerged in the melt and records on a wall-mounted
instrument. No portion of the melt should ever be allowed to remain between the
solidus and liquidus temperatures for any length of time. This often happens when
the casting set-up is not quite ready or when metal is left overnight for use the next
day. Under these circumstances, crystal aggregates are precipitated. The heavier
crystals sink, the lighter float. Stirring after reheating does now always dissolve all
the crystals and the result may be hard spots in the bearings. Above all, metal should
not be allowed to solidify in the melting pot overnight. Unused metal at day’s end
should be poured into pigs, and the pot thoroughly cleaned before re-use.
 Accumulations of dross, sweepings, skimmings and machine-shop borings
should be sold to a smelter or collector, not used in the pot. Clean borings of known
constituents may be used in the melt if magnetically screened to remove ferrous
chips and particles. This will not remove brass and bronze chips which may also be
harmful. Of course, alloys must not be mixed. It cannot be emphasized too strongly
that metal waste should be sold rather than re-used. If used, it must be clean and
sorted with scrupulous care. Good housekeeping is imperative to thecasting of
dependable bearings.

Additions to the melt should be made in such a way as to assure rapid

coalescence with the bath to prevent oxidation of the metals being added. When
melting, pouring, machining or otherwise working with these alloys, care should be
taken to comply with health standards promulgated by the Federal Occupational
Health and Safety Administration or the state equivalent relating to the
concentrations of airborne metal fumes and dust and work practices. Upon request,
Fry Technology will supply to customers copies of Material Safety Data Sheets for
the major constituents of these alloys. Employees should be fully informed of any
hazards that may exist and the necessary steps to be taken to eliminate or minimize
them.

Bonding the Bearing

There are two basic methods – chemical or metallurgical, and mechanical – by which
babbitt metals are bonded to the supporting shell. Chemical bonding is the preferred
modern practice and is used almost exclusively. Mechanical bonding is sometimes
used for bearings of an inch or more in thickness which are secured to the shell with
the help of grooves, dovetails, anchors, undercuts or holes to keep the bearing metal
in place. The metallurgical bond is a thin layer of alloy between the bearing metal
and the shell or support; the bond alloys with both, and secures them firmly in
relation to one another. The bonding layer, though strong, is brittle and must be as
thin as is practicable to minimize stress concentration in the area. Tin-base bearing
alloys are commonly bonded to steel and bronze shells. In the former case, tin-iron
compounds are formed at the bond and in the latter, tincopper. The tin-copper
compound is weaker than the tin-iron compound and dictates the preference for
steel shells, though bronze shells are serviceable if bonding is properly done. Lead-
base alloys give equally good results with either type of shell. For arsenic-hardened
alloys, the steel shell is preferred. Bronze shells invite the possibility of forming a
weak and brittle copper-arsenic bonding layer. This can be avoided, however, by
careful control of shell and bearing metal temperature and by rapid solidification of
the bearing metal into the copper constituent of the bronze.
A solid solution is a solid-state solution of one or more solutes in a solvent. Such a
mixture is considered a solution rather than a compound when the crystal structure
of the solvent remains unchanged by addition of the solutes, and when the mixture
remains in a single homogeneous phase.This often happens when the two elements
(generally metals) involved are close together on the periodic table; conversely, a
chemical compound is generally a result of the non proximity of the two metals
involved on the periodic table.[1]

Details

The solute may incorporate into the solvent crystal lattice substitutionally, by
replacing a solvent particle in the lattice, or interstitially, by fitting into the space
between solvent particles. Both of these types of solid solution affect the properties
of the material by distorting the crystal lattice and disrupting the physical and
electrical homogeneity of the solvent material.[2]

Some mixtures will readily form solid solutions over a range of concentrations, while
other mixtures will not form solid solutions at all. The propensity for any two
substances to form a solid solution is a complicated matter involving the chemical,
crystallographic, and quantum properties of the substances in question. Solid
solutions, in accordance with the Hume-Rothery rules, may form if the solute and
solvent have:
 Similar atomic radii (15% or less difference)
 Same crystal structure
 Similar electronegativities
 Similar valency

The phase diagram in Fig. 1 displays an alloy of two metals which forms a solid
solution at all relative concentrations of the two species. In this case, the pure phase
of each element is of the same crystal structure, and the similar properties of the two
elements allow for unbiased substitution through the full range of relative
concentrations.

Solid solutions have important commercial and industrial applications, as such

mixtures often have superior properties to pure materials. Many metal alloys are
solid solutions. Even small amounts of solute can affect the electrical and physical
properties of the solvent.

Fig. 2 This binary phase diagram shows two solid solutions: α and β.

The binary phase diagram in Fig. 2 at right shows the phases of a mixture of two
substances in varying concentrations, α and β. The region labeled "α" is a solid
solution, with β acting as the solute in a matrix of α. On the other end of the
concentration scale, the region labeled "β" is also a solid solution, with α acting as
the solute in a matrix of β. The large solid region in between the α and β solid
solutions, labeled "α and β", is not a solid solution. Instead, an examination of the
microstructure of a mixture in this range would reveal two phases — solid solution
α-in-β and solid solution β-in-α would form separate phases, perhaps lamella or
grains.

[edit] Application

In the phase diagram, the unalloyed extreme left and right concentrations, and the
dip in the center, the material will be solid and become liquid as heat is added,
where at other proportions the material will enter a mushy or pasty phase. The
mixture at dip point of the diagram is called a eutectic alloy. Lead-tin mixtures
formulated at that point (37/63 mixture) are useful when soldering electronic
components, particularly if done manually, since the solid phase is quickly entered
as the solder cools. In contrast, when lead-tin mixtures were used to solder seams in
automobile bodies a pasty state enabled a shape to be formed with a wooden paddle
or tool, so a 70-30 lead to tin ratio was used. (Lead is being removed from such
applications owing to its toxicity and consequent difficulty in recycling devices and
components that include lead.)

[edit] Exsolution

When a solid solution becomes unstable — due to a lower temperature, for example
— exsolution occurs and the two phases separate into distinct microscopic to
megascopic lamellae. An example of this is the alkali feldspar mineral variety
perthite in which thin white albite layers alternate between typically pink
microcline.

[edit] Examples

 Chen, Jing; Xu, Zhi-qin; Chen, Z-Z.; Li, T-F.; Chen, F-Y. (December 2005).
"Pargasite and ilmenite exsolution texture in clinopyroxene from the
Hujialing Garnet-Pyroxenite, Su-lu U.H.P. Terrane, Central China: A
geodynamic Implication". European Journal of Mineralogy 17 (6): 895–903.
doi:10.1127/0935-1221/2005/0017-0895. http://www.uni-graz.at/IEC-7/PDF-
files/Chen.pdf.
 Petersen, U.. "Introduction to Ore Microscopy II; Mineral Paragenesis".
http://www.mines.utah.edu/~wmep/59298/592PDF/rlm2.pdf.

[edit] See also

  Phase diagram
 Eutectic point

Lever rule

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

A phase diagram with tie line (LS). The x dimension defines the percent weight of
elements A and B.

The lever rule is a tool used to determine weight percentages of each phase of a
binary equilibrium phase diagram. It is used to determine the percent weight of
liquid and solid phases for a given binary composition and temperature that is
between the liquidus and solidus.[1]

[edit] Calculations

Before any calculations can be made a tie line is drawn on the phase diagram to
determine the percent weight of each element; on the phase diagram to the right it is
line segment LS. This tie line is drawn horizontally at the compositions temperature
from the liquid to the solidus. The percent weight of element B at the liquidus is
given by wl and the percent weight of element B at the solidus is given by ws. The
percent weight of solid and liquid can then be calculated using the following lever
rule equations:[1]

where wo is the percent weight of element B for the given composition.

Iron-Iron Carbide Diagram

 Figure 1. Iron-ironcarbide diagram

Cementite is also known as iron carbide which has a chemical formula, Fe 3C. It contains
6.67 % Carbon by weight. It is a typical hard and brittle interstitial compound of low
tensile strength (approximately 5,000 psi) but high compressive strength. Its crystal
structure is orthorhombic.
AUSTENITE ( iron):

It is also known as ( ) gamma-iron, which is an interstitial solid solution of carbon dissolved in

iron with a face centered cubic crystal (F.C.C) structure. Average properties of austenite are:
Tensile strength 150,000 psi.
Elongation 10 % in 2 in gage length.
Hardness Rockwell C 40
Toughness High

Table 1. Properties of Austenite

 Figure 2. Austenite (gamma iron) crystal structure
Austenite is normally unstable at room temperature. Under certain conditions it is possible
to obtain austenite at room temperature.
FERRITE ( iron):

It is also known as ( ) alpha -iron, which is an interstitial solid solution of a small amount
of carbon dissolved in iron with a Body Centered Cubic (B.C.C.) crystal structure. It is the
softest structure on the iron-iron carbide diagram. Average properties are:
Tensile Strength 40,000 psi
Elongation 40 % in 2 in gage length
Hardness Less than Rockwell C 0 or less
than Rockwell B 90.
Toughness Low

Table 2. Properties of Ferrite.

Figure 2. Ferrite (alpha iron) crystal structure

PEARLITE ( + Fe3C)
 It is the eutectoid mixture containing 0.83 % Carbon and is formed at 1333 oF on very slow
cooling. It is very fine platelike or lamellar mixture of ferrite and cementite. The structure of
pearlite includes a white matrix (ferritic background) which includes thin plates of cementite.
Average properties are:
Tensile Strength 120,000 psi
Elongation 20 % in 2 in gage length
Hardness Rockwell C 20 or BHN 250-300

Table 3. Properties of pearlite.

Figure 3. Pearlite microstructure (Light background is the ferrite matrix, dark lines
are the cementite network)

A fixed amount of carbon and a fixed amount of iron are needed to form cementite
(Fe3C). Also, pearlite needs fixed amounts of cementite and ferrite.

If there is not enough carbon, that is less than 0.83 %, the carbon and the iron will
combine to form Fe3C until all the carbon is consumed. This cementite will combine with
the required amount of ferrite to form pearlite. The remaining amount of ferrite will stay
in the structure as free ferrite. Free ferrite is also known as proeutectoid ferrite. The steel
that contains proeutectoid ferrite is referred to as hypoeutectoid steel.

If, however, there is an excess of carbon above 0.83 % in the austenite, pearlite will form,
and the excess carbon above 0.83 % will form cementite. The excess cementite deposits in
the grain boundaries. This excess cementite is also known as proeutectoid cementite.

LEDEBURITE ( + Fe3C)

e of austenite and cementite. It contains 4.3 % Carbon and represents

Ledeburite exists when the carbon content is greater than 2 %, which
line on the equilibrium diagram between steel and cast iron.

( ) DELTA IRON:

Delta iron exists between 2552 and 2802 oF. It may exist in combination with the melt to
about 0.50 % Carbon, in combination with austenite to about 0.18 % Carbon and in a single
phase state out to about 0.10 % carbon. Delta iron has the Body Centered Cubic (B.C.C)
crystal structure and is magnetic.
UNIT – IV

MECHANICAL TESTING

Ultimate tensile strength

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Ultimate tensile strength (UTS), often shortened to tensile strength (TS) or

ultimate strength,[1][2] is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while
being stretched or pulled before necking, which is when the specimen's cross-section
starts to significantly contract. Mechanically, tensile strength is is opposite of
compressive strength, although in many materials the magnitudes of these two
strengths are quite different.

The UTS is usually found by performing a tensile test and recording the stress versus
strain; the highest point of the stress-strain curve is the UTS. It is an intensive
property; therefore its value does not depend on the size of the test specimen.
However, it is dependent on other factors, such as the preparation of the specimen,
the presence or otherwise of surface defects, and the temperature of the test
environment and material.

Tensile strengths are rarely used in the design of ductile members, but they are
important in brittle members. They are tabulated for common materials such as
alloys, composite materials, ceramics, plastics, and wood.

Tensile strength is defined as a stress, which is measured as force per unit area. In
the SI system, the unit is pascal (Pa) or, equivalently, newtons per square metre
(N/m²). The customary unit is pounds-force per square inch (lbf/in² or PSI), or kilo-
pounds per square inch (KSI), which is equal to 1000 PSI; kilo-pounds per square
inch are commonly used for convenience when measuring tensile strengths.

Contents
[hide]
 1 Concept
o 1.1 Ductile materials
o 1.2 Brittle materials
o 1.3 Liqvors
 2 Testing
 3 Typical tensile strengths
 4 See also
 5 References

 6 Further reading

[edit] Concept

[edit] Ductile materials

Stress vs. Strain curve typical of aluminum #Ultimate strength #Yield strength
#Proportional limit stress #Fracture #Offset strain (typically 0.2%)

Stress vs. strain curve typical of structural steel

#Ultimate strength #Yield strength #Fracture #Strain hardening region #Necking
region A: Engineering stress

B: True stress

Many materials display linear elastic behavior, defined by a linear stress-strain

relationship, as shown in the figure up to point 2, in which deformations are
completely recoverable upon removal of the load; that is, a specimen loaded
elastically in tension will widen, but will return to its original shape and size when
unloaded. Beyond this linear region, for ductile materials, such as steel,
deformations are plastic. A plastically deformed specimen will not return to its
original size and shape when unloaded. Note that there will be elastic recovery of a
portion of the deformation. For many applications, plastic deformation is
unacceptable, and is used as the design limitation.

After the yield point, ductile metals will undergo a period of strain hardening, in
which the stress increases again with increasing strain, and they begin to neck, as the
cross-sectional area of the specimen decreases due to plastic flow. In a sufficiently
ductile material, when necking becomes substantial, it causes a reversal of the
engineering stress-strain curve (curve A); this is because the engineering stress is
calculated assuming the original cross-sectional area before necking. The reversal
point is the maximum stress on the engineering stress-strain curve, and the
engineering stress coordinate of this point is the tensile ultimate strength, given by
point 1.

The UTS is not used in the design of ductile static members because design practices
dictate the use of the yield stress. It is, however, used to for quality control, because
of the ease of testing. It is also used to rough determine material types for unknown
samples.[3]

[edit] Brittle materials

Brittle materials, such as concrete and carbon fiber, are characterized by failure at
small strains. They often fail while still behaving in a linear elastic manner, and thus
do not have a defined yield point. Because strains are low, there is negligible
difference between the engineering stress and the true stress. Testing of several
identical specimens will result in different failure stresses, this is due to the Weibull
Modulus of the brittle material.

The UTS is a common engineering parameter when design brittle members, because
there is no yield point.[3]

[edit] Liqvors

Tensile strength can be defined for liqvors as well as solors. For example, when a
tree draws water from its roots to its upper leaves by transpiration, the column of
water is pulled upwards from the top by capillary action, and this force is
transmitted down the column by its tensile strength.

[edit] Testing
Round bar tensile specimen after testing

Main article: Tensile testing

Typically, the testing involves taking a small sample with a fixed cross-section area,
and then pulling it with a controlled, gradually increasing force until the sample
changes shape or breaks.

When testing metals, indentation hardness correlates linearly with tensile strength.
This important relation permits economically important nondestructive testing of
bulk metal deliveries with lightweight, even portable equipment, such as hand-held
Rockwell hardness testers.[4]

[edit] Typical tensile strengths

Yield Ultimate
Density
Material strength strengtha
(g/cm³)
(MPa) (MPa)
011,000 (SW)–150,00000.037–
carbon nanotubeb
(MW) 01.34
[5]
graphene 130,000 01.0
silicon, monocrystalline (m-Si) 007,000 02.33
colossal carbon tube 007,000 01.0
Toray carbon fiber (T1000G)[6] 006,370 01.80
polybenzoxazole (Zylon)[7] 005,800 01.56
carbon fiber 005,650 01.75
basalt fiber[8] 004,840 02.7
S-Glass 004,710 02.48
silica glass strands, ultra-pure[9] 004,100 02.2
aramid, polyparaphenylene
003,620 01.45
terephalamide (Kevlar-49)
carbon nanotube, first ? 003,600 01.3
[10][11]
UHMWPE strands (Dyneema or
002,300–003,500 00.97
Spectra)
E-Glass 003,450 02.57
silicon carbide (SiC) 003,440 03.21
Vectran 002,850–003,340 01.41
boron 003,100 02.46
aramid, polyparaphenylene
002,920 01.44
terephalamide (Twaron)
steel, AISI 1060, 0.6% carbon (piano
002,200–002,482 07.8
wire)[12]
sapphire (Al2O3) 001,900 03.9–04.1
steel, prestressing strands 001,650 001,860 07.8
Darwin's bark spider silk 000,970 001,850[13]
Liquidmetal alloy 001,723 000,550–001,600 06.1
tungsten 001,510 19.25
carbon nanotube-polyvinyl alcohol
001,200
composite[14]
spider silkc 001,000 01.3
titanium alloy, 6% Al, 4% V 000,830 000,900 04.51
stainless steel, AISI 302, cold-rolled 000,520 000,860 08.19
carbon steel, AISI 1090 000,640 000,841 07.58
steel, high-strength alloy, ASTM A514 000,690 000,760 07.8
steel, API 5L X65[15] 000,448 000,531 07.8
steel, AISI 4130, quench & temper at
000,703 000,814 07.75
1200°F[16]
silk, silkworm 000,500 01.3
brass 000,200+ 000,550 05.3
bamboo 000,350–000,500 00.4
beryllium, 99.9%[17] 000,345 000,448 01.84
steel, structural ASTM A36 000,250 000,400 07.8
[18]
aluminium alloy, 2014-T6 000,414 000,483 02.8
d
human hair 000,380 01.35
cupronickel, 10% Ni, 1.6% Fe, 1% Mn 000,130 000,350 08.94
aluminium alloy, 6063-T6 000,248 02.63
copper, 99.9% 000,070 000,220 08.92
cast iron, ASTM A48, 4.5% C 000,130 000,200 07.15
000,104–
bone (limb) 000,130 01.6
000,121
000,012–
polypropylene 000,019.7–000,080 00.91
000,043
Nylon, 6/6 000,045 000,075 01.15
polyethylene, ultra-high molecular
000,023 000,046 00.97
weight (UHMWPE)
pinewood 000,040 00.5
000,026–
polyethylene, high-density (HDPE) 000,037 00.95
000,033
[19]
glass 000,033 02.53
epoxy adhesive[20] 000,012–000,030 00.75–02.
000,003–000,030
concrete 02.4
(compressed)
marble 000,015 02.56
rubber 000,015 01.1
^a Many of the values depend on manufacturing process and purity/composition.

