ae Non-ferrous Alloys Opsectives To describe the composition and properties of various non-ferrous allo ‘ To list the applications of alloys of copper, aluminium, nickel ‘» To describe the requirements for bearings and magnesium 6.1_COPPER AND ITS ALLOYS Copper is easy to work with, and is ductile and malleable. It has possesses good machinability and is non magnetic. It and can be soldered, brazed and welded Copper easily forms alloys with other elements like Zn, Sn, Al, Pb, Si and Ni (Table made of copper and zinc, while bronze is made of copper and tin. The properties of copper ‘be improved by other alloying elements (Table 6.2) shows good electrical and therma’ Table 6.1 Composition of copper alloys Unalloyed copper Around 99.9% pure Cu Brasses Cu-Zn, Cu-Pb, Cu-Zn with tin and Al additions Bronzes ‘Cu-Sn, Cu-Al, Cu-Si, Cu-Be alloys Cupronickels CuNi Nickel silver Cu-Ni-Zn Table 6.2 Additions to copper alloys and the improved properties | Zinc, nickel, tin Colour Zinc, sulphur, lead Machinability Nickel, silver, tin, aluminium Corrosion resistance Silicon, gold, cadmium, tin Wear resistance Zinc, chromium, tin, silicon, nickel, manganese Strength |94 Engineering Materials and Metallurgy 6.1.1 Brasses Alloys of copper and zinc are called brasses. Based on composition, brasses can be classitieg Ssified 25 fo % zinc; ductile and non-heat treatable 3 « Alpha brasses ~ alloys having less than 36' «Alpha beta brasses ~ alloys having 36-45% zinc; less ductile and heat treatable, The Second oy can be precipitated to obtain a precipitation-hardening effect lassified as cast or wrought (work Based on the method of processing, brasses can be cl a Xany of cast alloys include: Copper-tin-zinc alloys (red, semi-red and yellow brasses) © Copper-bismuth © Copper-silicon-zine alloys Examples of wrought brasses: ‘+ Copper-zine Copper-zine-tin (tin bronze) « Copper-zinc-lead (leaded brasses) Brasses are alloys of copper and zinc (Fig. 6.1). The addition of zinc improves ductility and str imparts good corrosion resistance and confers good working properties. Alpha brasses contain up to 36% zinc. The zinc content is about 5~20% in red brasses and around 20-36% in yellow brasses. Alpha beta brasses contain 54-62% of copper. These contain two phases: alpha and beta, The beta phase is harder and more britle at room temperature and so it is cold work, At elevated temperatures, the beta phase becomes very plastic, and so these alloys have excellent hot-working properties (when heated to the single-phase beta region) The addition of 0 0.5% lead improves machinability, so leaded brass is used for screw machine parts, engraving plat keys, lock parts, tumblers, gears and watch parts (in other words, parts that need to be machined to minute details). Brass-based alloys have several applications (Table 6.3). difficult t 1100 ODO ESTE ee ° 2 750 ‘ ® % ol" B g “lye E500 B\ |y 2 1- Red brass y 2- Yellow brass 250} | j 3- Alpha plus beta brass feces ‘ 40 20 30 40 50 60 70 Zinc 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 Copper Fig. 6.1 Composition of different types of brass 4special prass-based alloys table 6.3 Composition, characteristics and applications of special brass-based alloys ome ition in % Characteristics 61 Cu-28 Zn-1Sn_—_ Improved strength and corrosion ‘admiralty metal minium brass 66 Cu-22 Zn-2Al ‘Aut Cartridge brass 60 Cu-30 Zn Yellow brass 65 Cu-35 Zn pedbrasses 85 Cu-15Zn Gliding metal 95 Cu-5 Zn ‘Commercial 90 Cu-10 Zn brass Silicon brass 80 Cu-14Zn-4 Si- 0.5 Pb Low brass 80 Cu-20 Zn Muntz metal 60 Cu-40 Zn k Free-cutting brass Pb 60 Cu-39.25 Zn-0.65 Sn 58.5 Cu-39 Zn-1.4 High-zinc a Fe-1Sn-0.1.Mn__and wear resistance resistance Forms a tenacious self-healing film which protects the tube against high cooling water velocities Better corrosion resistance than yellow brasses; they are not susceptible to stress corrosion cracking Good flow characteristics and formable Excellent cold working Rapid cooling will suppress the precipitation of the alpha phase. This can be subsequently precipitated by suitable heat treatment. Hence this alloy is hardenable. 0.4-0.8 Pb improves machinability (leaded Muntz). 