Module -6

Metallography
and Micro
Structures

Metallography :

Metallography :
Metallography
Sample Preparation
and Examination .

Metallography :

601

Objective :
Objective Metallography
and its application Study
the microstructure of
materials. Observe grain
boundaries and phases

Metallography :

601

What is Metallography?
Metallography is the science
and art of preparing a metal
surface for analysis by
grinding , polishing , and
etching to show
microstructual component.

Metallography Introduction:

Microstructure:
is the geometric arrangement of grains and
the different phases present in a material.
Grain Boundaries: is the interface between
two grains in a polycrystalline material
where the crystal is disordered due to rapid
change in crystallographic directions.

Metallography Application:

Application- Study and

characterization of materials. Ensure
that the associations between
properties and structure are properly
understood. Predict properties of
materials. Design alloys with new
properties. Check if the material has
been correctly heat treated.

Metallography :

602

Sample Preparation
The preparation starts by cutting a small
representative piece of the metal to be studied.
Mounting .
Small samples can be difficult to hold safely
during grinding and polishing operations, and
their shape may not be suitable for observation
on a flat surface.
They are therefore mounted inside a polymer
block or mount.

A mounted specimen

Metallography Etching:

The purpose of etching is two-fold.

1. Grinding and polishing operations
produce a highly deformed, thin layer on
the surface which is removed chemically
during etching.
2. attacks the surface with preference
for those sites with the highest energy,
leading to surface relief which allows
different crystal orientations, grain
boundaries, precipitates, phases and
defects to be distinguished in reflected
light microscopy as demonstrated in .

Metallography Etching:
Etching should always be done in stages, beginning
with light attack, an examination in the microscope
and further etching only if required. If you overetch a
sample on the first step then the polishing procedure
will have to be repeated. The table below gives the
etchants for alloys that will be examined in this
experiment.
Etchant Sample
Kellers (2 ml HF +3 ml HCL + 5 ml NO3+ 190 ml
water) Al alloys
10 ml HNO3+90 ml water Cu-Zn alloy (brass)
Nital (2% HNO3 + 98% ethanol) Steel and cast irons

Microscopic techniques
Microscopic techniques
Optical microscopy used to obtain an enlarged
image of a small object. In general, a compound
microscope consists of a light source, a condenser,
an objective, and an ocular or eyepiece, which can
be replaced by a recording device such as a
photoelectric tube or a photographic plate.
The optical microscope is limited by the
wavelengths of the light used and by the materials
available for manufacturing the lenses.

Grain Size Determination

Grain Size Determination How to report an
average grain size? Draw few random
straight lines through the micrograph. The
grain boundaries intersecting each line
are counted. The average grain size is
obtained by dividing the total length of
the lines by the number of intersections
taking into account the magnification
used to produce the micrograph.

Appearance of different type of

grains

Basic Types
Structures
605

Ferrite
Austenite
Cementite
Pearlite
Martensite
Bainite
Acicular Ferrite

Due to lack of space

Carbon comes out the
ferrite BCC

Trapped Carbon in
605
Body Centered Tetragonal
Martensite

Austenite

Ferrite

Martensite

( FCC)

(BCC)

(BCT)

Iron Carbide Diagram

1000
900
800
700
600

Ac3
Austenite
Austenite and Ferrite

Austenite and Fe3 C

Ac1

Ferrite and
Pearlite and
Pearlite
Cementite
.2 .4 .6 .8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
2

SUMMARY: PROCESSING OPTIONS

Austenite ()
slow
cool
Pearlite

moderate
cool
Bainite

Martensite
T Martensite
bainite
fine pearlite
coarse pearlite
spheroidite

Martensite
(BCT phase

diffusionless
transformation)

reheat
Ductility

Strength

( + Fe3C layers + a ( + Fe3C plates/needles)

proeutectoid phase)

rapid
quench

General Trends

Tempered
Martensite

( + very fine
Fe 3C particles)
19

Spheroidite

Austenite

AS: Alloy Steel

PCS: Plain-carbon Steel

Rapid
Quench

Martensite

Slow
Cooling

Re-heat

Moderate cooling (AS)

Isothermal treatment (PCS)

Re-heat

coarse

fine

Pearlite

Bainite

Tempered
Martensite

Post Weld Heat Treatments

A

T
JSN

B
(A) Normalised
(B) Fully Annealed
(C) Water-quenched
(D) Water-quenched & tempered

Micro Structure at Room

Temperature

In general the
mild Steel we get
from mill will
have Ferrite &
Pearlite.

Ferrite
607
Alpha Iron interstitial solid solution of a small
amount of carbon dissolved in Iron with a BCC
structure.
Can hold only very low carbon at RT. At 723 C is
0.8%

It is the softest structure.

Tensile strength 40000 psi
Elongation 40%
Hardness 90 RB
Magnetic

Ferrite
607

Austenite (
Iron)

608

It Is Gamma Iron Interstitial solid solution of carbon dissolved in

iron with FCC structure.
Forms at Temp 910 C
Contain up to 2% Carbon.
Normally unstable at room temp.Forms only at high temp.(910 C).
Tensile strength 150000 psi
Elongation 10%
Hardness 40 RC
Non-magnetic

Austenite
608

Cementite (Fe3C)
609
Unlike Ferrite and Austenite, it is a intermetallic Compound of Iron and Carbon which
contains 6.67% Carbon.
It forms at temperature around 1500 C.
It is the hardest constituent (1200 VPN) in iron
carbon alloy.
It can be present as free Cementite or
laminated with Ferrite to produce Pearlite.
On slow cooling gives coarse Pearlite.It is soft
& has poor toughness.
On rapid cooling it gives fine layers of ferrite
and Cementite.It is harder and tougher.

Pearlite ( +
Fe3C)

610

A eutectoid Mixture containing 0.83% C and it

is formed on equilibrium cooling of austenite
at 723 C.
It is fine plate like mixture of Ferrite and
Cementite.
Name derived from its appearance.(like
mother of pearl)
Tensile strength 40000 psi
Elongation 40%
Hardness 90 RB
Magnetic

Pearlite
610

Coarse & Fine Pearlite

Martensite
611
It forms when steel is cooled rapidly from
Austenite, the FCC structure changes to
BCC leaving insufficient time for the
carbon to form Pearlite.
It has carbon trapped in solution.
It crystallises in the tetragonal system,
with a body centered unit cell very close to
a cube
This results in distorted structure that
looks like needles.

Martensite
611

Bainite
612
The intermediate transformation with
fast & Very fast cooling rates, result
in the formation of a structure called
Bainite.
It is similar to ferrite but it is much
harder because contains extremely
fine carbides precipitates.

Bainite
612

Microscopic Inspection of Weldments

157

T
JSN

Computerized Microscope Set-up

157

T
JSN

Micro Structure study of Weldment

158

T
JSN