Properties and Applications of Materials

Properties and
Applications of
Materials
Classification of Materials
Metals
Ferrous Materials
Ferrous Materials - Steels
• Steels - alloys of iron-carbon. May contain other alloying
elements.
• Several grades are available.
• Low Alloy
–Low Carbon(
–Medium Carbon(0.25 to 0.60 wt%)
–High Carbon(0.6 to 1.4 wt%)
• High Alloy
–Stainless Steel (> 11 wt% Cr)
–Tool Steel
Low Carbon Steel
• Plain carbon steels - very low content of alloying elements and
small amounts of Mn.
• Most abundant grade of steel is low carbon steel - greatest
quantity produced; least expensive.
• Not responsive to heat treatment; cold working needed to
improve the strength.
• Good Weldability and machinability
• High Strength, Low Alloy (HSLA) steels - alloying elements (like
Cu, V, Ni and Mo) up to 10 wt %; have higher strengths and
may be heat treated.
Low carbon steel
Compositions of some low carbon and low alloy steels
Properties and typical application of some low
carbon and low alloys steels
Medium Carbon Steel
• Carbon content in the range of 0.3 – 0.6%.
• Can be heat treated - austenitizing, quenching and then
tempering.
• Most often used in tempered condition – tempered
martensite
• Medium carbon steels have low hardenability
• Addition of Cr, Ni, Mo improves the heat treating capacity
• Heat treated alloys are stronger but have lower ductility
• Typical applications – Railway wheels and tracks, gears,
crankshafts.
Composition of some alloyed
medium carbon steels
High Carbon Steel
• High carbon steels – Carbon content 0.6 – 1.4%
• High C content provides high hardness and strength. Hardest
and least ductile.
• Used in hardened and tempered condition
• Strong carbide formers like Cr, V, W are added as alloying
elements to from carbides of these metals.
• Used as tool and die steels owing to the high hardness and
wear resistance property
Compositions and Application
of some Tool steels
Effects of Alloying Elements on
Steel
• Manganese – strength and hardness; decreases ductility and
weldability; effects hardenability of steel.
• Phosphorus – increases strength and hardness and decreases
ductility and notch impact toughness of steel.
• Sulfur decreases ductility and notch impact toughness Weld
ability decreases. Found in the form of sulfide inclusions.
• Silicon – one of the principal deoxidizers used in steel making.
In low-carbon steels, silicon is generally detrimental to
surface quality.
• Copper – detrimental to hot-working steels; beneficial to
corrosion resistance (Cu>0.20%)
• Nickel - ferrite strengthener; increases the hardenability and
impact strength of steels.
• Molybdenum increases the hardenability; enhances the creep
resistance of low-alloy steels
Stainless steel
• Stainless steels - A group of steels that contain at least 11% Cr.
Exhibits extraordinary corrosion resistance due to formation of
a very thin layer of Cr2O3 on the surface.
Categories of stainless steels:
• Ferritic Stainless Steels – Composed of ferrite (BCC)
• Martensitic Stainless Steels – Can be heat treated.
• Austenitic Stainless Steels – Austenite () phase field is
extended to room temperature. Most corrosion resistant.
• Precipitation-Hardening (PH) Stainless Steels – Ultra
highstrength due to precipitation hardening.
• Duplex Stainless Steels – Ferrite + Austenite
Composition and Properties of some stainless steels are given in