61.5 Cu-35.5 Zn-3_ Has the best machinability and good mechanical and corrosion resistance properties ‘Also known as Tobin bronze; has increased resistance to salt water corrosion brass with high strength Applications Used for condenser and heat exchanger tubes in steam power plant equipment Used in marine and land power stations Automotive - radiator cores, headlight reflectors; ammunition components Electrical - lamp fixtures, socket shells; hardware — fasteners, screws, rivets, springs Electrical conduits, condensers and heat exchanger tubes, plumbing pipes and name plates Coins, medals, tokens, emblems, plaques, base for items to be gold- plated Used in costume jewellery, marine hardware, forgings, rivets and screws For die-cast parts and small gears Used for ornamental metal work, thermostat bellows, musical instruments, flexible hose, other deep drawn articles Ship sheathing, condenser heads, perforated metal and architectural work. Also for valve stem and condenser tubes Used for automatic high-speed screw machine parts Used for condenser plates, welding rods, propeller shafts, piston rods and valve stems Used for clutch discs, shafts, valve stems and welding rods6.2 ALUMINIUM AND ITS ALLOYS | about one-third of steel) material tha has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than steels. It also shows conductivity. It is, however, non-magnetic and can therefore be used for ielding purposes like enclosures for electrical equipment Its strength has been estimated to be 4! MPa; this can be improved to 690 MPa by cold working. It _ isextensively used in cooking utensils, food and beverage cans and welded assemblies. The maximum etstality of copper in aluminium is 5.65% at 547°C. It decreases 10 0.45% at 295°C So, alloys containing 2.5~5.0% copper will respond to heat treatment by age hardening Solution is carried out by heating the alloy to the single-phase region. followed by rapid cooling. An alloy phase(® ~ theta) is formed. This is similar in composition to CuAL,. Subsequent precipitates the theta phase, thereby increasing the strength of the alloy ©2.1 Designation of Aluminium Alloys tor cast alloys, a three-digit system is used. For wrought products (sheets, plates, forgings, an ons), a four-digit system is used. These digits are followed by a letter that denotes the temper “treatment condition (Table 6.6). t has good malleabilityCLASSIFICATION, COMPOSITION AND MICROSTRUCTURE OF FERROUS MATERIALS alloys with less than 2% carbon are called steels, w hile those with a carbon content yy 1 high-alloy steels han 10% 5.4 In general, ferrous of 2.0-4.5% are called cast irons. Steels can be further classified into low-alloy anc depending on whether the overall composition of the alloying elements is less than or greater t For a detailed discussion on low-alloy steels, please see Chapter 2 5.2 EFFECT OF NON-EQUILIBRIUM COOLING From the previous chapters, we know that the properties of steel are dependent on the phases produces during melting, processing and heat treatment. For melting and processing, the phases are understoo by using an iron—carbon diagram as a reference. For heat treatment, the phases present are understoo using TTT diagrams. In the iron-carbon phase diagram (Fig. 5.1a), the most important areas are as follows « The austenite region is the area in which iron is in the austenite structure. It is from this austenit that heat treatments can be carried out to further modify the properties of steel « The ferrite region indicates the softest form of iron and is hence useful for processing The cementite region is one in which hard phases are produced and hence, the material becom: strong during use. In heat treatment using the TTT diagram (Fig. 5.1b), the important points are as follows: The temperature at which austenite is 100% The position of the nose of the curve1 ~ Temperature for 100% austenite 2 - Position of the nose (o) the (a) iron-carbon and (b) TTT diagrams then we can carry out beat treatment at that lov right, the preferred martensite phase can be forme; : : { Ferrous Alloys 79 5.4 EFFECT OF ALLOYING ELEMENTS 5.4_ EFFECT O! isa substance that has metallic properties and is composed of two or more chemical ele men's Analloy Malloy of iron and carbon. By adding some more elements 10 at which at least one is a metal. Steel steel, its properties can be altered “any alloying addition can have three major ef « Increase the austenite area: This naturally lowers the temperature and broadens the range of austenite av ailability. Such elements are called austes formers. « Increase the ferrite area: This improves the possibility of forming, Such elem ferrite formers. Es «Increase the carbide area: Thi stabilisers. ents are called improves the hardness. Such elements are called carbide In addition, there could be other effects like grain size modifiers or precipitation stren eneral, any additive that increases the transformation temperature is called an alpha stal ny additive that lowers the transformation temperature is called a beta stabiliser. iser, while 5.4.1 Austenite Formers When enough quantity farbon are important elements that form austenite. rature