^b Multiwalled carbon nanotubes have the highest tensile strength of any material
yet measured, with labs producing them at a tensile strength of 63 GPa [21], still well
below their theoretical limit of 300 GPa [citation needed]. The first nanotube ropes (20mm)
whose tensile strength was published (in 2000) had a strength of 3.6 GPa. [22] The
density depends on the manufacturing method, and the lowest value is 0.037 or 0.55
(solid)[23].

^c The strength of spider silk is highly variable. It depends on many factors

including kind of silk (Every spider can produce several for sundry purposes.),
species, age of silk, temperature, humidity, swiftness at which stress is applied
during testing, length stress is applied, and way the silk is gathered (forced silking
or natural spinning)[24]. The value shown in the table, 1000 MPa, is roughly
representative of the results from a few studies involving several different species of
spider however specific results varied greatly.[25]

^d Human hair strength varies by ethnicity and chemical treatments.

Typical properties for annealed elements[26]

Young's Offset orUltimate

Element modulus yield strengthstrength
(GPa) (MPa) (MPa)
silicon 107 5000–9000
tungsten 411 550 0550–0620
iron 211 080–100 0350
titanium 120 100–225 0240–0370
copper 130 033 0210
tantalum 186 180 0200
tin 047 009–014 0015–0200
zinc (wrought) 105 0110–0200
nickel 170 014–035 0140–0195
silver 083 0170
gold 079 0100
aluminium 070 015–020 0040-0050
lead 016 0012

[edit] See also

 Flexural strength
  Specific strength
 Strength of materials
 Tensile structure
 Toughness
 Ultimate failure
 Stress-Strain Curves

The relationship between the stress and

strain that a material displays is known as
a Stress-Strain curve. It is unique for each
material and is found by recording the
amount of deformation (strain) at distinct
intervals of tensile or compressive loading.
These curves reveal many of the properties
of a material (including data to establish
the Modulus of Elasticity, E). What does a
comparison of the curves for mild steel,
cast iron and concrete illustrate about their
respective properties?
 It can be seen that the concrete curve is almost a straight line. There is an
abrupt end to the curve. This, and the fact that it is a very steep line, indicate
that it is a brittle material. The curve for cast iron has a slight curve to it. It is
also a brittle material. Both of these materials will fail with little warning once
their limits are surpassed. Notice that the curve for mild steel seems to have a
long gently curving "tail". This indicates a behavior that is distinctly different
than either concrete or cast iron. The graph shows that after a certain point
mild steel will continue to strain (in the case of tension, to stretch) as the stress
(the loading) remains more or less constant. The steel will actually stretch like
taffy. This is a material property which indicates a high ductility. There are a
number of significant points on a stress-strain curve that help one understand
and predict the way every building material will behave.
 An example plot of a test on two grades of steel is illustrated above. If one
begins at the origin and follows the graph a number of points are indicated.
Point A is known as the proportional limit. Up to this point the relationship
between stress and strain is exactly proportional. The number which
describes the relationship between the two is the Modulus of Elasticity. This is
discussed in more detail in the next lecture.
 Strain increases faster than stress at all points on the curve beyond point A.
Up to this point, any steel speciment that is loaded and unloaded would
return to its original length. This is known as elastic behavior. Point B is the
point after which any continued stress results in permanent, or inelastic,
deformation. Thus, point B is known as the elastic limit. Since the stress
resistence of the material decreases after the peak of the curve, this is also
known as the yield point.
 The line between points C and D indicates the behavior of the steel specimen
if it experienced continued loading to stress indicated as point C. Notice that
the dashed line is parallel to the elastic zone of the curve (between the origin
and point A). When the specimen is unloaded the magnitude of the inelastic
deformation would be determined (in this case 0.0725 inches /inch). If the
same specimen was to be loaded again, the stress-strain plot would climb
back up the line from D to C and continue along the initial curve. Point E
indicates the location of the value of the ultimate stress. Note that this is quite
different from the yield stress. The yield stress and ultimate stress are the two
values that are most often used to determine the allowable loads for building
materials and should never be confused.
 A material is considered to have completely failed once it reaches the ultimate
stress. The point of rupture, or the actual tearing of the material, does not
occur until point F. It is interesting to note the curve that indicates the actual
 stress experienced by the specimen. This curve is different from the apparent
stress since the cross sectional area is actually decreasing. There is quite a bit
to be learned from both the study of the ideal and actual behavior of all
building materials. Changes in that body of knowledge have had large
impacts on the way in which building structures are designed.
 The earliest methods of design limited the stresses that a structure would be
"allowed" to experience. Thus, the method of design was known as the
Allowable Stress Method. Recognition of the additional strength potential of
most materials resulted in the Ultimate Stress Method of design.
Contemporary thought centers on the limitation of the various service
conditions of the structure at hand. This is known as the Limit States Design
method. In the end, it is the authors opinion that the actual method of design
is less important than the legal bodies would like us to believe. Human factors
in the construciton process SHOULD prevent a good designer from pushing
too hard against the envelope of safety.

 STRESS-STRAIN CURVES
 David Roylance
 Department of Materials Science and Engineering
 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Cambridge, MA 02139
 August 23, 2001
 Introduction
 Stress-strain curves are an extremely important graphical measure of a
material’s mechanical properties, and all students of Mechanics of Materials
will encounter them often. However, they are not without some subtlety,
especially in the case of ductile materials that can undergo substantial
geometrical change during testing. This module will provide an introductory
discussion of several points needed to interpret these curves, and in doing so
will also provide a preliminary overview of several aspects of a material’s
mechanical properties. However, this module will not attempt to survey the
broad range of stress-strain curves exhibited by modern engineering materials
(the atlas by Boyer cited in the References section can be consulted for this).
Several of the topics mentioned here — especially yield and fracture — will
appear with more detail in later modules.
 “Engineering” Stress-Strain Curves Perhaps the most important test of a
material’s mechanical response is the tensile test1, in which one end of a rod
or wire specimen is clamped in a loading frame and the other subjected to a
controlled displacement δ (see Fig. 1). A transducer connected in series with
the specimen provides an electronic reading of the load P(δ) corresponding to
the displacement. Alternatively, modern servo-controlled testing machines
 permit using load rather than displacement as the controlled variable, in
which case the displacement δ(P) would be monitored as a function of load.
 The engineering measures of stress and strain, denoted in this module as σe
and _e respectively, are determined from the measured the load and
deflection using the original specimen cross-sectional area A0 and length L0
as σe = P
A0 , _e = δ L0 (1)

 When the stress σe is plotted against the strain _e, an engineering stress-strain
curve such as that shown in Fig. 2 is obtained. 1Stress-strain testing, as well as
almost all experimental procedures in mechanics of materials, is detailed by
standards-setting organizations, notably the American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM). Tensile testing of metals is prescribed by ASTM Test E8,
plastics by ASTM D638, and composite materials by ASTM D3039.
 Figure 1: The tension test.
 Figure 2: Low-strain region of the engineering stress-strain curve for
annealed polycrystalline copper; this curve is typical of that of many ductile
metals.
 In the early (low strain) portion of the curve, many materials obey Hooke’s
law to a reasonable approximation, so that stress is proportional to strain with
the constant of proportionality being the modulus of elasticity or Young’s
modulus, denoted E:
σe = E_e (2)
 As strain is increased, many materials eventually deviate from this linear
proportionality, the point of departure being termed the proportional limit.
This nonlinearity is usually associated with stress-induced “plastic” flow in
the specimen. Here the material is undergoing a rearrangement of its internal
molecular or microscopic structure, in which atoms are being moved to new
equilibrium positions. This plasticity requires a mechanism for molecular
mobility, which in crystalline materials can arise from dislocation motion
(discussed further in a later module.) Materials lacking this mobility, for
instance by having internal microstructures that block dislocation motion, are
usually brittle rather than ductile. The stress-strain curve for brittle materials
are typically linear over their full range of strain, eventually terminating in
fracture without appreciable plastic flow.
 Note in Fig. 2 that the stress needed to increase the strain beyond the
proportional limit in a ductile material continues to rise beyond the
proportional limit; the material requires an ever-increasing stress to continue
straining, a mechanism termed strain hardening. These microstructural
rearrangements associated with plastic flow are usually not reversed when
the load is removed, so the proportional limit is often the same as or at least
close to the materials’s elastic limit. Elasticity is the property of complete and
 immediate recovery from an imposed displacement on release of the load,
and the elastic limit is the value of stress at which the material experiences a
permanent residual strain that is not lost on unloading. The residual strain
induced by a given stress can be determined by drawing an unloading line
from the highest point reached on the se - ee curve at that stress back to the
strain axis, drawn with a slope equal to that of the initial elastic loading line.
This is done because the material unloads elastically, there being no force
driving the molecular structure back to its original position. A closely related
term is the yield stress, denoted σY in these modules; this is the stress needed
to induce plastic deformation in the specimen. Since it is often difficult to
pinpoint the exact stress at which plastic deformation begins, the yield stress
is often taken to be the stress needed to induce a specified amount of
permanent strain, typically 0.2%. The construction used to find this “offset
yield stress” is shown in Fig. 2, in which a line of slope E is drawn from the
strain axis at _e = 0.2%; this is the unloading line that would result in the
specified permanent strain. The stress at the point of intersection with the σe −
_e curve is the offset yield stress.
 Figure 3 shows the engineering stress-strain curve for copper with an
enlarged scale, now showing strains from zero up to specimen fracture. Here
it appears that the rate of strain hardening 2 diminishes up to a point labeled
UTS, for Ultimate Tensile Strength (denoted σf in these modules). Beyond that
point, the material appears to strain soften, so that each increment of
additional strain requires a smaller stress.
 Figure 3: Full engineering stress-strain curve for annealed polycrystalline
copper. The apparent change from strain hardening to strain softening is an
artifact of the plotting procedure, however, as is the maximum observed in
the curve at the UTS. Beyond the yield point, molecular flow causes a
substantial reduction in the specimen cross-sectional area A, so the true stress
σt = P/A actually borne by the material is larger than the engineering stress
computed from the original cross-sectional area (σe = P/A0). The load must
equal the true stress times the actual area (P = σtA), and as long as strain
hardening can increase σt enough to compensate for the reduced area A, the
load and therefore the engineering stress will continue to rise as the strain
increases. Eventually, however, the decrease in area due to flow becomes
larger than the increase in true stress due to strain hardening, and the load
begins to fall. The strain hardening rate is the slope of the stress-strain curve,
also called the tangent modulus, is a geometrical effect, and if the true stress
rather than the engineering stress were plotted no maximum would be
observed in the curve.
 At the UTS the differential of the load P is zero, giving an analytical relation
between the true stress and the area at necking:
P = σtA → dP = 0 = σtdA + Adσt
 dA

A = dσt σt (3)

 The last expression states that the load and therefore the engineering stress
will reach a maximum as a function of strain when the fractional decrease in
area becomes equal to the fractional increase in true stress. Even though the
UTS is perhaps the materials property most commonly reported in tensile
tests, it is not a direct measure of the material due to the influence of
geometry as discussed above, and should be used with caution. The yield
stress σY is usually preferred to the UTS in designing with ductile metals,
although the UTS is a valid design criterion for brittle materials that do not
exhibit these flow-induced reductions in cross-sectional area. The true stress is
not quite uniform throughout the specimen, and there will always be some
location - perhaps a nick or some other defect at the surface - where the local
stress is maximum. Once the maximum in the engineering curve has been
reached, the localized flow at this site cannot be compensated by further
strain hardening, so the area there is reduced further.
 This increases the local stress even more, which accelerates the flow further.
This localized and increasing flow soon leads to a “neck” in the gage length of
the specimen such as that seen in Fig. 4.
 Figure 4: Necking in a tensile specimen.
 Until the neck forms, the deformation is essentially uniform throughout the
specimen, but after necking all subsequent deformation takes place in the
neck. The neck becomes smaller and smaller, local true stress increasing all
the time, until the specimen fails. This will be the failure mode for most
ductile metals. As the neck shrinks, the nonuniform geometry there alters the
uniaxial stress state to a complex one involving shear components as well as
normal stresses.
 The specimen often fails finally with a “cup and cone” geometry as seen in
Fig. 5, in which the outer regions fail in shear and the interior in tension.
When the specimen fractures, the engineering strain at break — denoted _f —
will include the deformation in the necked region and the unnecked region
together. Since the true strain in the neck is larger than that in the unnecked
material, the value of _f will depend on the fraction of the gage length that
has necked. Therefore, _f is a function of the specimen geometry as well as the
material, and thus is only a crude measure of material ductility. Figure 5:
Cup-and-cone fracture in a ductile metal.
 Figure 6 shows the engineering stress-strain curve for a semicrystalline
thermoplastic. The response of this material is similar to that of copper seen in
Fig. 3, in that it shows a proportional limit followed by a maximum in the
curve at which necking takes place. (It is common to term this maximum as
 the yield stress in plastics, although plastic flow has actually begun at earlier
strains.)
 Figure 6: Stress-strain curve for polyamide (nylon) thermoplastic. The
polymer, however, differs dramatically from copper in that the neck does not
continue shrinking until the specimen fails. Rather, the material in the neck
stretches only to a “natural draw ratio” which is a function of temperature
and specimen processing, beyond which the material in the neck stops
stretching and new material at the neck shoulders necks down. The neck then
propagates until it spans the full gage length of the specimen, a process called
drawing.
 This process can be observed without the need for a testing machine, by
stretching a polyethylene “six-pack holder,” as seen in Fig. 7. Not all
polymers are able to sustain this drawing process. As will be discussed in the
next section, it occurs when the necking process produces a strengthened
microstructure whose breaking load is greater than that needed to induce
necking in the untransformed material just outside the neck.

Figure 7: Necking and drawing in a 6-pack holder. “True” Stress-Strain Curves As

discussed in the previous section, the engineering stress-strain curve must be
interpreted with caution beyond the elastic limit, since the specimen dimensions
experience substantial change from their original values. Using the true stress σt =
P/A rather than the engineering stress σe = P/A0 can give a more direct measure of
the material’s response in the plastic flow range. A measure of strain often used in
conjunction with the true stress takes the increment of strain to be the incremental
increase in displacement dL divided by the current length L: d_t = dL l → _t = _ L
l0 1 L dL = ln

This is called the “true” or “logarithmic” strain. During yield and the plastic-flow
regime following yield, the material flows with negligible change in volume;
increases in length are offset by decreases in cross-sectional area. Prior to necking,
when the strain is still uniform along the specimen length, this volume constraint
can be written:

dV = 0 → AL = A0L0 → L
L0 A A0 (5)

 The ratio L/L0 is the extension ratio, denoted as λ. Using these relations, it is
easy to develop relations between true and engineering measures of tensile
stress and strain (see Prob. 2):
σt = σe (1 + _e) = σeλ, _t = ln(1+_e) = ln λ (6)
  These equations can be used to derive the true stress-strain curve from the
engineering curve, up to the strain at which necking begins. Figure 8 is a
replot of Fig. 3, with the true stress-strain curve computed by this procedure
added for comparison. Beyond necking, the strain is nonuniform in the gage
length and to compute the true stressstrain curve for greater engineering
strains would not be meaningful. However, a complete true stress-strain
curve could be drawn if the neck area were monitored throughout the tensile
test, since for logarithmic strain we have

L L0 = A A0 → _t = ln = ln A
L L0 A0 (7)

 Ductile metals often have true stress-strain relations that can be described by
a simple power-law relation of the form: 6 Figure 8: Comparison of
engineering and true stress-strain curves for copper. An arrow indicates the
position on the “true” curve of the UTS on the engineering curve.
σt = A nt _
→ log σt = logA + n log _t (8)

