Chapter-1

Introduction
to
Materials Science & Engineering
 Table of Contents

• Materials Science & Engineering

• Engineering Materials History and
Development
• Selection of Eng. Materials
• Classification of Eng. Materials
• Mechanical Properties of Eng. Materials
• Testing of Eng. Materials
• Future of Eng. Materials
To understand the behavior of materials, particularly structure-property
correlation, which will help selecting suitable materials for a particular
application.
Historical Perspective
 Engineering Materials
• Most engineering materials can be classified into one
of three basic categories:
1. Metals
2. Ceramics
3. Polymers
• Their chemistries are different, and their mechanical
and physical properties are different
• These differences affect the manufacturing processes
that can be used to produce products from them
 In Addition: Composites

• Nonhomogeneous mixtures of the other three basic types

rather than a unique category

• Venn diagram of
three basic
material types
plus composites
 1. Metals
• Usually alloys, which are composed of two
or more elements, at least one of which is
metallic. Two basic groups:
1. Ferrous metals - based on iron, comprises about 75%
of metal tonnage in the world:
• Steel and cast iron
2. Nonferrous metals - all other metallic elements and
their alloys:
• Aluminum, copper, nickel, silver, tin, etc.
 2. Ceramics
Compounds containing metallic (or semi-metallic)
and nonmetallic elements.
• Typical nonmetallic elements are oxygen,
nitrogen, and carbon
• For processing, ceramics divide into:
1. Crystalline ceramics – includes:
• Traditional ceramics, such as clay, and modern
ceramics, such as alumina (Al2O3)
2. Glasses – mostly based on silica (SiO2)
 3. Polymers

Compound formed of repeating structural units

called mers, whose atoms share electrons to
form very large molecules. Three categories:
1. Thermoplastic polymers - can be subjected to multiple
heating and cooling cycles without altering molecular
structure
2. Thermosetting polymers - molecules chemically
transform into a rigid structure – cannot reheat
3. Elastomers - shows significant elastic behavior
 4. Composites

Material consisting of two or more phases that are

processed separately and then bonded together to
achieve properties superior to its constituents
• Phase - homogeneous mass of material, such as grains of
identical unit cell structure in a solid metal
• Usual structure consists of particles or fibers of one phase
mixed in a second phase
• Properties depend on components, physical shapes of
components, and the way they are combined to form the
final material
 Introduction
to
Material Properties & Testing

27
 Types of Testing

• Destructive testing is changes the dimensions or physical and

structural integrity of the specimen. (It is essentially destroyed during
the test)
e.g., Tensile, Compression, Shear and Rockwell Hardness

• Non-Destructive testing does not affect the structural integrity of the

sample.
( A measurement that does not effect the specimen in any way) e.g.,
weighing, measurements etc.

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 Why are metals tested ?
• Ensure quality
• Test properties
• Prevent failure in use
• Make informed choices in using materials
 Two forms of testing
• Mechanical tests – the material may be
physically tested to destruction. Will normally
specify a value for properties such as strength,
hardness, toughness, etc.

• Non-destructive tests (NDT) – samples or

finished articles are tested before being used.
 Tensile Test

• Most common test for studying stress‑strain

relationship, especially metals
• In the test, a force pulls the material, elongating
it and reducing its diameter
• (left) Tensile force applied and (right) resulting
elongation of material
Three types of static stresses to which materials are subjected
tensile, compressive, and shear

The unit of STRESS is-

Megapascal (Mpa) = 106 Newtons/m2

= N/mm2
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 Stress—Strain Behavior
Elastic deformation-
When the stress is removed, the material returns to the
dimension it had before the load was applied.
Deformation is reversible, non permanent

Plastic deformation-
When the stress is removed, the material does not return to its
previous dimension but there is a permanent, irreversible
deformation.
Deformation is irreversible, permanent

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 In tensile tests, if the deformation is elastic, the stress-
strain relationship is called Hooke's law:
States that-
In tensile test, under elastic region, the stress remains
proportional to strain.

E is Young's modulus or modulus of elasticity

(measures the stiffness of the material)
Hooke's Law defines the stress-strain relationship for an elastic material:
σ = Eε,
where E = a constant of proportionality called the modulus of elasticity.

34
Ductility is the ability of a material to withstand tensile force
when it is applied upon it as it undergoes plastic deformation .
“Ductile" literally means that a metal substance is capable of being
stretched out into a thin wire.
Most metals are good examples of ductile materials, including
gold, silver, copper, steel.

Brittleness is the opposite of ductility as it refers to the ability of

materials to break into pieces upon application of tensile force
without any elongation or plastic deformation.
A material is brittle if, when subjected to stress, it breaks
without significant plastic deformation. Brittle materials absorb
relatively little energy prior to fracture, even those of high
strength. Breaking is often accompanied by a snapping sound.