as well. 1, the steel structure can be austenitic at room temper ihs this lowers the transformation temperature, it belongs to the beta type of stabiliser. Hadfield steel, ‘which contains 13% manganese, 1.2% chromium and 1% carbon, is an example of such a steel. In uch types of steel, austenite is stabilised by manganese and carbon One h contains 18% chromium and 8% nickel, also exhibits such a microstruch Stainless steel. The equilibrium diagram for iron-nickel shows that 9s the range of austenite zone also increases. It is possible to obtain a fully austenitic structure from a steel containing 10% nickel, by heating it to 700°C. Nickel, manganese and c: of nickel and manganese is presen type of stainless steel, whi ture and is called austenitic ickel content increases, the 5.4.2 Ferrite Formers tungsten, vanadium and s in ferritic even at room temperature, As th f stabiliser. Steels with low carbon content and around 3% ry and are useful as transformer sheets. Chromium, aluminium, ilicon are the elements that form ferrite. Iron alloys with around 13% chromium remai temperature, it belongs to the alpha type 0 silicon also fall under the ferritic steel catego js increases the transition 5.4.3 Carbide Formers Chromium, vanadium, tungsten, Zire ‘elements show higher affinity for carbon without the presence of iron are sometimes chromium carbide. bide-forming elements. Most of these form carbides easily. Carbides formed tungsten carbide and ‘onium and tantalum are car! than for iron and, hene alled special carbides; for example. 5.4.4 Nitride Formers Ithas been found that, generally, all the elements that for well, Nitrogen is introduced by a process called nitriding, wherein nitrogen as BX or from a nitr containing liquid like cyanide can be introduced onto the ‘surface. Nitriding is actually used to me: 1m carbides are capable of forming nitrides as , asurea : 5.7.2 Stainless Steels Stainless steel refers to high-alloy steels that possess superior corrosion resistance compared to steels, by virtue of large amounts of chromium. Stainless steels normally contain 10-30% chromi Based on crystal structure, stainless steels can be classified as austenitic, ferritic and martensitic Based on hardening by precipitates, some steels are also called precipitation hardening steels — these normally contain both austenite and martensite. The generic properties of each group are described below etic, non-heat-treatable steels that contain 200d heat resistance and corrosion resistance, on cracking. Even though they are s good aesthetics, making Ferritic grades: Ferritic stainless steels refer to ma chromium. They do not contain nickel. They posse: even in sea water. They possess good resistance to stress Corros! not as good as austenitic steels in mechanical properties, they posses: them the material of choice for decorative applications. Martensitic grades: These are magnetic and can be heat treated by quenching or tempering They contain chromium but usually contain no nickel, except for two grades. Martensitic steels are not as corrosion resistant as austenitic or ferritic grades, but they possess the highest hardness among all the stainless steels. « Austenitic grades: These are non-magnetic, non-heat-treatable steels that are sometimes tempered and cold worked. Some austenitic steels tend to become slightly magnetic when subjected to operations like cold working. Austenitic steels have abnormal resistance to corrosion and heat They possess good mechanical properties over a large range of temperatures. Austenitic stainless steels can be of two varieties: chromium-nickel and chromium—man| Chromium-nickel steels are popularly used and are referred as 18-8 (Cr-Ni) steels. The chromium nickel ratio can be changed to improve formability; the carbon content, if reduced, improves the intergranular corrosion resistance. Molybdenum, if added, improves corrosion resistance ganese-low-nickel steels 5.7.3 Tool and Die Steels Tool steel refers to materials that are used to make tools shammersa tool A roller in a rolling mill isatool. Th i mping a coin is a tool steel. As the ability to shape 0 - ee ssess a unique combination of properties like hardness, “hstand high temperatures. her items. For example, atool. The die used for ment, tool steels need ability tc for the manufacture of ott e cutting tool ina lathe is ther materials is a require: strength, wear resistance and the- Engineering Materials and Metallurgy 84 Types of tool steels ; « High-speed: Some applications like drilling, He rae Dena. Tequire the tog speeds. High speed induces hig) a emperat, r ie cre a c ility to retain their hardness at these