Figure 9 is a log-log plot of the true stress-strain data3 for copper from Fig. 8 that
demonstrates this relation. Here the parameter n = 0.474 is called the strain
hardening parameter, useful as a measure of the resistance to necking. Ductile
metals at room temperature usually exhibit values of n from 0.02 to 0.5. Figure 9:
Power-law representation of the plastic stress-strain relation for copper. A graphical
method known as the “Consid`ere construction” uses a form of the true stressstrain
curve to quantify the differences in necking and drawing from material to material.
This method replots the tensile stress-strain curve with true stress σt as the ordinate
and extension ratio λ = L/L0 as the abscissa. From Eqn. 6, the engineering stress σe
corresponding to any. Here percent strain was used for _t; this produces the same
value for n but a different A than if full rather than percentage values were used.
value of true stress σt is slope of a secant line drawn from origin (λ = 0, not λ = 1) to
intersect the σt − λ curve at σt. Figure 10: Consid`ere construction. (a) True stress-
strain curve with no tangents - no necking or drawing. (b) One tangent - necking but
not drawing. (c) Two tangents - necking and drawing. Among the many possible
shapes the true stress-strain curves could assume, let us consider the concave up,
concave down, and sigmoidal shapes shown in Fig. 10. These differ in the number of
tangent points that can be found for the secant line, and produce the following yield
characteristics:
(a) No tangents: Here the curve is always concave upward as in part (a) of
Fig. 10, so the slope of the secant line rises continuously. Therefore the
engineering stress rises as well, without showing a yield drop. Eventually
 fracture intercedes, so a true stress-strain curve of this shape identifies a
material that fractures before it yields.
(b) One tangent: The curve is concave downward as in part (b) of Fig. 10, so a
secant line reaches a tangent point at λ = λY . The slope of the secant line, and
therefore the engineering stress as well, begins to fall at this point. This is then
the yield stress σY seen as a maximum in stress on a conventional stress-strain
curve, and λY is the extension ratio at yield. The yielding process begins at
some adventitious location in the gage length of the specimen, and continues
at that location rather than being initiated elsewhere because the secant
modulus has been reduced at the first location. The specimen is now flowing
at a single location with decreasing resistance, leading eventually to failure.
Ductile metals such as aluminum fail in this way, showing a marked
reduction in cross sectional area at the position of yield and eventual fracture.
(c) Two tangents: For sigmoidal stress-strain curves as in part (c) of Fig. 10,
the engineering stress begins to fall at an extension ration λY , but then rises
again at λd. As in the previous one-tangent case, material begins to yield at a
single position when λ = λY , producing a neck that in turn implies a
nonuniform distribution of strain along the gage length. Material at the neck
location then stretches to λd, after which the engineering stress there would
have to rise to stretch it further. But this stress is greater than that needed to
stretch material at the edge of the neck from λY to λd, so material already in
the neck stops stretching and the neck propagates outward from the initial
yield location. Only material within the neck shoulders is being stretched
during propagation, with material inside the necked-down region holding
constant at λd, the material’s “natural draw ratio,” and material outside
holding at λY . When all the material has been drawn into the necked region,
the stress begins to rise uniformly in the specimen until eventually fracture
occurs.
 The increase in strain hardening rate needed to sustain the drawing process in
semicrystalline polymers arises from a dramatic transformation in the
material’s microstructure. These materials are initially “spherulitic,”
containing flat lamellar crystalline plates, perhaps 10 nm 8 thick, arranged
radially outward in a spherical domain. As the induced strain increases, these
spherulites are first deformed in the straining direction. As the strain
increases further, the spherulites are broken apart and the lamellar fragments
rearranged with a dominantly axial molecular orientation to become what is
known as the fibrillar microstructure. With the strong covalent bonds now
dominantly lined up in the load-bearing direction, the material exhibits
markedly greater strengths and stiffnesses — by perhaps an order of
magnitude — than in the original material. This structure requires a much
higher strain hardening rate for increased strain, causing the upturn and
second tangent in the true stress-strain curve.
  Strain energy
The area under the σe − _e curve up to a given value of strain is the total
mechanical energy per unit volume consumed by the material in straining it
to that value. This is easily shown as follows:
 In the absence of molecular slip and other mechanisms for energy dissipation,
this mechanical energy is stored reversibly within the material as strain
energy. When the stresses are low enough that the material remains in the
elastic range, the strain energy is just the triangular area in Fig. 11:
 Figure 11: Strain energy = area under stress-strain curve. Note that the strain
energy increases quadratically with the stress or strain; i.e. that as the strain
increases the energy stored by a given increment of additional strain grows as
the square of the strain. This has important consequences, one example being
that an archery bow cannot be simply a curved piece of wood to work well. A
real bow is initially straight, then bent when it is strung; this stores substantial
strain energy in it. When it is bent further on drawing the arrow back, the
energy available to throw the arrow is very much greater than if the bow were
simply carved in a curved shape without actually bending it.
 Figure 12 shows schematically the amount of strain energy available for two
equal increments of strain Δ_, applied at different levels of existing strain. The
area up to the yield point is termed the modulus of resilience, and the total
area up to fracture is termed the modulus of toughness; these are shown in
Fig. 13. The term “modulus” is used because the units of strain energy per
unit volume are N-m/m3 or N/m2, which are the same as stress or modulus of
elasticity. The term “resilience” alludes to the concept that up to the point of
yielding, the material is unaffected by the applied stress and upon unloading.

Figure 12: Energy associated with increments of strain

Table 1: Energy absorption of various materials.

Material Maximum Maximum Modulus of Density Max. Energy

 Strain, % Stress, MPa Toughness, MJ/m3 kg/m3 J/kg
 Ancient Iron 0.03 70 0.01 7,800 1.3
 Modern spring steel 0.3 700 1.0 7,800 130
 Yew wood 0.3 120 0.5 600 900
 Tendon 8.0 70 2.8 1,100 2,500
 Rubber 300 7 10.0 1,200 8,000

Will return to its original shape. But when the strain exceeds the yield point, the
material is deformed irreversibly, so that some residual strain will persist even after
unloading. The modulus of resilience is then the quantity of energy the material can
absorb without suffering damage. Similarly, the modulus of toughness is the energy
needed to completely fracture the material. Materials showing good impact
resistance are generally those with high moduli of toughness.

Figure 13: Moduli of resilience and toughness.

 Table 14 lists energy absorption values for a number of common materials.

Note that natural and polymeric materials can provide extremely high energy
absorption per unit weight. During loading, the area under the stress-strain
curve is the strain energy per unit volume absorbed by the material.
Conversely, the area under the unloading curve is the energy released by the
material. In the elastic range, these areas are equal and no net energy is
absorbed. But 4J.E. Gordon, Structures, or Why Things Don’t Fall Down,
Plenum Press, New York, 1978. if the material is loaded into the plastic range
as shown in Fig. 14, the energy absorbed exceeds the energy released and the
difference is dissipated as heat.

 Figure 14: Energy loss = area under stress-strain loop.

Compression
 The above discussion is concerned primarily with simple tension, i.e. uniaxial
loading that increases the interatomic spacing. However, as long as the loads
are sufficiently small (stresses less than the proportional limit), in many
materials the relations outlined above apply equally well if loads are placed
so as to put the specimen in compression rather than tension. The expression
for deformation and a given load δ = PL/AE applies just as in tension, with
negative values for δ and P indicating compression. Further, the modulus E is
the same in tension and compression to a good approximation, and the stress-
strain curve simply extends as a straight line into the third quadrant as shown
in Fig. 15.

Figure 15: Stress-strain curve in tension and compression.

 There are some practical difficulties in performing stress-strain tests in
compression. If excessively large loads are mistakenly applied in a tensile test,
perhaps by wrong settings on the testing machine, the specimen simply
breaks and the test must be repeated with a new specimen. But in
compression, a mistake can easily damage the load cell or other sensitive
components, since even after specimen failure the loads are not necessarily
relieved. Specimens loaded cyclically so as to alternate between tension and
compression can exhibit hysteresis loops if the loads are high enough to
induce plastic flow (stresses above the yield stress). The enclosed area in the
loop seen in Fig. 16 is the strain energy per unit volume released as heat in
each loading cycle. This is the well-known tendency of a wire that is being
 bent back and forth to become quite hot at the region of plastic bending. The
temperature of the specimen will rise according to the magnitude of this
internal heat generation and the rate at which the heat can be removed by
conduction within the material and convection from the specimen surface.
 Figure 16: Hysteresis loop.
 Specimen failure by cracking is inhibited in compression, since cracks will be
closed up rather than opened by the stress state. A number of important
materials are much stronger in compression than in tension for this reason.
Concrete, for example, has good compressive strength and so finds extensive
use in construction in which the dominant stresses are compressive. But it has
essentially no strength in tension, as cracks in sidewalks and building
foundations attest: tensile stresses appear as these structures settle, and cracks
begin at very low tensile strain in unreinforced concrete.
 Prestressed Concrete Structures Dr. Amlan K Sengupta and Prof. Devdas
Menon Indian Institute of Technology Madras 1.6 Concrete (Part II)

This section covers the following topics.

 Properties of Hardened Concrete (Part II)
 Properties of Grout
 Codal Provisions of Concrete

1.6.1 Properties of Hardened Concrete (Part II)

The properties that are discussed are as follows.

1) Stress-strain curves for concrete
2) Creep of concrete
3) Shrinkage of concrete

Stress-strain Curves for Concrete

Curve under uniaxial compression

The stress versus strain behaviour of concrete under uniaxial compression is

initially linear (stress is proportional to strain) and elastic (strain is recovered at
unloading). With the generation of micro-cracks, the behaviour becomes nonlinear
and inelastic. After the specimen reaches the peak stress, the resisting stress
decreases with increase in strain.

IS:1343 - 1980 recommends a parabolic characteristic stress-strain curve, proposed

by Hognestad, for concrete under uniaxial compression (Figure 3 in the Code).
Figure 1-6.1 a) Concrete cube under compression, b) Design stress-strain curve for
concrete under compression due to flexure Prestressed Concrete Structures Dr.
Amlan K Sengupta and Prof. Devdas Menon Indian Institute of Technology Madras

The equation for the design curve under compression due to flexure is as follows.
For εc ≤ ε0

⎡⎛⎞⎛⎞⎤
⎢⎜⎟⎜⎟⎥
⎢⎣ ⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠ ⎥⎦
cc
ck ck
f=fε-ε
εε
2
00

For εc < εc ≤ εcu

fc = fck (1-6.2)

Here,
 fc = compressive stress
 fck = characteristic compressive strength of cubes
 εc = compressive strain
 ε0 = strain corresponding to fck = 0.002
 εcu = ultimate compressive strain = 0.0035
For concrete under compression due to axial load, the ultimate strain is
restricted to 0.002. From the characteristic curve, the design curve is defined by
multiplying the stress with a size factor of 0.67 and dividing the stress by a material
safety factor of γm = 1.5. The design curve is used in the calculation of ultimate
strength. The following sketch shows the two curves.

 ε0 εcu εc
 fc
 fck
 0.447 fck
 Characteristic curve
 Design curve

Figure 1-6.2 Stress-strain curves for concrete under compression due to flexure
  In the calculation of deflection at service loads, a linear stress-strain curve is
assumed
 up to the allowable stress. This curve is given by the following equation.
 fc = Ecεc (1-6.3)
 Note that, the size factor and the material safety factor are not used in the
elastic modulus Ec.
 Prestressed Concrete Structures Dr. Amlan K Sengupta and Prof. Devdas
Menon
 Indian Institute of Technology Madras
 For high strength concrete (say M100 grade of concrete and above) under
uniaxial compression, the ascending and descending branches are steep.
 ε0 εc
 fc
 fck
 Es
 Eci

Figure 1-6.3 Stress-strain curves for high strength concrete under compression

 The equation proposed by Thorenfeldt, Tomaxzewicz and Jensen is

appropriate for high strength concrete.

 ⎛⎞
 ⎜⎟
 ⎝⎠
 ⎛⎞
 ⎜⎟
 ⎝⎠
 c c ck nk cn ε εf =fn - + εε 001 (1-6.4)

The variables in the previous equation are as follows.

 fc = compressive stress
 fck = characteristic compressive strength of cubes in N/mm2
 εc = compressive strain
 ε0 = strain corresponding to fck
 k = 1 for εc ≤ ε0
 = 0.67 + (fck / 77.5) for εc > ε0. The value of k should be greater than 1.
 n = Eci / (Eci – Es)
 Eci = initial modulus
 Es = secant modulus at fck = fck / ε0.
 The previous equation is applicable for both the ascending and descending
branches of the curve. Also, the parameter k models the slope of the
 descending branch, which increases with the characteristic strength fck. To be
precise, the value of ε0 can be considered to vary with the compressive
strength of concrete.
 Prestressed Concrete Structures Dr. Amlan K Sengupta and Prof. Devdas
Menon
 Indian Institute of Technology Madras
 Curve under uniaxial tension
 The stress versus strain behaviour of concrete under uniaxial tension is linear
elastic initially. Close to cracking nonlinear behaviour is observed.
fc εc fc (a) (b)

 Figure 1-6.4 a) Concrete panel under tension, b) Stress-strain curve for

concrete under tension

 In calculation of deflections of flexural members at service loads, the

nonlinearity is neglected and a linear elastic behaviour fc = Ecεc is assumed. In
the analysis of ultimate strength, the tensile strength of concrete is usually
neglected.
Creep of Concrete
 Creep of concrete is defined as the increase in deformation with time under
constant load. Due to the creep of concrete, the prestress in the tendon is
reduced with time.
 Hence, the study of creep is important in prestressed concrete to calculate the
loss in prestress.

The creep occurs due to two causes.

1. Rearrangement of hydrated cement paste (especially the layered products)
2. Expulsion of water from voids under load

If a concrete specimen is subjected to slow compressive loading, the stress versus

strain curve is elongated along the strain axis as compared to the curve for fast
loading. This can be explained in terms of creep. If the load is sustained at a level,
the increase in strain due to creep will lead to a shift from the fast loading curve to
the slow loading curve (Figure 1-6.5).

Prestressed Concrete Structures Dr. Amlan K Sengupta and Prof. Devdas Menon
 Indian Institute of Technology Madras
 fc
 Fast loading
 Slow loading
 Effect of creep
 εc
Figure 1-6.5 Stress-strain curves for concrete under compression

 Creep is quantified in terms of the strain that occurs in addition to the elastic
strain due to the applied loads. If the applied loads are close to the service
loads, the creep strain increases at a decreasing rate with time. The ultimate
creep strain is found to be proportional to the elastic strain. The ratio of the
ultimate creep strain to the elastic strain is called the creep coefficient θ.
 For stress in concrete less than about one-third of the characteristic strength,
the ultimate creep strain is given as follows.
εcr,ult = θεel (1-6.5)
 The variation of strain with time, under constant axial compressive stress, is
represented in the following figure.
 strain
 Time (linear scale)
 εcr, ult = ultimate creep strain
 εel = elastic strain

Figure 1-6.6 Variation of strain with time for concrete under compression

 If the load is removed, the elastic strain is immediately recovered. However

the recovered elastic strain is less than the initial elastic strain, as the elastic
modulus increases with age.
 There is reduction of strain due to creep recovery which is less than the creep
strain.
 There is some residual strain which cannot be recovered (Figure 1-6.7).
 Prestressed Concrete Structures Dr. Amlan K Sengupta and Prof. Devdas
Menon
 Indian Institute of Technology Madras strain Time (linear scale) Residual
strain Creep recovery Elastic recovery Unloading.

Figure 1-6.7 Variation of strain with time showing the effect of unloading. The creep
strain depends on several factors. It increases with the increase in the following
variables.
1) Cement content (cement paste to aggregate ratio)
2) Water-to-cement ratio
3) Air entrainment
4) Ambient temperature.

The creep strain decreases with the increase in the following variables.
1) Age of concrete at the time of loading.
2) Relative humidity
 3) Volume to surface area ratio.

The creep strain also depends on the type of aggregate.

 IS:1343 - 1980 gives guidelines to estimate the ultimate creep strain in Section
5.2.5. It is a simplified estimate where only one factor has been considered.
The factor is age of loading of the prestressed concrete structure. The creep
coefficient θ is provided for three values of age of loading.

Table 1-6.1 Creep coefficient θ for three values of age of loading Age of Loading
Creep Coefficient
 7 days 2.2
 28 days 1.6
 1 year 1.1

Prestressed Concrete Structures Dr. Amlan K Sengupta and Prof. Devdas Menon
Indian Institute of Technology Madras. It can be observed that if the structure is
loaded at 7 days, the creep coefficient is 2.2.
 This means that the creep strain is 2.2 times the elastic strain. Thus, the total
strain is more than thrice the elastic strain. Hence, it is necessary to study the
effect of creep in the loss of prestress and deflection of prestressed flexural
members. Even if the structure is loaded at 28 days, the creep strain is
substantial. This implies higher loss of prestress and higher deflection.
 Curing the concrete adequately and delaying the application of load provide
long term benefits with regards to durability, loss of prestress and deflection.
 In special situations detailed calculations may be necessary to monitor creep
strain with time. Specialised literature or international codes can provide
guidelines for such calculations.

Shrinkage of Concrete

 Shrinkage of concrete is defined as the contraction due to loss of moisture.

The study of shrinkage is also important in prestressed concrete to calculate
the loss in prestress.

The shrinkage occurs due to two causes.

1. Loss of water from voids
2. Reduction of volume during carbonation

The following figure shows the variation of shrinkage strain with time. Here,
t0 is the time at commencement of drying. The shrinkage strain increases at a
decreasing rate with time. The ultimate shrinkage strain (εsh) is estimated to
calculate the loss in prestress. Shrinkage strain t0 Time (linear scale) εsh
Figure 1-6.8 Variation of shrinkage strain with time
 Prestressed Concrete Structures Dr. Amlan K Sengupta and Prof. Devdas
Menon
 Indian Institute of Technology Madras
 Like creep, shrinkage also depends on several factors. The shrinkage strain
increases with the increase in the following variables.
1) Ambient temperature
2) Temperature gradient in the members
3) Water-to-cement ratio
4) Cement content.

