Building Materials II (AR 503)

Chapter 2: Metals
2.1 Ferrous Metals
2.1.1 Ferrous Metals (Cast Iron, Wrought Iron, Mild Steel, Torsteel,
TMT (Thermo Mechanically Treated), Torkari
2.1.2 standard sections of M.S. used for construction Purposes

2.1.3 Rolled Structural steel sections (Beam, Channel, T-Section, angle

sheet section, Steel Flat section, Steel and Strips, Steel Plates)

2.2 Non-Ferrous Metals (Aluminum, Copper, Zinc, Tin, Lead)

2.3 Alloys (Brass, Bronze, Steel Alloys-Stainless, Chromium & Nickel Steels)

2.4 Uses of Metals in Buildings. Study of use of material as structural or

aesthetical purpose
 STEEL: Heat Treatment Process: Objectives
 Properties of steel can be largely controlled and altered by heating and cooling steel under high
temperature and controlled conditions.
Objectives/ Purposes of Heat treatment are to:

1. Increase in hardness of the surface

2. Increase strength and ductility

3. Refinement of grain structure i.e. Alter the structure of steel

4. To adjust the magnetic properties of steel
5. Render the steel easily workable

6. Increase the resistance against corrosion and heat

7. Remove the imprisoned gases and internal stresses

 It is an operation or a combination of operations involving the heating and cooling of the metal for the
purpose of obtaining desirable properties in metal

 Consists of heating the metal above the critical temperature maintained for some definite time and
finally cooling the metal in some medium which may be oil, air, water, brine or molten salts.
 STEEL: Principles involved in heat treatment
1. Quenching or Hardening
2. Annealing
3. Case hardening
4. Tempering
5. Normalizing

6. Quenching or Hardening (Quenching is nothing but cooling

of the heated article at controlled rate)

 Treatment to make steel hard S.N Steel Quenching

 Heating metal is put into a bath of oil, water or . Medium
brine(water strongly impregnated with salt) 1 Ordinary carbon steel 1 clear water
 Structural changes caused during heating of the metal are 2 To obtain increased 1 brine
permanently trapped by this method degree of hardness
 Bath of oil, water or brine is known as quenching 3 To ensure uniform 1 oil
medium hardness, toughness and
 Quenching medium is selected according to the degree of warpage
hardness required to be achieved
 STEEL: Principles involved in heat treatment
2. Annealing (heat (metal or glass) and allow it to cool
slowly, in order to remove internal stresses and make it easier
to work)

 Adopted to make steel soft for easy workability

 Steel is heated to about 500C to 550C above its
critical temperature range and held for specified
period and then allowed to cool slowly in the
furnace

Changes after annealing:

1. Grains of metal are refined without affecting the ductility Carbon content in Range of
steel annealing temp in
seriously deg. C
2. Internal stresses developed during various operations are
Up to 0.12 % 870 – 925 0C
removed
3. Entrapped gases from the metal are removed 0.13 – 0.29 % 840 – 870 0C
4. Softens the metal and improves machining qualities 0.3 – 0.49 % 815 – 840 0C
5. Desired toughness, ductility and malleability is obtained
0.5 – 1.0 % 790 – 815 0C
6. Brings about the change in physical, magnetic and electrical
properties of the metal
 STEEL: Principles involved in heat treatment
3. Case Hardening

 Core of the metal remains unchanged but surface is rendered hard due to presence of carbon content
at the surface
 Upon the composition of steel & the depth of case hardening required, treatment is held in the
carburizing mixture for definite time (6 – 8 hrs) and temperature (900 0C – 930 0C)
 Carburizing - add carbon to (iron or steel), in particular by heating in the presence of carbon to harden the
surface

Once metal has been carburized, it is treated in following ways:

i. It may be quenched directly at carburizing temperature
ii. May be cooled slowly in the carburizing box and then reheated and quenched
iii. May be cooled slowly in the carburizing box and then reheated twice and also quenched twice

 Depth of case hardening depends upon the nature of carburizing mixture, period of heating and
temperature of the furnace during heating
 Higher the temp and more period of heating cause case hardening for larger depths
 STEEL: Principles involved in heat treatment
3. Case Hardening
Other processes of case hardening
i. Cyaniding
ii. Nitriding
iii. Flame hardening
iv. Induction hardening

Carburizing mixture composes:

v. 95% wood charcoal and 5% soda ash
vi. Animal charcoal
vii. Cyanides
viii. Finely cut leather pieces
Precautions:
ix. Should be quenched in oil
x. Quenching in water is preferred. In case of unequal or uneven shapes,
they should be quenched in oil
xi. Article should expand freely in all direction
xii. The carburizing box should be totally free from air
xiii. Thickness of Carburizing layer should be 25mm at least
 STEEL: Principles involved in heat treatment
4. Tempering (the degree of hardness and elasticity in steel or other metal)

Objective:
i. To develop a desirable combination of ductility and hardness
ii. To relieve the article from high internal stresses developed during hardening process

Process:
 Applied on articles which have already been treated with the hardening process

 The article is reheated to temperature normally below critical temperature (400 0C –

600 0C)

 Heated to pre determined duration which depends on the quality of steel required and
composition of steel being tempered

 Then cooled down in still air

 STEEL: Principles involved in heat treatment
5. Normalizing

Objective
i. To promote uniformity of structure
ii. To secure grain refinement
iii. To bring about other desirable changes in the properties of metal

Process:
 The steel is heated to temp ranging from 840 0C to 950 0C and allowed to cool in air
 As cooling is more rapid, less time is available to achieve equilibrium and as a result
of this, the material becomes harder than fully annealed steel
 Have a good day.