high terppe...” tools used at high speeds must have the ability to re E : Pera, Alloys of molybdenum and of tungsten are suitable for such applications. They can be haedeas to up to 55 HRC and retain this hardness even up to 500 PG « Hot-work: These are specifically meant for processing where heating the material js Part of the manufacturing process. Some examples are extrusion, die casting and piercing. As hard. is necessary, these are made of alloys containing carbide-forming elements like molybdenup, chromium and tungsten. : Cold-work: These steels are intended for use in non-heating applications like stamping, COining and burnishing. High-chromium steels, medium-alloy air-hardening steels, water-hardening alloys and oil-hardening alloys are examples of cold-work tool steels. « Shock-resistant: Shock resistance refers to the ability to withstand shock loads. Some examples are screw drivers, punches and chisels. They are designed to have good toughness. . Mould: Mould steels are used for compression and injection moulds for plastics, and die-casting dies. These are made of low-carbon steels. Special purpose: Special purpose steels may have to be machined into intricate shapes, as in punches, wrenches, drills and arbors. These are typically low-alloy steels subjected to a hardening and quenching process to achieve toughness and machinability. Water hardening: Some tools like blanking dies, drills, countersinks and reamers possess good wear resistance when used at normal temperature. They may not possess hot hardness. These are typically marked as Class W, indicating that they can be hardened by quenching in water.5.8 WROUGHT AND CAST IRON oa The word wrought indicates that the iron has been subjected to some kind of working, like hammering to form sheets or billets. Wrought iron is the purest form of iron where all the carbon is comple i removed from the pig iron. Wrought iron has high purity iron and slag, as in a two-component system, The slag is usually composed of iron silicate. It can be considered as a composite material of iron silicate distributed in an iron matrix. The carbon content is less than 0.05% while the slag is around 2% Iron that has carbon in excess of 2% is called cast iron. Cast iron is produced by re-melting pig iron and removing various impurities. The silicon percentage is adjusted to be between 1% and 3%. In such a composition, the alloy possesses good flowing characteristics and can therefore be cast into moulds without sudden solidification. As it is useful for casting into moulds, it is termed cast iron. 5.8.1 White Cast Iron White cast iron is hard, brittle and has good resistance to wear. The structure is composed of pearlite and cementite. The requirement is to avoid the formation of graphite. This is done by chilling the surfaces of the cast mould. Chilling prevents the formation of graphite during solidification. Because of its wear resistance, it is used in brake shoes and wear liners in impellers. The major application Is roll mills. By proper heat treatment, cementite can be deformed into clusters similar to nodular iron. In such a form, it can be used for transmission gear, pipe fitting and flanges. 5.8.2 Grey Cast Irons Grey cast iron is soft and has graphite flakes distributed in a ferritic structure (Fig. 5.5). Such a structure ts produced by slow cooling. Grey cast iron has good compressive strength and has the ability © dampen vibrations. It also possesses good fatigue strength. Grey cast irons are used in gears. eng!" cylinders and flywheels. *Ferrous Alloys 87 A 9 fm, e ‘ihe . } o\° ° . } A © \ 6 ‘ ne ‘ o Fig. 5.6 Spheroidal cast iron iron is produced from white cast iron by heat treatment. The structure achieved 1s with dispersed graphite particles. The free graphite particles enable # certain amount of and hence these cast irons are also known as malleable cast irons. Malleable cast trons can in both ferritic and pearlitic structures. They are used in railway equipment, gear gears and power trains for vehicles. (Ductile) Cast Irons r cast iron is a special alloy that produces a ductile cast iron. By adding magnesium in the h are converted to nodules or spheres (Fig. 5.6). Such a structure facilitates good and fatigue strength. Nodular cast iron is used for crank shafts, heavy duty military. It is also known as spheroidal cast iron. . ral elements. Silicon forces carbon out of the solution. Carbon then ‘thereby reducing the density and lowering the strength. Manganese sulphide prevents ‘and may serve to increase the hardness of cast iron. Nickel can refine the its toughness. Titanium serves to improve the fluidity. Chromium can the hardness.