the next slide
Applications of Stainless steels
Cast Irons
• Carbon 2.1- 4.5 wt% and Si (normally 1-3 wt%).
• Lower melting point (about 300 °C lower than pure iron) due
to presence of eutectic point at 1153 °C and 4.2 wt% C.
• Low shrinkage and good fluidity and casting ability.
• Types of cast iron: grey, white, nodular, malleable and
compacted graphite.
Grey Cast Iron
• Grey cast iron contains graphite in the form of flakes. Named
after its grey fractured surface. C:3.0 – 4.0 wt%, Si: 1.0 – 3.0 %
• Microstructure: graphite flakes in a ferrite or pearlite matrix
• Weak & brittle in tension (the graphite flake tips act as stress
concentration sites).Stronger in compression, Excellent
damping capacity, wear resistance.
• Microstructure modification by varying silicon content and
cooling rate
• Casting shrinkage is low
Nodular or Ductile Iron
• Addition of Mg and/or Cerium to grey iron converts the
graphite flakes to nodules.
• Normally a pearlite matrix.
• Castings are stronger and much more ductile than grey iron as
the stress concentration points existing at the flake tips are
eliminated.
White Cast Iron
• White cast iron – C: 2.5 – 3 wt.%, Si: 0.5 – 1.5%. Most of the
carbon is in the form of cementite. Named after its white
fracture surface.
• Results from faster cooling. Contains pearlite + cementite, not
graphite. Thickness variation may result in nonuniform
microstructure from variable cooling
• Very hard and brittle
• Used as intermediate to produce malleable cast iron.
Malleable Cast Iron
• Malleable cast iron – Carbon: 2.3 – 2.7 wt%, Si: 1.0 – 1.75 %
• Obtained by heat treating white iron for a prolonged period
that causes decomposition of cementite into graphite.
• Heat treatment : Two stages – Isothermal holding at 950
• C and then holding at 720 C.
• graphite forms in the form of rosettes in a ferrite or pearlite
matrix.
• Reasonable strength and improved ductility (malleable)
Compact Graphite Iron (CGI)
• CGI graphite occurs as blunt flakes or with a worm-like shape
(vermicular). Carbon: 3.1 – 4.0 wt%, Silicon: 1.7 – 3.0 wt %.
Microstructure and properties are between gray and ductile
iron.
• Alloying addition may be needed to minimize the sharp edges
and formation of spheroidal graphite. Matrix varies with alloy
additions or heat treatment.
• As castable as grey iron, but has a higher tensile strength and
some ductility.
• Relatively high thermal conductivity, good resistance to
thermal shock, lower oxidation at elevated temperatures.
Applications of Cast iron
• Cast irons are used in wide variety of application owing to the
properties like good fluidity, ease of casting, low shrinkage,
excellent machinability, wear resistance and damping capacity.
• Applications –
• Car parts – cylinder heads, blocks and gearbox cases.
• Pipes, lids (manhole lids)
• Foundation for big machines (good damping property)
• Bridges, buildings
• Cook wares – Excellent heat retention
Nonferrous Metals
Copper
• Copper is one of the earliest metals discovered by man.
• The boilers on early steamboats were made from copper.
• The copper tubing used in water plumbing in Pyramids was
found in serviceable condition after more than 5,000 years.
• Cu is a ductile metal. Pure Cu is soft and malleable, difficult to
machine.
• Very high electrical conductivity – second only to silver.
• Copper is refined to high purity for many electrical
applications.
• Excellent thermal conductivity – Copper cookware most
highly regarded – fast and uniform heating.
• Electrical and construction industries are the largest users of
Cu.
• The second largest use of Cu is probably in coins.
• The U.S. nickel is actually 75% copper. The dime, quarter, and
half dollar coins contain 91.67% copper and the Susan B
Anthony dollar is 87.5% copper.
• The various Euro coins are made of Cu-Ni, Cu-Zn-Ni or Cu-Al-
Zn-Sn alloys
Copper Alloys
• Brasses and Bronzes are most commonly used alloys of Cu.
Brass is an alloy with Zn. Bronzes contain tin, aluminum,
silicon or beryllium.
• Other copper alloy families include copper-nickels and nickel
silvers. More than 400 copper-base alloys are recognized.
Copper Alloys - Brass
• Brass is the most common alloy of Cu – It’s an alloy with Zn
• Brass has higher ductility than copper or zinc.
• Easy to cast - Relatively low melting point and high fluidity
• Properties can be tailored by varying Zn content.
• Some of the common brasses are yellow, naval and cartridge.
• Brass is frequently used to make musical instruments (good
ductility and acoustic properties)
Bronze
• Copper alloys containing tin, lead, aluminum, silicon and nickel
are classified as bronzes.
• Cu-Sn Bronze is one of the earliest alloy to be discovered as
Cu ores invariably contain Sn.
• Stronger than brasses with good corrosion and tensile
properties; can be cast, hot worked and cold worked.
• Wide range of applications: ancient Chinese cast artifacts,
skateboard ball bearings, surgical and dental instruments
Beryllium copper
• Cu-Be alloys are heat treatable. Max solubility of Be in Cu is
2.7% at 866 C. Decreasing solubility at lower temp. imparts
precipitation hardening ability.
• Cast alloys - higher Be. Wrought alloys – lower Be and some
Co
• Cu-Be is ductile, weldable and machinable. Also resistant to
non-oxidizing acids (HCl or H2CO3), abrasive wear and galling.
• Thermal conductivity is between steels and aluminum.
Applications
Used in springs, load cells and other parts subjected to
repeated loading. Low-current contacts for batteries and
electrical connectors. Cast alloys are used in injection molds.
Other applications include jet aircraft landing gear bearings and
bushings and percussion instruments.
Aluminum
• Aluminum is a light metal ( = 2.7 g/cc); is easily machinable;
has wide variety of surface finishes; good electrical and
thermal conductivities; highly reflective to heat and light.
• Versatile metal - can be cast, rolled, stamped, drawn, spun, roll-
formed, hammered, extruded and forged into many shapes.
• Aluminum can be riveted, welded, brazed, or resin bonded.
• Corrosion resistant - no protective coating needed, however it
is often anodized to improve surface finish, appearance.
• Al and its alloys - high strength-to-weight ratio (high specific
strength) owing to low density.
• Such materials are widely used in aerospace and automotive
applications where weight savings are needed for better fuel
efficiency and performance.
• Al-Li alloys are lightest among all Al alloys and find wide
applications in the aerospace industry.
Aluminum Alloys
• Aluminum alloys are classified into two categories – Cast and
Wrought alloys.
• Wrought alloys can be either heat-treatable or non-heat
treatable.
• Alloys are designated by a 4 digit number. Wrought – the 1st
digit indicates the major alloying element. Cast – The last digit
after the decimal indicates product from( casting - 0 or ingot -
1)
Temper Designations
 F As fabricated - products in which no thermal treatments or
strain-hardening.
H Strain-hardened (wrought products) – strain hardened with
or without additional thermal treatment.
 H1 Strain-hardened only - strain-hardened without thermal
treatment.
 O Annealed, recrystallized.
 T Thermally treated with or without strain-hardening to
produce stable tempers other than F, O or H.
 T3 Solution heat-treated and then cold worked.
Solution heat treatment -heating to the single phase region and

isothermal holding.

Properties and Applications of Materials

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Properties and Applications of Materials

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Properties and Applications of Materials

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Properties and

Composition and Properties of some stainless steels are given in

Solution heat treatment -heating to the single phase region and

You might also like