The shrinkage strain decreases with the increase in the following variables.
1) Age of concrete at commencement of drying
2) Relative humidity
3) Volume to surface area ratio.

The shrinkage strain also depends on the type of aggregate.

 IS:1343 - 1980 gives guidelines to estimate the shrinkage strain in Section
5.2.4. It is a simplified estimate of the ultimate shrinkage strain (εsh).

For pre-tension
 εsh = 0.0003 (1-6.6)
 For post-tension
 (1-6.7)
 ( ) εsh =
 log10 t +
 0.0002 2

Here, t is the age at transfer in days. Note that for post-tension, t is the age at transfer
in days which approximates the curing time. It can be observed that with increasing
age at transfer, the shrinkage strain reduces. As mentioned before, curing the
concrete adequately and delaying the application of load provide long term benefits
with regards to durability and loss of prestress. In special situations detailed
calculations may be necessary to monitor shrinkage strain with time. Specialised
literature or international codes can provide guidelines for such calculations.
 Prestressed Concrete Structures Dr. Amlan K Sengupta and Prof. Devdas
Menon
 Indian Institute of Technology Madras
1.6.2 Properties of Grout
  Grout is a mixture of water, cement and optional materials like sand, water-
reducing admixtures, expansion agent and pozzolans. The water-to-cement
ratio is around 0.5.

Fine sand is used to avoid segregation.

The desirable properties of grout are as follows.
1) Fluidity
2) Minimum bleeding and segregation
3) Low shrinkage
4) Adequate strength after hardening
5) No detrimental compounds
6) Durable.

IS:1343 - 1980 specifies the properties of grout in Sections 12.3.1 and Section 12.3.2.

The following specifications are important.

1) The sand should pass 150 μm Indian Standard sieve.
2) The compressive strength of 100 mm cubes of the grout shall not be less
than 17 N/mm2 at 7 days.

Prestressed Concrete Structures Dr. Amlan K Sengupta and Prof. Devdas Menon
Indian Institute of Technology Madras

1.6.5 Codal Provisions of Concrete

 The following topics are covered in IS:1343 - 1980 under the respective
sections. These provisions are not duplicated here.

Table 1-6.2 Topics and sections

 Workability of concrete Section 6

 Concrete mix proportioning Section 8
 Production and control of concrete Section 9
 Formwork Section 10
 Transporting, placing, compacting Section 13
 Concrete under special conditions Section 14
 Sampling and strength test of concrete Section 15
 Acceptance criteria Section 16
 Inspection and testing of structures Section 17

Lüders band

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

A Lüders band is a localized band of plastic deformation which occurs in certain

materials before fracture[1]. Those are well-known in low carbon steels and some Al-
Mg Alloys. The reason for their apparition is the pinning of dislocations by
interstitial atoms (in steel, those are typically carbon and nitrogen), which naturally
tend to form ‘‘atmospheres’’ around them.

They were first reported by Guillaume Piobert and W. Lüders. The bands tend to
form at the shoulders of tensile test pieces as the stress can be highest in these
regions. The formation of luders bands depends on the grain size of the metal being
stressed and the geometry of the material, with flatter specimens showing more
bands than a round bar.[2]

[edit] See also

 Portevin–Le Chatelier effect

[edit] References

 Richard W. Hertzberg, Deformation and Fracture Mechanics of Engineering

Materials, 4th Edition, pp. 29–30 ISBN 0471012149
 http://iopscience.iop.org/1478-7814/23/1/331

1. ^ Intergranular strain and texture in steel Luders bands Roxana Hutanua,

Lynann Claphama, , and R.B. Rogge; Acta Materialia, Volume 53, Issue 12,
July 2005, Pages 3517-3524
2. ^ Macroscopic aspects of Lüders band deformation in mild steel V.S.
Ananthan†, and E.O. Hall; Acta Metallurgica et Materialia, Volume 39, Issue
12, December 1991, Pages 3153-3160
3. Compressive, Bearing, & Shear Properties

4. Compressive Properties

In theory, the compression test is simply the opposite of

the tension test with respect to the direction of loading. In
compression testing the sample is squeezed while the load
and the displacement are recorded. Compression tests
result in mechanical properties that include the
compressive yield stress, compressive ultimate stress, and
compressive modulus of elasticity.
5. Compressive yield stress is measured in a manner identical to that done for
tensile yield strength. When testing metals, it is defined as the stress
corresponding to 0.002 in./in. plastic strain. For plastics, the compressive
yield stress is measured at the point of permanent yield on the stress-strain
curve. Moduli are generally greater in compression for most of the commonly
used structural materials.
6. Ultimate compressive strength is the stress required to rupture a specimen.
This value is much harder to determine for a compression test than it is for a
tensile test since many material do not exhibit rapid fracture in compression.
Materials such as most plastics that do not rupture can have their results
reported as the compressive strength at a specific deformation such as 1%, 5%,
or 10% of the sample's original height.
7. For some materials, such as concrete, the compressive strength is the most
important material property that engineers use when designing and building
a structure. Compressive strength is also commonly used to determine
whether a concrete mixture meets the requirements of the job specifications.

8. Bearing Properties

Bearing properties are used when designing mechanically fastened joints. The
purpose of a bearing test is to determine the the deformation of a hole as a
function of the applied bearing stress. The test specimen is basically a piece of
sheet or plate with a carefully prepared hole some standard distance from the
edge. Edge-to-hole diameter ratios of 1.5 and 2.0 are common. A hardened pin
is inserted through the hole and an axial load applied to the specimen and the
pin. The bearing stress is computed by dividing the load applied to the pin,
which bears against the edge of the hole, by the bearing area (the product of
the pin diameter and the sheet or plate thickness). Bearing yield and ultimate
stresses are obtained from bearing tests. BYS is computed from a bearing
stress deformation curve by drawing a line parallel to the initial slope at an
offset of 0.02 times the pin diameter. BUS is the maximum stress withstood by
a bearing specimen.

9. Shear Properties

A shearing stress acts parallel to the stress plane, whereas a tensile or

compressive stress acts normal to the stress plane. Shear properties are
primarily used in the design of mechanically fastened components, webs, and
torsion members, and other components subject to parallel, opposing loads.
 Shear properties are dependant on the type of shear test and their is a variety
of different standard shear tests that can be performed including the single-
shear test, double-shear test, blanking-shear test, torsion-shear test and others.
The shear modulus of elasticity is considered a basic shear property. Other
properties, such as the proportional limit stress and shear ultimate stress,
cannot be treated as basic shear properties because of “form factor” effects.

10. Permanent elimination of the yield-point

-p Creep and fatigue tests for solder alloys

The creep and cyclic fatigue tests of the lead-free solder, two-ball solder alloy and
the solder joint were conducted by using the 6-axis thermal-mechanical micro
fatigue tester. The specimens and the testing results are shown as follows.

Creep curve of a lead free solder alloy

Typical creep curves for two solder alloys

A typical stress-controlled fatigue test of the lead-free solder

Typical displacement-controlled fatigue test:cyclic softening of two-ball single-
lap shearing
Fatigue test of the solder joint

In materials science, fracture toughness is a property which describes the ability of a

material containing a crack to resist fracture, and is one of the most important
properties of any material for virtually all design applications. It is denoted K Ic and
has the units of .
The subscript 'Ic' denotes mode I crack opening under a normal tensile stress
perpendicular to the crack, since the material can be made thick enough to resist
shear (mode II) or tear (mode III).

Fracture toughness is a quantitative way of expressing a material's resistance to

brittle fracture when a crack is present. If a material has a large value of fracture
toughness it will probably undergo ductile fracture. Brittle fracture is very
characteristic of materials with a low fracture toughness value.[1]

Fracture mechanics, which leads to the concept of fracture toughness, was largely
based on the work of A. A. Griffith who, among other things, studied the behavior of
cracks in brittle materials.

A related concept is the work of fracture (γwof) which is directly proportional to , where
E is the Young's modulus of the material.[2] Note that, in SI units, γwof is given in J/m2.

Contents

[hide]
 1 Table of values
 2 Crack growth as a stability problem
 3 Transformation toughening
 4 Conjoint action
 5 Stress-corrosion cracking (SCC)
 6 See also
 7 References

 8 Other references

[edit] Table of values

Here are some typical values of fracture toughness for various materials:

Material KIc (MPa-m1 / 2)

Metals
Aluminum alloy (7075) 24
Steel alloy (4340) 50
Titanium alloy 44-66
Aluminum 14-28
Ceramics
Aluminum oxide 3-5
Silicon carbide 3-5
Soda-lime-glass 0.7-0.8
Concrete 0.2-1.4
Polymers
Polymethyl methacrylate 0.7-1.6
Polystyrene 0.7-1.1
Composites
Mullite fiber reinforced-mullite composite 1.8-3.3[3]
Silica aerogels 0.0008-0.0048[4]

[edit] Crack growth as a stability problem

Consider a body with flaws (cracks) that is subject to some loading; the stability of
the crack can be assessed as follows. We can assume for simplicity that the loading is
of constant displacement or displacement controlled type (such as loading with a
screw jack); we can also simplify the discussion by characterizing the crack by its
area, A. If we consider an adjacent state of the body as being one with a larger crack
(area A+dA), we can then assess strain energy in the two states and evaluate strain
energy release rate.

The rate is reckoned with respect to the change in crack area, so if we use U for strain
energy, the strain energy release rate is numerically dU/dA. It may be noted that for
a body loaded in constant displacement mode, the displacement is applied and the
force level is dictated by stiffness (or compliance) of the body. If the crack grows in
size, the stiffness decreases, so the force level will decrease. This decrease in force
level under the same displacement (strain) level indicates that the elastic strain
energy stored in the body is decreasing - is being released. Hence the term strain
energy release rate which is usually denoted with symbol G.

The strain energy release rate is higher for higher loads and larger cracks. If the
strain energy so released exceeds a critical value Gc, then the crack will grow
spontaneously. For brittle materials, Gc can be equated to the surface energy of the
(two) new crack surfaces; in other words, in brittle materials, a crack will grow
spontaneously if the strain energy released is equal to or greater than the energy
required to grow the crack surface(s). The stability condition can be written as

elastic energy released = surface energy created

If the elastic energy releases is less than the critical value, then the crack will not
grow; equality signifies neutral stability and if the strain energy release rate exceeds
the critical value, the crack will start growing in an unstable manner. For ductile
materials, energy associated with plastic deformation has to be taken into account.
When there is plastic deformation at the crack tip (as occurs most often in metals) the
energy to propagate the crack may increase by several orders of magnitude as the
work related to plastic deformation may be much larger than the surface energy. In
such cases, the stability criterion has to restated as

elastic energy released = surface energy + plastic deformation energy

Practically, this means a higher value for the critical value Gc. From the definition of
G, we can deduce that it has dimensions of work (or energy) /area or force/length.
For ductile metals GIc is around 50 to 200 kJ/m 2, for brittle metals it is usually 1-5 and
for glasses and brittle polymers it is almost always less than 0.5. The I subscript here
refers to mode I or crack opening mode as described in the section on fracture
mechanics.

The problem can also be formulated in terms of stress instead of energy, leading to
the terms stress intensity factor K (or KI for mode I) and critical stress intensity factor
Kc (and KIc). These Kc and KIc (etc.) quantities are commonly referred to as fracture
toughness, though it is equivalent to use Gc. Typical values for KIcare 150 MN/m3/2 for
ductile (very tough) metals, 25 for brittle ones and 1-10 for glasses and brittle
polymers. Notice the different units used by GIc and KIc. Engineers tend to use the
latter as an indication of toughness.

[edit] Transformation toughening

Composites exhibiting the highest level of fracture toughness are typically made of a
pure alumina or some silica-alumina (SiO2 /Al2O3) matrix with tiny inclusions of
zirconia (ZrO2) dispersed as uniformly as possible within the solid matrix. (*Note: a
wet chemical approach is typically necessary in order to establish the compositional
uniformity of the ceramic body before firing).

The process of "transformation toughening" is based on the assumption that zirconia

undergoes several martensitic (displacive, diffusionless) phase transformations
(cubic → tetragonal → monoclinic) between room temperature and practical
sintering (or firing) temperatures. Thus, due to the volume restrictions induced by
the solid matrix, metastable crystalline structures can become frozen in which impart
an internal strain field surrounding each zirconia inclusion upon cooling. This
enables a zirconia particle (or inclusion) to absorb the energy of an approaching
crack tip front in its nearby vicinity.
Thus, the application of large shear stresses during fracture nucleates the
transformation of a zirconia inclusion from the metastable phase. The subsequent
volume expansion from the inclusion (via an increase in the height of the unit cell)
introduces compressive stresses which therefore strengthen the matrix near the
approaching crack tip front. Zirconia "whiskers" may be used expressly for this
purpose.

Appropriately referred to by its first discoverers as "ceramic steel", the stress

intensity factor values for window glass (silica), transformation toughened alumina,
and a typical iron/carbon steel range from 1 to 20 to 50 respectively.

[edit] Conjoint action

There are number of instances where this picture of a critical crack is modified by
corrosion. Thus, fretting corrosion occurs when a corrosive medium is present at the
interface between two rubbing surfaces. Fretting (in the absence of corrosion) results
from the disruption of very small areas that bond and break as the surfaces undergo
friction, often under vibrating conditions. The bonding contact areas deform under
the localised pressure and the two surfaces gradually wear away. Fracture
mechanics dictates that each minute localised fracture has to satisfy the general rule
that the elastic energy released as the bond fractures has to exceed the work done in
plastically deforming it and in creating the (very tiny) fracture surfaces. This process
is enhanced when corrosion is present, not least because the corrosion products act
as an abrasive between the rubbing surfaces.

Fatigue is another instance where cyclical stressing, this time of a bulk lump of
metal, causes small flaws to develop. Ultimately one such flaw exceeds the critical
condition and fracture propagates across the whole structure. The 'fatigue life' of a
component is the time it takes for criticality to be reached, for a given regime of
cyclical stress. Corrosion fatigue is what happens when a cyclically stressed
structure is subjected to a corrosive environment at the same time. This not only
serves to initiate surface cracks but (see below) actually modifies the crack growth
process. As a result the fatigue life is shortened, often considerably.

[edit] Stress-corrosion cracking (SCC)

Main article: Stress corrosion cracking

This phenomenon is the unexpected sudden failure of normally ductile metals

subjected to a constant tensile stress in a corrosive environment. Certain austenitic
stainless steels and aluminium alloys crack in the presence of chlorides, mild steel
cracks in the presence of alkali (boiler cracking) and copper alloys crack in
ammoniacal solutions (season cracking). Worse still, high-tensile structural steels
crack in an unexpectedly brittle manner in a whole variety of aqueous environments,
especially chloride. With the possible exception of the latter, which is a special
example of hydrogen cracking, all the others display the phenomenon of subcritical
crack growth, i.e. small surface flaws propagate (usually smoothly) under conditions
where fracture mechanics predicts that failure should not occur. That is, in the
presence of a corrodent, cracks develop and propagate well below KIc. In fact, the
subcritical value of the stress intensity, designated as KIscc, may be less than 1% of KIc,
as the following table shows:

Alloy KIc (MN / m3 / 2) SCC environment KIscc (MN / m3 / 2)

13Cr steel 60 3% NaCl 12
18Cr-8Ni 200 42% MgCl2 10
Cu-30Zn 200 NH4OH, pH7 1
Al-3Mg-7Zn 25 Aqueous halides 5
Ti-6Al-1V 60 0.6M KCl 20

The subcritical nature of propagation may be attributed to the chemical energy

released as the crack propagates. That is,

elastic energy released + chemical energy = surface energy + deformation energy

The crack initiates at KIscc and thereafter propagates at a rate governed by the slowest
process, which most of the time is the rate at which corrosive ions can diffuse to the
crack tip. As the crack advances so K rises (because crack length appears in the
calculation of stress intensity). Finally it reaches KIc , whereupon fast fracture ensues
and the component fails. One of the practical difficulties with SCC is its unexpected
nature. Stainless steels, for example, are employed because under most conditions
they are 'passive', i.e. effectively inert. Very often one finds a single crack has
propagated while the rest of the metal surface stays apparently unaffected.

[edit] See also

 Puncture resistance
 Fracture mechanics
 Brittle-ductile transition zone
 Charpy impact test
 Impact (mechanics)
 Izod impact strength test
 Toughness of ceramics by indentation
 Shock (mechanics)
 Stress corrosion cracking
  Fracture toughening mechanisms

UNIT – V

HEAT TREATMENT
Full annealing

Annealing (metallurgy)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
It has been suggested that Annealing by short circuit be merged into this article or
section. (Discuss)
This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may
be challenged and removed. (October 2010)

Annealing, in metallurgy and materials science, is a heat treatment wherein a

material is altered, causing changes in its properties such as strength and hardness.
It is a process that produces conditions by heating to above the recrystallization
temperature and maintaining a suitable temperature, and then cooling. Annealing is
used to induce ductility, soften material, relieve internal stresses, refine the structure
by making it homogeneous, and improve cold working properties.
In the cases of copper, steel, silver, and brass, this process is performed by
substantially heating the material (generally until glowing) for a while and allowing
it to cool. Unlike ferrous metals—which must be cooled slowly to anneal—copper,
silver[1] and brass can be cooled slowly in air or quickly by quenching in water. In
this fashion the metal is softened and prepared for further work such as shaping,
stamping, or forming.

