CH 2 Materials
CH 2 Materials
Strain:
: gauge length
(original length)
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Tempering
When a material is quenched, residual stresses are introduced because of the uneven
fast cooling.
Tempering is used to remove the residual stresses from the fully hardened material
(which is very brittle) and it reduces hardness of the material.
- After the material has been quenched, tempering is done by reheating the
material to some temperature below the critical temperature for a certain
period of time, then allowing it to cool in still air.
Case Hardening
The purpose of case hardening is to produce a hard outer surface on a specimen of low
carbon steel while maintaining the ductility in the core.
- Case hardening is usually done by increasing the carbon content at the surface
by surrounding the surface by a carburizing material for a certain time at a
certain temperature. Then the material is quenched down from this
temperature and tempered.
- Another method of case hardening is to heat the surface using a flame (or
induction coil) then quenching and tempering.
Table A-21 gives the mechanical properties for some heat-treated steels. (Q&T:
Quenched and Tempered)
Classification of Solid Materials
Engineering materials fall into four major classes: Metals, Ceramics (including glasses),
Polymers, and Composites.
Metals
Metals are combinations of metallic elements. They are strong and deformable,
making them important materials in machine design.
- Metals are good conductors of heat and electricity and not transparent to visible
light.
- Metals are usually ductile which helps in accommodating stress concentrations
by deforming plastically such that loads are redistributed more evenly.
- Metals can be made stronger by alloying and by mechanical and heat treatment.
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- Metals are initially cast then they can be further processed to achieve desired
shape. Further processes include casting, bulk forming, sheet forming, and
machining.
Ceramics and Glasses
Ceramics are compounds of metallic and non-metallic elements, most frequently
oxides, nitrides, and carbides.
Examples: Tungsten carbide (used for machining tools)
Sapphire Al2O3 (transparent, used in quality watches)
Glasses are similar to ceramics in composition but they have no clear crystal structure.
- Ceramics are stiff, hard, brittle, and much stronger in compression than in
tension.
- Ceramics are made from ceramic slurry then it is fired to solidify.
Polymers
Polymers include plastic and rubber materials. Many polymers are organic compounds
based on carbon & hydrogen.
Polymers are of two basic types: thermoplastics & thermosets
Thermoplastics are long chain molecules, sometimes with
branches, where strength arises from interference
between chains and branches. Thermoplastics are more
ductile than thermosets and they soften significantly and
melt at elevated temperatures.
Thermosets have higher degree of cross-linking (like a
sponge). They are more brittle, do not soften with
temperature as much as thermoplastics and usually
chemically degrade before melting.
- Mechanical properties of polymers depend largely on
temperature and they can not stand high temperatures (less
than 250C).
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Composites
Composite materials are formed from two or more materials (that remain distinct from
each other) each of which contributes to the final properties. It combines the attractive
properties of each component material.
For example the graphite-reinforced epoxy acquires strength from the
graphite fibers while the epoxy protects the graphite from oxidation and
supports shear stress.
- The main advantages of composites are tailorability (provides strength in the
needed region and direction only) and light weight (for example the strength-toweight ratio of graphite is about 40 times as that of steel).
- The three main types of composites are:
Particle reinforced: particles that have approximately the same
dimensions in all directions are embedded into a matrix, such as
concrete.
Short-fiber reinforced: short fibers oriented in
arbitrary directions in a matrix, such as fiberglass
castings.
Continuous-fiber reinforced: continuous fibers are
constructed into a part by layers. It can be either
unidirectional layers or woven-fabric layers.
- The most commonly used fibers are: Graphite
(carbon), Glass, and Kevlar.
- The matrix is usually a thermoset (such as epoxy).
- Composites are manufactured by molding or layup, and then cured in an oven.
- The main disadvantages of composites are high cost, they can not withstand
high temperature (because of the polymer matrix), and they are relatively
difficult to join.
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