35
36
Elastic Limit - The greatest amount of stress a material can develop without taking a
permanent set.
Percent Elongation - The total percent strain that a specimen develops during testing.
Yield point If the stress is too large, the strain deviates from being proportional to the stress.
The point at which this happens is the yield point because there the material yields,
deforming permanently (plastically).
Yield stress/strength Hooke's law is not valid beyond the yield point. The stress at the
yield point is called yield stress, and is an important measure of the mechanical
properties of materials.
The yield stress measures the resistance to plastic deformation.

Ultimate Tensile Strength When stress continues in the plastic regime, the stress-strain
passes through a maximum, called the tensile strength, and then falls as the material starts
37
to develop a neck and it finally breaks at the fracture point.
Work Hardening- also known as strain hardening, is the strengthening of a metal or
polymer by plastic deformation.

Necking- Necking, in engineering or materials science, is a mode of tensile deformation

where relatively large amounts of strain localize disproportionately in a small region of the
material.[1] The resulting prominent decrease in local cross-sectional area provides the basis
for the name "neck". Because the local strains in the neck are large, necking is often closely
associated with yielding, a form of plastic deformation associated with ductile materials,
often metals or polymers.The neck eventually becomes a fracture under enough straining.
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 Elastic Region in
Stress‑Strain Curve
• Relationship between stress and strain is linear
Hooke's Law: e = E e
where E = modulus of elasticity
• Material returns to its original length when stress
is removed
• E is a measure of the inherent stiffness of a
material
– Its value differs for different materials
 Yield Point in Stress‑Strain Curve

• As stress increases, a point in the linear relationship is

finally reached when the material begins to yield
– Yield point Y can be identified by the change in slope at the upper
end of the linear region
• Y = a strength property
– Other names for yield point:
• Yield strength
• Yield stress
• Elastic limit
 Tensile Strength in
Stress‑Strain Curve
• Elongation is accompanied by a uniform reduction in
cross‑sectional area, consistent with maintaining constant
volume
• Finally, the applied load F reaches a maximum value, and
engineering stress at this point is called the tensile strength
TS (a.k.a. ultimate tensile strength)

F
TS = max
Ao
 Plastic Region in
Stress‑Strain Curve
• Yield point marks the beginning of plastic
deformation
• The stress-strain relationship is no longer
guided by Hooke's Law
• As load is increased beyond Y, elongation
proceeds at a much faster rate than before,
causing the slope of the curve to change
dramatically
 Ductility in Tensile Test

• Ability of a material to plastically strain

without fracture
• Ductility measure = elongation EL
Lf  Lo
EL 
Lo
where EL = elongation; Lf = specimen length at
fracture; and Lo = original specimen length
Lf is measured as the distance between gage marks
after two pieces of specimen are put back together
 True Stress

Stress value obtained by dividing the

instantaneous area into applied load
F

A

where  = true stress; F = force; and A = actual

(instantaneous) area resisting the load
 HARDNESS TESTING

Resistance to permanent indentation

• Good hardness generally means material is
resistant to scratching and wear
• Most tooling used in manufacturing must
be hard for scratch and wear resistance
• Commonly used for assessing material properties
because they are quick and convenient
• Variety of testing methods are appropriate due to
differences in hardness among different materials
• Most well‑known hardness tests are Brinell and
Rockwell
• Other test methods are also available, such as
Vickers, Knoop, Scleroscope, and durometer
 Hardness testing machine
• The indenter is
pressed into the metal
• Softer materials leave
a deeper indentation
Hardness testing machine
 Brinell hardness test

• Uses ball shaped indentor.

• Cannot be used for thin

materials.

• Ball may deform on very hard

materials

• Surface area of indentation is

measured.
 Vickers hardness test

• Uses square shaped pyramid

indentor.

• Accurate results.

• Measures length of diagonal

on indentation.

• Usually used on very hard

materials
 Rockwell hardness tests
• Gives direct reading.

• Rockwell B (ball) used for soft

materials.

• Rockwell C (cone) uses diamond

cone for hard materials.

• Flexible, quick and easy to use.

 Impact Tests
• Toughness of metals is the ability to withstand
impact.
 Izod test
• Strikes at 167 Joules.

• Test specimen is held

vertically.

• Notch faces striker.

 Charpy impact test
• Strikes form higher position
with 300 Joules.

• Test specimen is held

horizontally.