Contents

[hide]
 1 Thermodynamics of annealing
o 1.1 Stages of annealing
 2 Annealing in a controlled atmosphere
 3 Setup and equipment
 4 Diffusion annealing of semiconductors
 5 Specialized annealing cycles
o 5.1 Normalization
o 5.2 Process annealing
o 5.3 Full anneal
o 5.4 Short cycle anneal
 6 Resistive heating
 7 See also
 8 References
 9 Further reading

 10 External links

[edit] Thermodynamics of annealing

Annealing occurs by the diffusion of atoms within a solid material, so that the
material progresses towards its equilibrium state. Heat is needed to increase the rate
of diffusion by providing the energy needed to break bonds. The movement of
atoms has the effect of redistributing and destroying the dislocations in metals and
(to a lesser extent) in ceramics. This alteration in dislocations allows metals to
deform more easily, so increases their ductility.

The amount of process-initiating Gibbs free energy in a deformed metal is also

reduced by the annealing process. In practice and industry, this reduction of Gibbs
free energy is termed "stress relief".

The relief of internal stresses is a thermodynamically spontaneous process; however,

at room temperatures, it is a very slow process. The high temperatures at which the
annealing process occurs serve to accelerate this process.
The reaction facilitating the return of the cold-worked metal to its stress-free state
has many reaction pathways, mostly involving the elimination of lattice vacancy
gradients within the body of the metal. The creation of lattice vacancies is governed
by the Arrhenius equation, and the migration/diffusion of lattice vacancies are
governed by Fick’s laws of diffusion.[2]

Mechanical properties, such as hardness and ductility, change as dislocations are

eliminated and the metal's crystal lattice is altered. On heating at specific
temperature and cooling it is possible to bring the atom at the right lattice site and
new grain growth can improve the mechanical properties.

[edit] Stages of annealing

There are three stages in the annealing process, with the first being the recovery
phase, which results in softening of the metal through removal of crystal defects (the
primary type of which is the linear defect called a dislocation) and the internal
stresses which they cause. Recovery phase covers all annealing phenomena that
occur before the appearance of new strain-free grains.[3] The second phase is
recrystallization, where new strain-free grains nucleate and grow to replace those
deformed by internal stresses.[3] If annealing is allowed to continue once
recrystallization has been completed, grain growth will occur, in which the
microstructure starts to coarsen and may cause the metal to have less than
satisfactory mechanical properties.

[edit] Annealing in a controlled atmosphere

The high temperature of annealing may result in oxidation of the metal’s surface,
resulting in scale. If scale is to be avoided, annealing is carried out in an oxygen-,
carbon-, and nitrogen-free atmosphere (to avoid oxidation, carburization, and
nitriding respectively) such as endothermic gas (a mixture of carbon monoxide,
hydrogen gas, and nitrogen[clarification needed]).

The magnetic properties of mu-metal (Espey cores) are introduced by annealing the
alloy in a hydrogen atmosphere.

[edit] Setup and equipment

Typically, large ovens are used for the annealing process. The inside of the oven is
large enough to place the workpiece in a position to receive maximum exposure to
the circulating heated air. For high volume process annealing, gas fired conveyor
furnaces are often used. For large workpieces or high quantity parts Car-bottom
furnaces will be used in order to move the parts in and out with ease. Once the
annealing process has been successfully completed, the workpieces are sometimes
left in the oven in order for the parts to have a controlled cooling process. While
some workpieces are left in the oven to cool in a controlled fashion, other materials
and alloys are removed from the oven. After being removed from the oven, the
workpieces are often quickly cooled off in a process known as quench hardening.
Some typical methods of quench hardening materials involve the use of media such
as air, water, oil, or salt.

[edit] Diffusion annealing of semiconductors

In the semiconductor industry, silicon wafers are annealed, so that dopant atoms,
usually boron, phosphorus or arsenic, can diffuse into substitutional positions in the
crystal lattice, resulting in drastic changes in the electrical properties of the
semiconducting material.

[edit] Specialized annealing cycles

[edit] Normalization

Normalization is an annealing process in which a metal is cooled in air after heating in

order to relieve stress.

It can also be referred to as: Heating a ferrous alloy to a suitable temperature above
the transformation temperature range and cooling in air to a temperature
substantially below the transformation range.

This process is typically confined to hardenable steel. It is used to refine grains

which have been deformed through cold work, and can improve ductility and
toughness of the steel. It involves heating the steel to just above its upper critical
point. It is soaked for a short period then allowed to cool in air. Small grains are
formed which give a much harder and tougher metal with normal tensile strength
and not the maximum ductility achieved by annealing. It eliminates columnar grains
and dendritic segregation that sometimes occurs during casting. Normalizing
improves machinability of a component and provides dimensional stability if
subjected to further heat treatment processes.

[edit] Process annealing

Process annealing, also called "intermediate annealing", "subcritical annealing", or

"in-process annealing", is a heat treatment cycle that restores some of the ductility to
a work piece allowing it be worked further without breaking. Ductility is important
in shaping and creating a more refined piece of work through processes such as
rolling, drawing, forging, spinning, extruding and heading. The piece is heated to a
temperature typically below the austenizing temperature, and held there long
enough to relieve stresses in the metal. The piece is finally cooled slowly to room
temperature. It is then ready again for additional cold working. This can also be used
to ensure there is reduced risk of distortion of the work piece during machining,
welding, or further heat treatment cycles.

The temperature range for process annealing ranges from 500 °F to 1400 °F,
depending on the alloy in question.

[edit] Full anneal

Full annealing temperature ranges

A full anneal typically results in the second most ductile state a metal can assume for
metal alloy. It creates an entirely new homogeneous and uniform structure with
good dynamic properties. To perform a full anneal, a metal is heated to its annealing
point (about 50°C above the austenic temperature as graph shows) and held for
sufficient time to allow the material to fully austenitize, to form austenite or
austenite-cementite grain structure. The material is then allowed to cool slowly so
that the equilibrium microstructure is obtained. In some cases this means the
material is allowed to air cool. In other cases the material is allowed to furnace cool.
The details of the process depend on the type of metal and the precise alloy
involved. In any case the result is a more ductile material that has greater stretch
ratio and reduction of area properties but a lower yield strength and a lower tensile
strength. This process is also called LP annealing for lamellar pearlite in the steel
industry as opposed to a process anneal which does not specify a microstructure and
only has the goal of softening the material. Often material that is to be machined,
will be annealed, then be followed by further heat treatment to obtain the final
desired properties.

[edit] Short cycle anneal

Short cycle annealing is used for turning normal ferrite into malleable ferrite. It
consists of heating, cooling, and then heating again from 4 to 8 hours.

[edit] Resistive heating

Resistive heating can be used to efficiently anneal copper wire; the heating system
employs a controlled electrical short circuit. It can be advantageous because it does
not require a temperature-regulated furnace like other methods of annealing.
The process consists of two conductive pulleys (step pulleys) which the wire passes
across after it is drawn. The two pulleys have an electrical potential across them,
which causes the wire to form a short circuit. The Joule effect causes the temperature
of the wire to rise to approximately 400 °C. This temperature is affected by the
rotational speed of the pulleys, the ambient temperature, and the voltage applied.
Where t is the temperature of the wire, K is a constant, V is the voltage applied, r is
the number of rotations of the pulleys per minute, and ta is the ambient temperature:

t = ((KV ²)/(r))+ta

The constant K depends on the diameter of the pulleys and the resistivity of the
copper.

Purely in terms of the temperature of the copper wire, an increase in the speed with
which the wire passes through the pulley system has the same effect as an increase
in resistance. Therefore, the speed with which the wire can be drawn through varies
quadratically as the voltage applied.

[edit] See also

 Annealing (glass)
 Hollomon-Jaffe parameter
 Low hydrogen annealing
 Tempering

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.handyharmancanada.com/hbpm/silver/silver.htm
2. ^ Van Vlack, L.H. Elements of Materials Science and Engineering, Addison-
Wesley, 1985, p 134
3. ^ a b Verhoeven, J.D. Fundamentals of Physical Metallurgy, Wiley, New York,
1975, p. 326

[edit] Further reading

 Thesis of Degree, Cable Manufacture and Tests of General Use and Energy. -
Jorge Luis Pedraz (1994), UNI, Files, Peru.
 Dynamic annealing of the Copper wire by using a Controlled Short circuit. =
Jorge Luis Pedraz (1999), Peru: Lima , CONIMERA 1999, INTERCON 99,

[edit] External links

  Annealing with induction: Ameritherm offers annealing overview and
Application Notes
 Annealing:efunda - engineering fundamentals
 Full Annealing:Material Science
 Annealing: Aluminum and Aircraft Metal Alloys

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annealing_(metallurgy)"

Categories: Metal heat treatments
Hidden categories: Articles to be merged from November 2010 | All articles to be
merged | Articles needing additional references from October 2010 | All articles
needing additional references | All pages needing cleanup | Wikipedia articles
needing clarification from February 2009

Personal tools
 New features
 Log in / create account

Namespaces
 Article
 Discussion

Variants

Views
 Read
 Edit
 View history

Actions

Search
Search

Navigation
 Main page
 Contents
 Featured content
 Current events
 Random article
 Donate

Interaction
  Help
 About Wikipedia
 Community portal
 Recent changes
 Contact Wikipedia

Toolbox
 What links here
 Related changes
 Upload file
 Special pages
 Permanent link
 Cite this page

Print/export
 Create a book
 Download as PDF
 Printable version

Languages
 ‫العربية‬
 Català
 Česky
 Deutsch
 Eesti
 Ελληνικά
 Español
 ‫فارسی‬
 Français
 Italiano
 Nederlands
 日本語
 Polski
 Português
 Русский
 Slovenčina
 Српски / Srpski
 Suomi
 Svenska
 Українська
 中文
  This page was last modified on 18 November 2010 at 15:33.

 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike

License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a
non-profit organization.

 Contact us

 Privacy policy
 About Wikipedia
 Disclaimers

Definition: A heat treatment process that has the object of relieving internal stresses,
refining the grain size and improving the mechanical properties. The steel is heated
to 800-900oC according to analysis, held at temperature to allow a full soak and
cooled in still air.

HOME CONTACT
HARDENING AND TEMPERING

V. Ryan © 2005 - 2009

PDF FILE - CLICK HERE FOR PRINT

Steel can be treated by intense heat to

This depends on the amount of car
hardened and tempered).

CARBON CONTENT OF COMMON

steel approximately 0.8% carbon, Hig
steel is also known as Tool Steel and in
Mild steel and medium carbon steel do
structure and consequently cannot be
become slightly tougher although it ca
or cut with a hacksaw (the classic test o

If steel is heated until it glows red

becomes very hard but also brittle. Th
great pressure. On the other hand, i
resulting steel will be easier to cut, sha
industrial heat treatment of steel is a v

In a school workshop most heat treat

rotating table and fire bricks are essen
to the metal being heated. This is achie
the metal being heated. Without the b
temperature that could be reached.

HARDENING AND TEMPERING

Heat treatment of steel in a school

example, if a high carbon steel or silv
at some point it will have to be ‘’hard
the other hand it will have to be ‘te
hardness a little but toughens the stee
steel so that it does not break easi
 tempering’.

The screw driver blade is heated,

slowly at first, warming up the
whole blade. Then the heat is
concentrated on the area at the
end of the blade. This gradually
becomes ‘red’ hot.

The screw driver blade is

removed quickly from the
brazing heart, with blacksmiths
tongs and plunged into clean,
cold water. Steam boils off from
the water as the steel cools
rapidly. At this stage the blade is
very hard but brittle and will
break easily.

STAGE THREE:

The screw driver blade is

cleaned with emery cloth and
heated again on the brazing
hearth. Heat is concentrated at
the end of the steel blade. The
steel must be watched very
carefully as it changes colour
quite quickly. A blue line of heat
will appear near the end of the
blade and it travels towards the
tip as the temperature rises
along the blade. When the line of
blue reaches the tip the brazing
torch is turned off. The blue
indicates the correct temperature
of ‘tempering’.

The screw driver blade is placed

on a steel surface, such as an
anvil face. This conducts the
heat away and allows slow
cooling of the screw driver
blade. When cold, the blade
should be tough and hard
wearing and unlikely to break or
snap. This is due to the
tempering process.

USEFUL COLOUR INDICATORS OF

When heating steel on the

brazing hearth, colour changes
take place. These can be used to
indicate the temperature of the
metal. The table opposite is a
rough guide.

The table opposite shows the

temperatures and the associated
colours required when
tempering steel for particular
uses. For instance, when making
wood turning tools, they must
be heated to a brown colour,
whilst tempering.
 Hardenability

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Cross-section of Jominy test apparatus. Water from a pipe cools the bottom of the
specimen and then hardness measurements are taken across the length of the
specimen.

Jominy test apparatus

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources
remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by
introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (April 2009)
The hardenability of a metal alloy is its capability to be hardened by heat treatment.
It should not be confused with hardness, which is a measure of a sample's resistance
to indentation or scratching. It is an important property for welding, since it is
inversely proportional to weldability, that is, the ease of welding a material.

The hardenability of ferrous alloys, i.e. steels, is a function of the carbon content and
other alloying elements and the grain size of the austenite. The relative importance
of the various alloying elements is calculated by finding the equivalent carbon
content of the material. The fluid used for quenching the material influences the
cooling rate due to varying thermal conductivities and specific heats. Substances like
brine and water cool much more quickly than oil or air. Additionally, if the fluid is
agitated cooling occurs even more quickly. The geometry of the part also affects the
cooling rate: of two samples of equal volume, the one with higher surface area will
cool faster.

The hardenability of a ferrous alloy is measured by a Jominy test: a round metal bar
of standard size is transformed to 100% austenite through heat treatment, and is then
quenched on one end with room-temperature water. The cooling rate will be highest
at the end being quenched, and will decrease as distance from the end increases. The
hardenability is then found by measuring the hardness along the bar: the farther
away from the quenched end that the hardness extends, the higher the hardenability.

Jominy hardenability (quench) test

The Jominy Test involves heating a test piece from the steel (25mm diameter and
100mm long) to an austenitising temperature and quenching from one end with a
controlled and standardised jet of water.
Take a sample from the furnace and place it on the Jominy test fixtures and observe
 the cooling pattern.
After quenching the hardness profile is measured at
intervals from the quenched end after the surface has been
ground back to remove any effects of decarburisation (0.38mm is removed from the
surface). The hardness variation along the test surface is a result of microstructural
variation which arises since the cooling rate decreases with distance from the
quenched end. The cooling rate along the Jominy test specimen varies from about
225 ?C s-1 to 2 ?C s-1.

Austempering

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please
improve this article if you can. The talk page may contain suggestions. (September 2009)

Austempering is an isothermal heat treatment that is applied to ferrous metals, most

notably steel and ductile iron. In steel it produces a lower Bainite microstructure
whereas in cast irons it produces a structure of acicular ferrite and high carbon,
stabilized Austenite known as ausferrite. It is primarily used to improve mechanical
properties.

Austempering is defined by both the process and the resultant microstructure .

Typical austempering process parameters applied to an unsuitable material will not
result in the formation of Bainite or ausferrite and thusly the final product will not
be called austempered. both microstructures may also be produced via other
methods. for example, they may be produced as-cast or air cooled with the proper
alloy content. These materials are also not refered to as austempered.

Contents

[hide]
 1 History
 2 Process
o 2.1 Austenitizing
o 2.2 Quenching
o 2.3 Cooling
o 2.4 Tempering
 3 Advantages of Austempering

 4 References
[edit] History

The austempering of steel was first pioneered by Edgar C. Bain and Edmund S.
Davenport in the 1930’s who were working for the United States Steel Corporation at
that time. Bainite must have been present in steels long before its acknowledged

discovery date, but was not identified because of the limited metalographic
techniques available and the mixed microstructures formed by the heat treatment
practices of the time. Coincidental circumstances led inspired Bain to study
isothermal phase transformations. Austneite and the higher temperature phases of
steel were becoming more and more understood and it was already known that
austenite could be retained at room temperature. through his contacts at the
American Steel and Wire Company Bain was aware of isothermal transformations
being used in industry and he began to concieve of new experiments [1]

Further research into the isothermal transformation of steels was a result of Bain and
Davenport's discovery of a new microstructure consisting of an "acicular, dark
etching aggregate." This microstructure was found to be "tougher for the same
hardness than tempered Martensite" [2].

Commercial exploitation of bainitic steel did not become common overnight.

Common heat treating practices at the time featured continuous cooling methods
and were not capable, in practice, of producing fully Bainitic microstructures. The
range of alloys available produced either mixed microstructures or excessive
amounts of Martensite. The advent of low-carbon steels containing boron and
molybdenum in 1958 allowed fully Bainitic steel to be produced by continuous
cooling [1] [3]. Commercial use of bainitic steel thus came about as a result of the
development of new heat treating methods, those that involve a step holding the
work piece at a fixed temperature for a period of time sufficient to allow
transformation became colelctively know as austempering.

One of the first uses of austempered steel was in rifle bolts during World War II [4].
The high impact strength possible at high hardnesses, and the relatively small
section size of the components made austempered steel ideal for this application.
Over subsequent decades austempering revolutionized the spring industry followed
by clips and clamps. These components, which are usually thin, formed parts do not
require expensive alloys and generally possess better elastic properties than their
tempered Martensite counterparts. eventually austempered steel made its way into
the automotive industry where one of its first uses was in safety critical components.
The majority of car seat brackets and seat belt components are made of austempered
steel because of its high strength and ductility[4].
These properties allow it to absorb significantly more energy during a crash without
the risk of brittle failure. Currently, austempered steel is also used in bearings,
mower blades, transmission gear, wave plate, and turf aeration tines [4]. in the second
half of the twentieth century the austempering process began to be commercially
applied to cast irons. Austempered

Ductile Iron (ADI) was first commercialized in the early 1970’s and has since become
a major industry.

[edit] Process

The most notable difference between austempering and conventional quench and
tempering is that it involves holding the workpiece at the quenching temperature for
an extended period of time. The basic steps are the same whether applied to cast iron
or steel and are as follows:

[edit] Austenitizing

In order for any transformation to take place the microstructure of the metal must be
austenite. The exact boundaries of the austenite phase region depend on the
chemistry of the alloy being heat treated. however, austenitizing temperatures are
typically between 790 and 915°C (1455 to 1680°F) [5]. The amount of time spent at this
temperature will vary with the alloy and process specifics for a through-hardened
part the best results are acheived when austenitization is long enough to produce a
fully austenitic metal microstructure (there will still be graphite present in cast irons)
with a consistent carbon content. In steels this may only take a few minutes after the
austenitizing temperature has been reached throughout the part section, but in cast
irons it takes longer. This is because carbon must diffuse out of the graphite until it
has reached the equilibrium concentration dictated by the temperature and the
phase diagram.

This step may be done in many types of furnaces, in a high temperature salt bath, via
direct flame or induction heating numerous patents exist for specific methods and
variations.

[edit] Quenching

As with conventional quench and tempering the material being heat treated must be
cooled from the austenitizing temperature quickly enough to avoid the formation of
pearlite. The specific cooling rate that is necessary to avoid the formation of pearlite
is a product of the chemistry of the austenite phase and thus the alloy being
processed. the actually cooling rate is a product of both the quench severity, which is
influenced by quench media, agitation, load:quenchant ratio, etc, and the thickness
and geometry of the part. As a result, heavier section components required greater
hardenability. in austempering the heat treat load is quenched to a temperature
which is typically above the Martensite start of the austenite and held. In some
patented processes the parts are quench just below the Martensite start so that the
resulting microstructure is a controlled mixture of Martensite and Bainite.

The two important aspects of quenching are the cooling rate and the holding time.
The most common practice is to quench into a bath of liquid nitrie-nitrate salt and
hold in the bath. Because of the restricted temperature range for processing it is not
usually possible to quench in water or brine, but high temperature oils are used for a
narrow temperature range. some processes feature quenching and then removal
from the quench media for and then holding in a furnace.

The quench and holding temperature are primary processing paramters that control
the final hardness, and thus properties of the material.

[edit] Cooling

After quenching and holding there is no danger of cracking; parts are typically air
cooled or put directly into a room temperature wash system.

[edit] Tempering

No tempering is required after austempering if the part is through hardened and

fully transformed to either Bainite or ausferrite [5]. tempering adds another stage and
thus cost to the process; it does not provide the same property modification and
stress relief in Bainite or ausferrite that it does for virgin Martensite.

[edit] Advantages of Austempering

Austempering offers many manufacturing and performance advantages over

traditional material/process combinations. It may be applied to numerous materials,
and each combination has its own advantages, which are listed below. One of the
advantages that is common to all austempered materials is a lower rate of distortion
than for quench and tempering. This can be translated into significant cost savings
by adjusting the entire manufacturing process.

The most immediate cost savings are realized by machining before heat treatment.
There are many such savings possible in the specific case of converting a quench and
tempered steel component to austempered ductile iron (ADI). In North America and
many other parts of the world the cost of ductile iron per kilogram is less than that
for steel[citation needed]. Ductile iron is 10% less dense than steel and can be cast near to net
shape, both characteristics that reduce the casting weight. Near net shap casting also
reduces the machining cost further, which is already reduced by machining soft
ductile iron instead of hardened steel. A lighter finished part reduces freight charges
and the streamlined production flow often reduces lead time. In many cases strength
and wear resistance can also be improved [4].

Process/Material combinations include:

 austempered steel
 Carbo-Austempered steel
 Marbain steel
 Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI)
 Locally Austempered Ductil Iron (LADI)
 Austempered Gray Iron (AGI)
 Carbidic Austempered Ductile Iron (CADI)

When speaking of performance improvements, austempered materials are typically

compared to conventionally quench and tempered materials with a tempered
Martensite microstructure.

In steels above 40 Rc these improvements include:

 Higher ductility, impact strength and wear resistance for a given hardness,
 A low distortion, repeatable dimensional response,
 Increased fatigue strength,
 Resistance to hydrogen and environmental embrittlement.

In cast irons (from 250-550 HBW) these improvements include:

 Higher ductility and impact resistance for a given hardness,

 A low distortion, repeatable dimensional response,
 Increased fatigue strength,
 Increased wear resistance for a given hardness.

[edit] References

1. ^ a b Bhadeshis, H. K. D. H., "Bainite in Steels: Transformations,

Microstructure, and properties" second edition, IOM Communications,
London, England, 2001
2. ^ Bain, Edgar C., "Functions of the Alloying Elements in Steel" American
Society for Metals, Cleveland, Ohio, 1939
3. ^ Irvine, K.J. and Pickering, F.B JISI 188, 1958.
4. ^ a b c d http://www.appliedprocess.com
 5. ^ a b "Heat Treater's Guide: Practices and procedures for Irons and Steels"
ASM International, Materials Park, Ohio, Second Edition,1995

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austempering" Categories: Metal heat

treatments Hidden categories: Wikipedia articles needing cleanup from September
2009 | All articles needing cleanup | All articles with unsourced statements |
Articles with unsourced statements

Personal tools
 New features
 Log in / create account

Namespaces
 Article
 Discussion

Variants

Views
 Read
 Edit
 View history

Actions

Search
Search

Navigation
 Main page
 Contents
 Featured content
 Current events
 Random article
 Donate

Interaction
 Help
 About Wikipedia
  Community portal
 Recent changes
 Contact Wikipedia

Toolbox
 What links here
 Related changes
 Upload file
 Special pages
 Permanent link
 Cite this page

Print/export
 Create a book
 Download as PDF
 Printable version

Languages
 Español
 Galego
 Português

 This page was last modified on 19 November 2010 at 05:59.

 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a
non-profit organization.
 Contact us

 Privacy policy
 About Wikipedia
 Disclaimers

Carbon steel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Iron alloy phases
v•d•e

Ferrite (α-iron, δ-iron)

 Austenite (γ-iron)
Pearlite (88% ferrite, 12% cementite)
Martensite
Bainite
Ledeburite (ferrite-cementite eutectic, 4.3% carbon)
Cementite (iron carbide, Fe3C)
Steel classes
Crucible steel
Carbon steel (≤2.1% carbon; low alloy)

Spring steel (low or no alloy)

Alloy steel (contains non-carbon elements)

Maraging steel (contains nickel)

Stainless steel (contains ≥10.5% chromium)
Weathering steel
Tool steel (alloy steel for tools)
Other iron-based materials
Cast iron (>2.1% carbon)

Ductile iron
Gray iron
Malleable iron
White iron

Wrought iron (contains slag)

Carbon steel, also called plain-carbon steel, is steel where the main alloying
constituent is carbon. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) defines carbon
steel as: "Steel is considered to be carbon steel when no minimum content is specified
or required for chromium, cobalt, columbium, molybdenum, nickel, titanium,
tungsten, vanadium or zirconium, or any other element to be added to obtain a
desired alloying effect; when the specified minimum for copper does not exceed 0.40
percent; or when the maximum content specified for any of the following elements
does not exceed the percentages noted: manganese 1.65, silicon 0.60, copper 0.60."[1]

The term "carbon steel" may also be used in reference to steel which is not stainless
steel; in this use carbon steel may include alloy steels.

As the carbon content rises, steel has the ability to become harder and stronger
through heat treating, but this also makes it less ductile. Regardless of the heat
treatment, a higher carbon content reduces weldability. In carbon steels, the higher
carbon content lowers the melting point.[2]

Eighty-five percent of all steel used in the United States is carbon steel.[1]

Contents

[hide]
 1 Types
o 1.1 Mild and low carbon steel
o 1.2 Higher carbon steels
 2 Heat treatment
 3 Case hardening
 4 See also
 5 References

 6 Bibliography

[edit] Types

See also: SAE steel grades

Carbon steel is broken down in to four classes based on carbon content:

[edit] Mild and low carbon steel

Mild steel is the most common form of steel because its price is relatively low while
it provides material properties that are acceptable for many applications. Low
carbon steel contains approximately 0.05–0.15% carbon [1] and mild steel contains
0.16–0.29%[1] carbon, therefore it is neither brittle nor ductile. Mild steel has a
relatively low tensile strength, but it is cheap and malleable; surface hardness can be
increased through carburizing.[3]

It is often used when large quantities of steel are needed, for example as structural
steel. The density of mild steel is approximately 7.85 g/cm3 (0.284 lb/in3)[4] and the
Young's modulus is 210,000 MPa (30,000,000 psi).[5]

Low carbon steels suffer from yield-point runout where the material has two yield
points. The first yield point (or upper yield point) is higher than the second and the
yield drops dramatically after the upper yield point. If a low carbon steel is only
stressed to some point between the upper and lower yield point then the surface
may develop Lüder bands.[6]
[edit] Higher carbon steels

Carbon steels which can successfully undergo heat-treatment have a carbon content
in the range of 0.30–1.70% by weight. Trace impurities of various other elements can
have a significant effect on the quality of the resulting steel. Trace amounts of sulfur
in particular make the steel red-short. Low alloy carbon steel, such as A36 grade,
contains about 0.05% sulfur and melts around 1,426–1,538 °C (2,599–2,800 °F).[7]
Manganese is often added to improve the hardenability of low carbon steels. These
additions turn the material into a low alloy steel by some definitions, but AISI's
definition of carbon steel allows up to 1.65% manganese by weight.

Medium carbon steel

Approximately 0.30–0.59% carbon content.[1] Balances ductility and strength and has
good wear resistance; used for large parts, forging and automotive components.[8]

High carbon steel

Approximately 0.6–0.99% carbon content.[1] Very strong, used for springs and high-
strength wires.[9]

Ultra-high carbon steel

Approximately 1.0–2.0% carbon content.[1] Steels that can be tempered to great

hardness. Used for special purposes like (non-industrial-purpose) knives, axles or
punches. Most steels with more than 1.2% carbon content are made using powder
metallurgy. Note that steel with a carbon content above 2.0% is considered cast iron.

Steel can be heat treated which allows parts to be fabricated in an easily-formable

soft state. If enough carbon is present, the alloy can be hardened to increase strength,
wear, and impact resistance. Steels are often wrought by cold working methods,
which is the shaping of metal through deformation at a low equilibrium or
metastable temperature.

[edit] Heat treatment

Iron-carbon phase diagram, showing the temperature and carbon ranges for certain
types of heat treatments.
Main article: Heat treatment

The purpose of heat treating carbon steel is to change the mechanical properties of
steel, usually ductility, hardness, yield strength, or impact resistance. Note that the
electrical and thermal conductivity are slightly altered. As with most strengthening
techniques for steel, Young's modulus is unaffected. Steel has a higher solid
solubility for carbon in the austenite phase; therefore all heat treatments, except
spheroidizing and process annealing, start by heating to an austenitic phase. The rate
at which the steel is cooled through the eutectoid reaction affects the rate at which
carbon diffuses out of austenite. Generally speaking, cooling swiftly will give a finer
pearlite (until the martensite critical temperature is reached) and cooling slowly will
give a coarser pearlite. Cooling a hypoeutectoid (less than 0.77 wt% C) steel results
in a pearlitic structure with α-ferrite at the grain boundaries. If it is hypereutectoid
(more than 0.77 wt% C) steel then the structure is full pearlite with small grains of
cementite scattered throughout. The relative amounts of constituents are found
using the lever rule. Here is a list of the types of heat treatments possible:

 Spheroidizing: Spheroidite forms when carbon steel is heated to

approximately 700 °C for over 30 hours. Spheroidite can form at lower
temperatures but the time needed drastically increases, as this is a diffusion-
controlled process. The result is a structure of rods or spheres of cementite
within primary structure (ferrite or pearlite, depending on which side of the
eutectoid you are on). The purpose is to soften higher carbon steels and allow
more formability. This is the softest and most ductile form of steel. The image
to the right shows where spheroidizing usually occurs.[10]
 Full annealing: Carbon steel is heated to approximately 40 °C above Ac3 or
Ac1 for 1 hour; this assures all the ferrite transforms into austenite (although
cementite might still exist if the carbon content is greater than the eutectoid).
The steel must then be cooled slowly, in the realm of 38 °C (100 °F) per hour.
Usually it is just furnace cooled, where the furnace is turned off with the steel
still inside. This results in a coarse pearlitic structure, which means the
"bands" of pearlite are thick. Fully-annealed steel is soft and ductile, with no
internal stresses, which is often necessary for cost-effective forming. Only
spheroidized steel is softer and more ductile.[11]
 Process annealing: A process used to relieve stress in a cold-worked carbon
steel with less than 0.3 wt% C. The steel is usually heated up to 550–650 °C for
1 hour, but sometimes temperatures as high as 700 °C. The image rightward
shows the area where process annealing occurs.
 Isothermal annealing: It is a process in which hypoeutectoid steel is heated
above the upper critical temperature and this temperature is maintained for a
time and then the temperature is brought down below lower critical
temperature and is again maintained. Then finally it is cooled at room
temperature. This method rids any temperature gradient.
 Normalizing: Carbon steel is heated to approximately 55 °C above Ac3 or Acm
for 1 hour; this assures the steel completely transforms to austenite. The steel
is then air-cooled, which is a cooling rate of approximately 38 °C (68 °F) per
minute. This results in a fine pearlitic structure, and a more-uniform
 structure. Normalized steel has a higher strength than annealed steel; it has a
relatively high strength and ductility.[12]
 Quenching: Carbon steel with at least 0.4 wt% C is heated to normalizing
temperatures and then rapidly cooled (quenched) in water, brine, or oil to the
critical temperature. The critical temperature is dependent on the carbon
content, but as a general rule is lower as the carbon content increases. This
results in a martensitic structure; a form of steel that possesses a super-
saturated carbon content in a deformed body-centered cubic (BCC) crystalline
structure, properly termed body-centered tetragonal (BCT), with much
internal stress. Thus quenched steel is extremely hard but brittle, usually too
brittle for practical purposes. These internal stresses cause stress cracks on the
surface. Quenched steel is approximately three to four (with more carbon)
fold harder than normalized steel.[13]
 Martempering (Marquenching): Martempering is not actually a tempering
procedure, hence the term "marquenching". It is a form of isothermal heat
treatment applied after an initial quench of typically in a molten salt bath at a
temperature right above the "martensite start temperature". At this
temperature, residual stresses within the material are relieved and some
bainite may be formed from the retained austenite which did not have time to
transform into anything else. In industry, this is a process used to control the
ductility and hardness of a material. With longer marquenching, the ductility
increases with a minimal loss in strength; the steel is held in this solution until
the inner and outer temperatures equalize. Then the steel is cooled at a
moderate speed to keep the temperature gradient minimal. Not only does this
process reduce internal stresses and stress cracks, but it also increases the
impact resistance.[14]

 Quench and tempering: This is the most common heat treatment

encountered, because the final properties can be precisely determined by the
temperature and time of the tempering. Tempering involves reheating
quenched steel to a temperature below the eutectoid temperature then
cooling. The elevated temperature allows very small amounts of spheroidite
to form, which restores ductility, but reduces hardness. Actual temperatures
and times are carefully chosen for each composition.[15]

 Austempering: The austempering process is the same as martempering,

except the steel is held in the molten salt bath through the bainite
transformation temperatures, and then moderately cooled. The resulting
bainite steel has a greater ductility, higher impact resistance, and less
distortion. The disadvantage of austempering is it can only be used on a few
steels, and it requires a special salt bath.[16]
[edit] Case hardening

Main article: Case hardening

Case hardening processes harden only the exterior of the steel part, creating a hard,
wear resistant skin (the "case") but preserving a tough and ductile interior. Carbon
steels are not very hardenable; therefore wide pieces cannot be thru-hardened. Alloy
steels have a better hardenability, so they can through-harden and do not require
case hardening. This property of carbon steel can be beneficial, because it gives the
surface good wear characteristics but leaves the core tough.