• Notch faces away from

striker.
 Microstructure
• When a metal solidifies from the melt, small volumes
of atoms group together and form a crystal structure,
which simply means that there are preferred
arrangements of atoms. These group arrangements
of atoms continue to get larger until they impinge on
one another. Then, they stop growing because there
is no more molten metal left. These a called grains,
and each adjacent grain, although having the same
preferred arrangement is in a different orientation
from it’s neighbours. Now we have a microstructure.
 Microstructure

• We can examine the microstructure using a

metallurgical microscope, by polishing a flat
facet on a sample, and etching it to reveal the
microstructure.
• We can use Optical microscope, Transmission
Electron Microscope (TEM) or Scanning
Electron Microscope (SEM)
Particular features of interest are

• (I) grain size

• (II) phases present
• (III) Chemical homogeneity
• (IV) distribution of phases
• (V) elongated structures formed by
plastic deformation
Cut-off
Step number one involves cutting off a section to
be tested/examined as a sample of the material
by means of a cut-off machine (e.g. a wet
abrasive cut-off machine of the series known as
“Brillant“) and the corresponding clamping tools
which have been designed to clamp at strategic
positions.
Mounting
Small-sized samples on the other hand, have to be mounted initially
to improve handling and/or protection for the edges, which takes
place using either cold or hot mounting procedures. In the case of
the latter, the samples are mounted in a so-called mounting press-
here referred to as the hot mounting press, one of the series known
as ”Opal“. In the course of this process, the sample is surrounded by
special plastic granulate (diverse Duro or thermoplastics), which is
then pressed together using heat and hydraulic pressure. Using this
method means that the material is fully enclosed in plastic and is
therefore optimally ready for the next metallographic preparation
step.
Grinding and Polishing
In order to make the crystal structure visible, the sample surface must be initially
ground even, and then polished.

The grinding & polishing process takes place using a unit with the same name; either
per hand, as for example with pre-grinding on the pre-grinding unit (”Jade“), or
conversely automatically – which is more normal for today's metallography
laboratories. In contrast to manual grinding & polishing, in the case of automatic
grinding, the sample is fixed in a sample holder and pressed onto the grinding medium
(grinding paper, grinding wheel etc.) with a grinding & polishing head (“Rubin“). The
grinding/polishing medium actually sits on top of a working wheel. A series of grinding
steps follows whereby each new step makes use of even finer grinding medium, to
proceed step-by-step towards the grade of polished surface desired. The sample has to
be rotated through 90° after each grinding step, in order to cancel out the grooves left
over from contact with the previous grinding medium. During the whole process, a
lubricating & cooling fluid ensures that the sample is cooled and waste material
washed away. The sample should be cleaned regularly with water and alcohol between
the single steps, to ensure that waste material (sludge.

The following polishing phase uses various polishing cloths. The last scratches left over
from the previous grinding are polished away by removing a last final layer. This step in
metallography is best served with a diamond suspension in poly or mono-crystalline
form as final polishing medium. In particular, where many samples are polished one
after one another, the use of an automatic grinder & polisher (such as in the case of
Systemlabor or even the Systemautomat) is of advantage.
Etching
After completion of the last polishing step, first predictions
about the purity of the material can be ascertained through the
different reflexions. In order to make the crystal structure visible
for being contrasted, the sample has to undergo a further
preparation step either manually per immersion into an etching
liquid or through deployment of an electrolytic etching unit
such as the model “Kristall“. The particular etching fluid for the
particular sample has the effect of changing the reflexion
behaviour of the integral crystalline component so that an
optical difference is possible. Following etching, the sample is
washed in alcohol and then rapidly & thoroughly dried under a
flow of warm air.
Optical Microscopy
• The specimen surface must first be ground and polished
to a smooth and mirror like finish.
• The microstructure is revealed by a surface treatment
using an appropriate chemical reagent in a procedure
termed etching.
• The atoms at the grain boundaries are chemically more
active, and consequently dissolve more readily than those
within the grains forming small grooves.
• These grooves become discernible when viewed under a
microscope because they reflect light at an angle different
from that of the grains themselves.
 Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
• The image seen with a TEM is formed by an electron
beam that passes through the specimen.
• Details of the internal microstructural features are
accessible to observation; contrasts in the image are
produced by differences in beam scattering or
diffraction produced between various elements of
the microstructure or defect.
• The transmitted beam is projected onto a fluorescent
screen or a photographic film so that the image may
be viewed.
 Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
• The surface to be examined is scanned with an electron
beam, and the reflected beam of electrons is collected,
then displayed at the same scanning rate on a cathode
ray tube.
• The image that appears on the screen, which may be
photographed, represents the surface features of the
specimen.
• The surface may or may not be polished and etched, but
it must be electrically conductive; a very thin metallic
coating must be applied to non conductive materials.