[edit] See also

 Cold working
 Hot working

[edit] References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Classification of Carbon and Low-Alloy Steel, archived from the

original on 2010-03-11, http://www.webcitation.org/5o9SDyEAb, retrieved
2010-03-11.
2. ^ Knowles, Peter Reginald (1987), Design of structural steelwork (2nd ed.),
Taylor & Francis, p. 1, ISBN 9780903384599, http://books.google.com/books?
id=U6wX-3C8ygcC&pg=PA1.
3. ^ Engineering fundamentals page on low-carbon steel
4. ^ Elert, Glenn, Density of Steel,
http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2004/KarenSutherland.shtml, retrieved 2009-
04-23.
5. ^ Modulus of Elasticity, Strength Properties of Metals - Iron and Steel,
http://www.engineersedge.com/manufacturing_spec/properties_of_metals_st
rength.htm, retrieved 2009-04-23.
6. ^ Degarmo, p. 377.
7. ^ Ameristeel article on carbon steel
8. ^ Engineering fundamentals page on medium-carbon steel
9. ^ Engineering fundamentals page on high-carbon steel
10. ^ Smith, p. 388.
11. ^ Smith, p. 386.
12. ^ Smith, pp. 386–387.
13. ^ Smith, pp. 373–377.
14. ^ Smith, pp. 389–390.
15. ^ Smith, pp. 387-388.
16. ^ Smith, p. 391.
[edit] Bibliography

 Degarmo, E. Paul; Black, J T.; Kohser, Ronald A. (2003), Materials and Processes
in Manufacturing (9th ed.), Wiley, ISBN 0-471-65653-4.
 Oberg, E.; et al. (1996), Machinery's Handbook (25th ed.), Industrial Press Inc,
ISBN 0831125993.
 Smith, William F.; Hashemi, Javad (2006), Foundations of Materials Science and
Engineering (4th ed.), McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-295358-6.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_steel"

Categories: Steels | Metallurgical processes

Personal tools
 New features
 Log in / create account

Namespaces
 Article
 Discussion

Variants

Views
 Read
 Edit
 View history

Actions

Search
Search

Navigation
 Main page
 Contents
 Featured content
 Current events
 Random article
 Donate

Interaction
 Help
  About Wikipedia
 Community portal
 Recent changes
 Contact Wikipedia

Toolbox
 What links here
 Related changes
 Upload file
 Special pages
 Permanent link
 Cite this page

Print/export
 Create a book
 Download as PDF
 Printable version

Languages
 ‫العربية‬
 Bosanski
 Български
 Català
 Dansk
 Español
 日本語
 Polski
 Simple English
 Slovenščina
 Српски / Srpski
 Tiếng Việt

 This page was last modified on 8 November 2010 at 11:14.

 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a
non-profit organization.
Contact us

 Privacy policy
 About Wikipedia
 Disclaimers

Carburized steel parts are rarely used without subsequent heat treatment, which
consists of several steps to obtain optimum hardness in the case, and optimum
strength and ductility in the core. Grain size of the core and case is refined. a.
Refining the core is accomplished by reheating the parts to a point just above
the critical temperature of the steel. After soaking for a sufficient time to insure
uniform heating, the parts are quenched in oil. b. The hardening temperature for the
high carbon case is well below that of the core. It is, therefore, necessary to heat the
parts again to the critical temperature of the case and quench them in oil to produce
the required hardness. A soaking period of 10 minutes is generally sufficient. c. A
final stress relieving operation is necessary to minimize the hardening stresses
produced by the previous treatment. The stress relieving temperature is generally
around 350 F. This is accomplished by heating, soaking until uniformly heated,
and cooling in still air. When extreme hardness is desired, the temperature should
be carefully held to the lower limit of the range. 2-41. CYANIDING. Steel parts
may be surface-hardened by heating while in contact with a cyanid salt,
followed by quenching. Only a thin case is obtained by this method and it
is, therefore, seldom used in connection with aircraft construction or repair.
Cyaniding is, however, a rapid and economical method of case hardening, and may
be used in some instances for relatively unimportant parts. The work to be
hardened is immersed in a bath of molten sodium or potassium cyanide from 30 to
60 minutes. The cyanide bath should be mainlined at temperature to 760 C to 899
C (1,400 F to 1,650 F). Immediately after removal from the bath, the parts are
quenched in water. The case obtained in this manner is due principally to the
formation of carbides and nitrides on the surface of the steel. The use of a closed pot
and ventilating hood are required for cyaniding, as cyanide vapors are extremely
poisonous. 2-42. NITRIDING. This method of case hardening is advantageous
due to the fact that a harder case is obtained than by carburizing. Many engine
parts such as cylinder barrels and gears may be treated in this way. Nitriding is
generally applied to certain special steel alloys, one of the essential constituents of
which is aluminum. The process involves the exposing of the parts to ammonia
gas or other nitrogenous materials for 20 to 100 hours at 950F. The
container in which the work and Ammonia gas are brought in contact must be
airtight and capable of maintaining good circulation and even temperature
throughout. The depth of case obtained by nitriding is about 0.015 inch if heated for
50 hours. The nitriding process does not affect the physical state of the core if
the preceding tempering temperature was 950 F or over. When a part is to be
only partially treated, tinning of any surface will prevent it from being nitrides.
Nitrided surfaces can be reheated to 950 F with out losing any of their hardness.
However, if heated above that temperature, the hardness is rapidly lost and cannot
be regained by retreatment. Prior to any nitriding treatment, all decarburized
metal must be removed to prevent flaking of the nitrided case. When no distortion
is permissible in the nitrided part, it is necessary to normalize the steel prior to
nitriding to remove all strains resulting from the forging, quenching, or machining.
2-43. HEAT TREATING EQUIPMENT. Equipment necessary for heat treating
consists of a suitable means for bringing the metal to the required temperature
measuring and controlling device, and quenching medium. Heat may, in
some instances, be supplied by means of a forge or welding torch; however,
for the treatment required in aircraft work, a furnace is necessary. Various
jigs and fixtures are sometimes needed for controlling quenching and preventing
warping. 2-44. FURNACES. Heat treating furnaces are of many designs and no
one size or type perfectly fills every heat treating requirement. The size and
quantity of metal to be treated and the various treatments required determine the
size and type of furnace most suitable for each individual case. The furnace
should be of a suitable type and design for the purpose intended and should be
capable of maintaining within the working zone a temperature varying not more
than + or 14 C ( 25F) for the desired value

Nitriding

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article needs additional citations for verification.

Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may
be challenged and removed. (March 2010)

Nitriding is a heat treating process that alloys nitrogen onto the surface of a metal to
create a case hardened surface. It is predominantly used on steel, but also titanium,
aluminum and molybdenum.

Typical applications include gears, crankshafts, camshafts, cam followers, valve

parts, extruder screws, die-casting tools, forging dies, extrusion dies, injectors and
plastic-mold tools.

Contents
[hide]
 1 Processes
o 1.1 Gas nitriding
o 1.2 Salt bath nitriding
o 1.3 Plasma nitriding
 2 Materials for nitriding
 3 History
 4 See also
 5 References
 6 Further reading

 7 External links

[edit] Processes

The processes are named after the medium used to donate nitrogen. The three main
methods used are: gas nitriding, salt bath nitriding, and plasma nitriding.

[edit] Gas nitriding

In gas nitriding the donor is a nitrogen rich gas usually ammonia (NH3), which is
why it is sometimes known as ammonia nitriding.[1] When ammonia comes into
contact with the heated work piece it disassociates into nitrogen and hydrogen. The
nitrogen then diffuses from the surface into the core of the material. This process has
been around for nearly a century though only in the last few decades has there been
a concentrated effort to investigate the thermodynamics and kinetics involved.
Recent developments have led to a process that can be accurately controlled. The
thickness and phase constitution of the resulting nitriding layers can be selected and
the process optimized for the particular properties required. The advantages of gas
nitriding over the other variants are:

 All round nitriding effect (can be a disadvantage in some cases, compared

with plasma nitriding)
 Large batch sizes possible - the limiting factor being furnace size and gas flow
 With modern computer control of the atmosphere the nitriding results can be
tightly controlled
 Relatively cheap equipment cost - especially compared with plasma

The disadvantages of gas nitriding are:

  Reaction kinetics heavily influenced by surface condition - an oily surface or
one contaminated with cutting fluids for example will deliver poor results
 Surface activation is sometimes required to successfully treat steels with a
high chromium content - compare sputtering during plasma nitriding
 Ammonia as nitriding medium - though not especially toxic it can be harmful
when inhaled in large quantities. Also, care must be taken when heating in
the presence of oxygen to reduce the risk of explosion

[edit] Salt bath nitriding

In salt bath nitriding the nitrogen donating medium is a nitrogen containing salt
such as cyanide salt. The salts used also donate carbon to the workpiece surface
making salt bath a nitrocarburizing process. The temperature used is typical of all
nitrocarburizing processes: 550–590 °C (1,022–1,094 °F). The advantages of salt
nitriding are:

 Quick processing time - usually in the order of 4 hours or so to achieve

 Simple operation - heat the salt and workpieces to temperature and submerge
until the duration has expired

The disadvantages are:

 The salts used are highly toxic - Disposal of salts are controlled by stringent
environmental laws in western countries and has increased the costs involved
in using salt baths. This is one of the most significant reasons the process has
fallen out of favor in the last decade or so.
 Only one process possible with a particular salt type - since the nitrogen
potential is set by the salt, only one type of process is possible

[edit] Plasma nitriding

Plasma nitriding, also known as ion nitriding, plasma ion nitriding or glow-discharge
nitriding, is an industrial surface hardening treatment for metallic materials.

In plasma nitriding, the reactivity of the nitriding media is not due to the
temperature but to the gas ionized state. In this technique intense electric fields are
used to generate ionized molecules of the gas around the surface to be nitrided. Such
highly active gas with ionized molecules is called plasma, naming the technique. The
gas used for plasma nitriding is usually pure nitrogen, since no spontaneous
decomposition is needed (as is the case of gas nitriding with amonia). There are hot
plasmas typified by plasma jets used for metal cutting, welding, cladding or
spraying. There are also cold plasmas, usually generated inside vacuum chambers,
at low pressure regimes.
Usually steels are very beneficially treated with plasma nitriding. Plasma nitriding
advantage is related to the close control of the nitrided microstructure, allowing
nitriding with or without compound layer formation. Not only the performance of
metal parts gets enhanced but working lifespan gets boosted. So does the strain
limit, and the fatigue strength of the metals being treated.

A plasma nitrided part is usually ready for use. It calls for no machining, or
polishing or any other post-nitriding operations. Thus the process is user-friendly,
saves energy since it works fastest, and causes little or no distortion.

This process was invented by Dr. Bernhardt Berghaus of Germany who later settled
in Zurich to escape persecution of his community by the Nazis in 1939. It was only
after his death in late 1960s that the process was acquired by Klockner group and
popularized world over.

Plasma nitriding is often coupled with physical vapor deposition (PVD) process and
labeled Duplex Treatment, to avail of immensely enhanced benefits. Many users
prefer to have a plasma oxidation step combined at the last phase of processing to
generate a smooth jetblack layer of oxides which is very resistant to not only wear
but corrosion.

Since nitrogen ions are made available by ionization, differently from gas or salt
bath, plasma nitriding efficiency does not depend on the temperature. Plasma
nitriding can thus be performed in a broad temperature range, from 260°C to more
than 600°C.[2] For instance, at moderate temperatures (like 420°C), stainless steels can
be nitrided without the formation of chromium nitride precipitates and hence
maintaining their corrosion resistance properties.

In plasma nitriding processes nitrogen gas (N2) is usually the nitrogen carrying gas.
Other gasses like hydrogen or Argon are also used. Indeed, Argon and H 2 can be
used before the nitriding process during the heating up of the parts in order to clean
the surfaces to be nitrided. This cleaning procedure effectively removes the oxide
layer from surfaces and may remove fine layers of solvants that could remain. This
also helps the thermal stability of the plasma plant since the heat added by the
plasma is already present during the warm up and hence once the process
temperature is reached the actual nitriding begins with minor heating changes. For
the nitriding process H2 gas is also added in order keep the surface clear of oxides.

[edit] Materials for nitriding

Examples of easily nitridable steels include the SAE 4100, 4300, 5100, 6100, 8600,
8700, 9300 and 9800 series, UK aircraft quality steel grades BS 4S 106, BS 3S 132,
905M39 (EN41B), stainless steels, some tool steels (H13 and P20 for example) and
certain cast irons. Ideally, steels for nitriding should be in the hardened and
tempered condition, requiring nitriding take place at a lower temperature than the
last tempering temperature. A fine-turned or ground surface finish is best. Minimal
amounts of material should be removed post nitriding to preserve the surface
hardness.

Nitriding alloys are alloy steels with nitride forming elements such as aluminum,
chromium, molybdenum and titanium.

[edit] History

Systematic investigation into the effect of nitrogen on the surface properties of steel
only started in the 1920s. Investigation into gas nitriding began independently in
both Germany and America. The process was greeted with enthusiasm in Germany
and several steel grades were developed with nitriding especially in mind, these are
the so called nitriding steels. The reception in America, on the other hand, was less
impressive. With so little demand the process was more or less forgotten in the US. It
was only after World War II that the process was reintroduced from Europe. A great
deal of research has taken place in the last few decades to understand the
thermodynamics and kinetics of the reactions taking place.

[edit] See also

 Carburization
 Carbonitriding
 Surface finishing

[edit] References

1. ^ Ion Nitriding and Nitrocarburizing of Sintered PM Parts, October 7, 2004

2. ^ Zagonel, L; Figueroa, C; Droppajr, R; Alvarez, F (2006). "Influence of the
process temperature on the steel microstructure and hardening in pulsed
plasma nitriding". Surface and Coatings Technology 201: 452.
doi:10.1016/j.surfcoat.2005.11.137.

[edit] Further reading

 Ruth Chatterjee-Fischer - Wärmebehandlung von Eisenwerkstoffen: Nitrieren

und Nitrocarburieren [Heat treatment of ferrous materials: nitriding and
nitrocarburising] 1995 2nd Edition Expert Verlag ISBN 3-8159-1092
 Chattopadhyay, Ramnarayan (2004). "Plasma Nitriding". Advanced Thermally
Assisted Surface Engineering Processes. Berlin: Springer. pp. 90–94. ISBN 1-4020-
7696-7.
[edit] External links

 Key to Steel - Nitriding

 "MIL-S-6090A, Military Specification: Process for Steels Used In Aircraft
Carburizing and Nitriding". United States Department of Defense. 07 JUN
1971. http://www.everyspec.com/MIL-SPECS/MIL+SPECS+(MIL-S)/MIL-S-
6090A_8810/.

Carbonitriding

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Not to be confused with Nitrocarburizing.

This article needs additional citations for verification.

Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may
be challenged and removed. (August 2009)

Carbonitriding is a metallurgical surface modification technique that is used to

increase the surface hardness of a metal, thereby reducing wear. During the process,
atoms of carbon and nitrogen diffuse interstitially into the metal, creating barriers to
slip, increasing the hardness and modulus near the surface. Carbonitriding is often
applied to inexpensive, easily machined low carbon steel to impart the surface
properties of more expensive and difficult to work grades of steel. [1] Surface hardness
of carbonitrided parts ranges from 55 to 62 HRC.

Certain pre-industrial case hardening processes include not only carbon-rich

materials such as charcoal, but nitrogen-rich materials such as urea, which implies
that traditional surface hardening techniques were a form of carbonitriding.

Contents

[hide]
 1 Process
 2 Characteristics of carbonitrided parts
 3 Advantages
 4 Applications
 5 See also

 6 References

[edit] Process
Carbonitriding is similar to gas carburization with the addition of ammonia to the
carburizing atmosphere. which provides a source of nitrogen. Nitrogen is adsorbed
at the surface and diffuses into the workpiece along with carbon. Carbonitriding
(around 850 °C / 1550 °F) is carried out at temperatures substantially higher than
plain nitriding (around 530 °C / 990 °F) but slightly lower than those used for
carburizing (around 950 °C / 1700 °F) and for shorter times. Carbonitriding tends to
be more economical than carburizing, and also reduces distortion during quenching.
The lower temperature allows oil quenching, or even gas quenching with a
protective atmosphere.

[edit] Characteristics of carbonitrided parts

Carbonitriding forms a hard, wear resistant case, typically .07mm -.5mm thick, and
generally has higher hardness than a carburized case. Case depth is tailored to the
application, and a thicker case, increases wear life of the part. Carbonitriding alters
only the top layers of the workpiece; and does not deposit an additional layer, so the
process does not significantly alter the dimensions of the part.

Maximum case depth is typically restricted to 0.75mm; case depths greater than this
take too long to diffuse to be economical. Shorter processing times are preferred to
restrict the concentration of nitrogen in the case, as nitrogen addition is more
difficult to control than carbon. An excess of nitrogen in the work piece can cause
high levels of retained austenite and porosity, which are undesirable in producing a
part of high hardness.

[edit] Advantages

Carbonitriding also has other advantages over carburizing; it has a greater resistance
to softening during tempering and increased fatigue and impact strength. It is
possible to use both carbonitriding and carburizing together to form optimum
conditions of deeper case depths and therefore performance of the part in industry.
This method is applied particularly to steels with low case hardenability, such as the
seat of the valve. The process applied is initially carburizing to the required case
depth (up to 2.5mm) at around 900-955°C, and then carbonitriding to achieve
required carbonitrided case depth. The parts are then oil quenched, and the resulting
part has a harder case than possibly achieved for carburization, and the addition of
the carbonitrided layer increases the residual compressive stresses in the case such
that the contact fatigue resistance and strength gradient are both increased.

[edit] Applications
Typical applications for case hardening are gear teeth, cams, shafts, bearings,
fasteners, pins, automotive clutch plates, tools, and dies.

[edit] See also

 Nitridization
 Carburization
 Differential hardening
 Quench polish quench
 Surface engineering
 Flame hardening VS induction hardening VS laser transformation
hardening
 Hi Melrose

1. Flame Hardening

Basic, cheap, relatively easy set-up. Process not very accurate and gives relatively
thick hardened cases. Process relies on heat conduction from component surface, so
relatively slow.

2. Induction Hardening

Relatively expensive and complex set-up. Process can be very accurate and
repeatable and good for mass production. Process does not solely rely on heat
conduction, but from internally generated heat from induced electrical currents. Can
be extremely fast heating even for thick case hardening (frequency dependent).

3. Laser Transformation Hardening

Relatively expensive and complex set-up. Process can be very accurate and
repeatable and good for mass production. Process relies on heat conduction. Fast for
thin transformation layers or lazer glazing, but time required for deeper hardening.

It is best to look at this from the point of view of the component and its intended
application. You should be able find detailed information on this subject by
searching Google or the like or reading a good book on heat treatment.

Brinell scale

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Force diagram

The Brinell scale characterizes the indentation hardness of materials through the
scale of penetration of an indenter, loaded on a material test-piece. It is one of several
definitions of hardness in materials science.

Proposed by Swedish engineer Johan August Brinell in 1900, it was the first widely
used and standardised hardness test in engineering and metallurgy. The large size of
indentation and possible damage to test-piece limits its usefulness.

The typical test uses a 10 millimetres (0.39 in) diameter steel ball as an indenter with
a 3,000 kgf (29,000 N; 6,600 lbf) force. For softer materials, a smaller force is used; for
harder materials, a tungsten carbide ball is substituted for the steel ball. The
indentation is measured and hardness calculated as:

where:

P = applied force (kgf)

D = diameter of indenter (mm)
d = diameter of indentation (mm)

The BHN can be converted into the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), although the
relationship is dependent on the material, and therefore determined empirically. The
relationship is based on Meyer's index (n) from Meyer's law. If Meyer's index is less
than 2.2 then the ratio of UTS to BHN is 0.36. If Meyer's index is greater than 2.2,
then the ratio increases.[1]

BHN is designated by the most commonly used test standards (ASTM E10-08 [2] and
ISO 6506-1:2005[3]) as HBW (H from hardness, B from brinell and W from the material
of the indenter, tungsten (wolfram) carbide). In former standards HB or HBS were
used to refer to measurements made with steel indenters.

HBW is calculated in both standards using the SI units as

where:

F = applied force (N)

D = diameter of indenter (mm)
d = diameter of indentation (mm)
Contents

[hide]
  1 Common values
 2 Standards
 3 See also
 4 References
o 4.1 Notes
o 4.2 Bibliography

 5 External links

[edit] Common values

When quoting a Brinell hardness number (BHN or more commonly HB), the
conditions of the test used to obtain the number must be specified. The standard
format for specifying tests can be seen in the example "HBW 10/3000". "HBW" means
that a tungsten carbide (from the chemical symbol for tungsten) ball indenter was
used, as opposed to "HBS", which means a hardened steel ball. The "10" is the ball
diameter in millimeters. The "3000" is the force in kilograms force.

Brinell hardness numbers

Material Hardness
Softwood (e.g., pine) 1.6 HBS 10/100
Hardwood 2.6–7.0 HBS 1.6 10/100
Aluminium 15 HB
Copper 35 HB
Mild steel 120 HB
18-8 (304) stainless steel annealed 200 HB[4]
Glass 1550 HB
Hardened tool steel 1500–1900 HB
Rhenium diboride 4600 HB
Note: Standard test conditions unless otherwise stated

[edit] Standards

 International (ISO) and European (CEN) Standard

o EN ISO 6506-1:2005: Metallic materials - Brinell hardness test - Part 1:
test method
o EN ISO 6506-2:2005: Metallic materials - Brinell hardness test - Part 2:
verification and calibration of testing machine
o EN ISO 6506-3:2005: Metallic materials - Brinell hardness test - Part 3:
calibration of reference blocks
o EN ISO 6506-4:2005: Metallic materials - Brinell hardness test - Part 4:
Table of hardness values
  US standard (ASTM International)
o ASTM E10-08: Standard method for Brinell hardness of metallic
materials.

[edit] See also

 Brinelling
 Hardness comparison
 Knoop hardness test
 Leeb Rebound Hardness Test
 Rockwell scale
 Vickers hardness test

[edit] References

[edit] Notes
1. ^ Tabor, p. 17.
2. ^ ASTM E10 - 08 Standard Test Method for Brinell Hardness of Metallic
Materials
3. ^ ISO 6506-1:2005 Metallic materials - Brinell hardness test - Part 1: Test
method
4. ^ 304: the place to start, http://www.assda.asn.au/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=91, retrieved 2009-03-31.

[edit] Bibliography
 Tabor, David (2000), The Hardness of Metals, Oxford University Press,
ISBN 0198507763, http://books.google.com/?id=b-9LdJ5FHXYC.

[edit] External links

 Rockwell to Brinell conversion chart

 Struers hardness conversion table
 Brinell Hardness HB conversion chart

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brinell_scale"

Categories: Hardness tests | Dimensionless numbers
Personal tools
 New features
 Log in / create account

Namespaces
 Article
 Discussion

Variants

Views
 Read
 Edit
 View history

Actions

Search
Search

Navigation
 Main page
 Contents
 Featured content
 Current events
 Random article
 Donate

Interaction
 Help
 About Wikipedia
 Community portal
 Recent changes
 Contact Wikipedia

Toolbox
 What links here
 Related changes
 Upload file
 Special pages
  Permanent link
 Cite this page

Print/export
 Create a book
 Download as PDF
 Printable version

Languages
 Afrikaans
 ‫العربية‬
 Български
 Català
 Česky
 Deutsch
 Eesti
 Español
 ‫فارسی‬
 Français
 한국어
 Italiano
 ‫עברית‬
 Magyar
 Nederlands
 日本語
 Norsk (bokmål)
 O'zbek
 Polski
 Português
 Русский
 Simple English
 Slovenčina
 Slovenščina
 Svenska
 ไทย
 Українська
 中文

 This page was last modified on 23 October 2010 at 09:30.

 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
 Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a
non-profit organization.
 Contact us

 Privacy policy
 About Wikipedia
 Disclaimers




Charpy impact test

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Materials failure modes

Buckling

Corrosion

Creep

Fatigue

Fracture

Impact

Mechanical overload

Thermal shock

Wear

Yielding

This box: view • talk • edit

The Charpy impact test, also known as the Charpy v-notch test, is a standardized
high strain-rate test which determines the amount of energy absorbed by a material
during fracture. This absorbed energy is a measure of a given material's toughness
and acts as a tool to study temperature-dependent brittle-ductile transition. It is
widely applied in industry, since it is easy to prepare and conduct and results can be
obtained quickly and cheaply. But a major disadvantage is that all results are only
comparative.[1]

The test was developed in 1905 by the French scientist Georges Charpy. It was
pivotal in understanding the fracture problems of ships during the second World
War. Today it is used in many industries for testing building and construction
materials used in the construction of pressure vessels, bridges and to see how storms
will affect materials used in building.[2]

Contents

[hide]
 1 Definition
 2 Quantitative results
 3 Qualitative results
 4 Sample sizes
 5 See also
 6 Notes

 7 External links

[edit] Definition
A vintage impact test machine.

The apparatus consists of a pendulum axe swinging at a notched sample of material.

The energy transferred to the material can be inferred by comparing the difference in
the height of the hammer before and after a big fracture.

The notch in the sample affects the results of the impact test, [3] thus it is necessary for
the notch to be of a regular dimensions and geometry. The size of the sample can
also affect results, since the dimensions determine whether or not the material is in
plane strain. This difference can greatly affect conclusions made.[4]

The "Standard methods for Notched Bar Impact Testing of Metallic Materials" can be
found in ASTM E23[5], ISO 148-1[6] or EN 10045-1[7], where all the aspects of the test
and equipment used are described in detail.

[edit] Quantitative results

The quantitative result of the impact test—the energy needed to fracture a material—
can be used to measure the toughness of the material and the yield strength. Also,
the strain rate may be studied and analyzed for its effect on fracture.

The ductile-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) may be derived from the

temperature where the energy needed to fracture the material drastically changes.
However, in practice there is no sharp transition and so it is difficult to obtain a
precise transition temperature. An exact DBTT may be empirically derived in many
ways: a specific absorbed energy, change in aspect of fracture (such as 50% of the
area is cleavage), etc.[1]

[edit] Qualitative results

The qualitative results of the impact test can be used to determine the ductility of a
material.[8] If the material breaks on a flat plane, the fracture was brittle, and if the
material breaks with jagged edges or shear lips, then the fracture was ductile.
Usually a material does not break in just one way or the other, and thus comparing
the jagged to flat surface areas of the fracture will give an estimate of the percentage
of ductile and brittle fracture.[1]

[edit] Sample sizes

According to ASTM A370,[9] the standard specimen size for Charpy impact testing is
10mm×10mm×55mm. Subsize specimen sizes are: 10mm×7.5mm×55mm,
10mm×6.7mm×55mm, 10mm×5mm×55mm, 10mm×3.3mm×55mm,
10mm×2.5mm×55mm. Details of specimens as per ASTM A370 (Standard Test
Method and Definitions for Mechanical Testing of Steel Products).

According to EN 10045-1,[7] standard specimen sizes are 10mmx10mmx55mm.

Subsize specimens are: 10mmx7.5mmx55mm and 10mmx5mmx55mm.

[edit] See also

 Izod impact strength test

 Brittle
 Impact force

[edit] Notes

1. ^ a b c Meyers Marc A, Chawla Krishan Kumar (1998). Mechanical Behaviors of

Materials. Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780132628174.
2. ^ Jacobs James A, Kilduff Thomas F (2005). Engineering Materials Technology
(5th ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall. pp. 153–155. ISBN 9780130481856.
3. ^ Kurishita H, Kayano H, Narui M, Yamazaki M, Kano Y, Shibahara I (1993).
"Effects of V-notch dimensions on Charpy impact test results for differently
sized miniature specimens of ferritic steel". Materials Transactions - JIM (Japan
Institute of Metals) 34 (11): 1042–52. ISSN 0916-1821.
4. ^ Mills NJ (February 1976). "The mechanism of brittle fracture in notched
impact tests on polycarbonate". Journal of Materials Science 11 (2): 363–75.
doi:10.1007/BF00551448.
5. ^ ASTM E23 Standard Test Methods for Notched Bar Impact Testing of
Metallic Materials
6. ^ ISO 148-1 Metallic materials - Charpy pendulum impact test - Part 1: Test
method
7. ^ a b EN 10045-1 Charpy impact test on metallic materials. Test method (V-
and U-notches)
8. ^ Mathurt KK, Needleman A, Tvergaard V (May 1994). "3D analysis of failure
modes in the Charpy impact test". Modeling and Simulation in Materials Science
Engineering 2: 617–35. doi:10.1088/0965-0393/2/3A/014.
9. ^ ASTM A370 Standard Test Methods and Definitions for Mechanical Testing
of Steel Products

[edit] External links

 Charpy Impact Testing module at steeluniversity.org, including a fully

interactive simulation

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charpy_impact_test"

Categories: Fracture mechanics | Materials testing

Personal tools
 New features
 Log in / create account

Namespaces
 Article
 Discussion

Variants

Views
 Read
 Edit
 View history

Actions

Search
Search

Navigation
 Main page
 Contents
 Featured content
 Current events
 Random article
 Donate

Interaction
 Help
 About Wikipedia
 Community portal
 Recent changes
 Contact Wikipedia

Toolbox
 What links here
 Related changes
 Upload file
 Special pages
  Permanent link
 Cite this page

Print/export
 Create a book
 Download as PDF
 Printable version

Languages
 Deutsch
 Español
 ‫فارسی‬
 Français
 Italiano
 Magyar
 Nederlands
 日本語
 Polski
 Slovenščina
 Tiếng Việt

 This page was last modified on 9 November 2010 at 01:53.

 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a
non-profit organization.
 Contact us

 Privacy policy
 About Wikipedia
 Disclaimers

Rockwell scale

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
A hardness tester of the Rockwell type.

A closeup of the business end of a Rockwell-type hardness tester.

The Rockwell scale is a hardness scale based on the indentation hardness of a

material. The Rockwell test determines the hardness by measuring the depth of
penetration of an indenter under a large load compared to the penetration made by a
preload.[1] There are different scales, which are denoted by a single letter, that use
different loads or indenters. The result, which is a dimensionless number, is noted by
HRX where X is the scale letter.

When testing metals, indentation hardness correlates linearly with tensile strength.[2]
This important relation permits economically important nondestructive testing of
bulk metal deliveries with lightweight, even portable equipment, such as hand-held
Rockwell hardness testers.[citation needed]

Contents

[hide]
 1 History
 2 Operation
 3 Scales and values
o 3.1 Typical values
 4 Standards
 5 See also
 6 References

 7 External links

[edit] History

The differential depth hardness measurement was conceived in 1908 by a Viennese

professor Paul Ludwik in his book Die Kegelprobe (crudely, "the cone trial").[3] The
differential-depth method subtracted out the errors associated with the mechanical
imperfections of the system, such as backlash and surface imperfections. The Brinell
hardness test, invented in Sweden, was developed earlier—in 1900—but it was slow,
not useful on fully hardened steel, and left too large an impression to be considered
nondestructive.

The Rockwell hardness tester, a differential-depth machine, was co-invented by

Connecticut natives Hugh M. Rockwell (1890–1957) and Stanley P. Rockwell (1886–
1940). A patent was applied for on July 15, 1914. [4] The requirement for this tester
was to quickly determine the effects of heat treatment on steel bearing races. The
application was subsequently approved on February 11, 1919, and holds patent
number #1,294,171. At the time of invention, both Hugh and Stanley Rockwell (not
direct relations) worked for the New Departure Manufacturing Co. of Bristol, CT.
New Departure was a major ball bearing manufacturer that, in 1916, became part of
United Motors and, shortly thereafter, General Motors Corp. After leaving the
Connecticut company, Stanley Rockwell, then in Syracuse, NY, applied for an
improvement to the original invention on September 11, 1919, which was approved
on November 18, 1924. The new tester holds patent #1,516,207.[5][6] Rockwell moved
to West Hartford, CT, and made an additional improvement in 1921.[6] Stanley
collaborated with instrument manufacturer Charles H. Wilson of the Wilson-
Mauelen Company in 1920 to commercialize his invention and develop standardized
testing machines.[7] Stanley started a heat-treating firm circa 1923, the Stanley P.
Rockwell Company, which still exists in Hartford, CT. The later-named Wilson
Mechanical Instrument Company has changed ownership over the years, and was
most recently acquired by Instron Corp. in 1993.[8]

[edit] Operation

The determination of the Rockwell hardness of a material involves the application of

a minor load followed by a major load, and then noting the depth of penetration, vis
a vis, hardness value directly from a dial, in which a harder material gives a higher
number. The chief advantage of Rockwell hardness is its ability to display hardness
values directly, thus obviating tedious calculations involved in other hardness
measurement techniques.

It is typically used in engineering and metallurgy. Its commercial popularity arises

from its speed, reliability, robustness, resolution and small area of indentation.

In order to get a reliable reading the thickness of the test-piece should be at least 10
times the depth of the indentation.[9] Also, readings should be taken from a flat
perpendicular surface, because round surfaces give lower readings. A correction
factor can be used if the hardness must be measured on a round surface.[10]

[edit] Scales and values

There are several alternative scales, the most commonly used being the "B" and "C"
scales. Both express hardness as an arbitrary dimensionless number.

Various Rockwell scales[11]

Scale Abbreviation Load Indenter Use
A HRA 60 kgf 120° diamond cone† Tungsten carbide
1
⁄16-inch-diameter (1.6 mm)Aluminium, brass, and soft
B HRB 100 kgf
steel sphere steels
C HRC 150 kgf120° diamond cone Harder steels
D HRD 100 kgf120° diamond cone
E HRE 100 kgf 1⁄8-inch-diameter (3.2 mm)
 steel sphere
1
⁄16-inch-diameter (1.6 mm)
F HRF 60 kgf
steel sphere
1
⁄16-inch-diameter (1.6 mm)
G HRG 150 kgf
steel sphere
†
Also called a brale indenter
 Except for one very limited exception,[clarification needed] the steel indenter balls have
been replaced by tungsten carbide balls of the varying diameters. Scales using
the ball indenter have a "W" suffix added to the scale name to indicate usage
of the carbide ball, for example "HR30T" is now "HR30TW".[citation needed]

The superficial Rockwell scales use lower loads and shallower impressions on brittle
and very thin materials. The 45N scale employs a 45-kgf load on a diamond cone-
shaped Brale indenter, and can be used on dense ceramics. The 15T scale employs a
15-kgf load on a 1⁄16-inch-diameter (1.6 mm) hardened steel ball, and can be used on
sheet metal.

Readings below HRC 20 are generally considered unreliable, as are readings much
above HRB 100.

[edit] Typical values

 Very hard steel (e.g. a good knife blade): HRC 55–62 (Hardened tool steels
such as D2)[12]
 Axes, chisels, etc.: HRC 40–45 (about 1045 carbon steel)[citation needed]
 Brass: HRB 55 (Low brass, UNS C24000, H01 Temper) to HRB 93 (Cartridge
Brass, UNS C26000 (260 Brass), H10 Temper)[13]

Several other scales, including the extensive A-scale, are used for specialized
applications. There are special scales for measuring case-hardened specimens.

[edit] Standards

 International (ISO)

 ISO 6508-1: Metallic materials -- Rockwell hardness test -- Part 1: Test

method (scales A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, K, N, T)
 ISO 2039-2: Plastics -- Determination of hardness -- Part 2: Rockwell
hardness

 US standard (ASTM International)

  ASTM E18 : Standard methods for Rockwell hardness and Rockwell
superficial hardness of metallic materials

[edit] See also

 Vickers hardness test

 Brinell hardness test
 Leeb Rebound Hardness Test
 Knoop hardness test
 Shore durometer
 Hardness comparison
 Holger F. Struer

******************