Engineering Material Science
1. What do you mean by smelting?
Answer: Smelting is a metallurgical process used to extract metal from
its ore by heating it beyond its melting point in the presence of a
reducing agent like carbon.
2. Define the following metal properties:
(a) Machinability – The ease with which a metal can be cut by a cutting
tool to achieve a good surface finish.
(b) Malleability – The ability of a metal to be deformed or shaped
under compressive stress without cracking, e.g., hammering into thin
sheets.
3. Define hardness of the metal.
Answer: Hardness is the resistance of a metal to deformation,
particularly permanent deformation, scratching, cutting, or indentation.
4. What is the Toughness of the metal?
Answer: Toughness is the ability of a metal to absorb energy and
plastically deform without fracturing. It combines strength and
ductility.
5. Define the following properties of the metal:
(a) Fusibility – The ease with which a material can be melted.
(b) Stiffness – The resistance of a material to elastic deformation.
(c) Ductility – The ability to deform under tensile stress, often
characterized by the material’s ability to stretch into a wire.
6. How does carbon affect the properties of steel?
Answer: Increasing carbon content increases hardness and strength but
reduces ductility and weldability in steel.
7. Why are machine beds made of cast iron?
Answer: Cast iron is used for machine beds due to its excellent
vibration damping, rigidity, and ease of casting complex shapes.
8. What is the difference between Wrought Iron, Cast Iron, and Pig
Iron?
Answer:
Wrought Iron: Low carbon, malleable, ductile, corrosion
resistant.
Cast Iron: High carbon, brittle, strong in compression.
Pig Iron: Intermediate product from smelting iron ore, contains
high carbon and impurities.
9. Why are most of the cutting tools made from H.S.S.?
Answer: High-Speed Steel (H.S.S.) retains hardness at high
temperatures, allowing faster cutting without losing its edge.
10. What do you mean by Stainless Steel?
Answer: Stainless steel is an alloy of steel with chromium (minimum
10.5%) that resists rust and corrosion.
11. What is the difference between Brass & Bronze?
Answer:
Brass – Alloy of copper and zinc.
Bronze – Alloy of copper and tin.
Bronze is generally harder and more corrosion-resistant than
brass.
12. What is Heat Treatment?
Answer: Heat treatment is the controlled heating and cooling of metals
to alter their physical and mechanical properties.
13. Why heat treatment of steel is necessary?
Answer: To improve hardness, strength, toughness, ductility, and
relieve internal stresses.
14. What are the common heat treatment processes used in the
industries?
Answer: Annealing, Normalizing, Hardening, Tempering,
Carburizing, and Nitriding.
15. What do you mean by Carburising?
Answer: Carburising is a surface hardening process where carbon is
diffused into the surface of low carbon steel at high temperatures.
16. Describe the Annealing Process.
Answer: Annealing involves heating metal to a specific temperature,
holding it, then slowly cooling it to soften the material and improve
ductility.
17. Define Normalising.
Answer: Normalising is a heat treatment that involves heating the
metal above its critical temperature and air cooling it to refine grain
structure and improve mechanical properties.
18. What is Nitriding?
Answer: Nitriding is a surface hardening process in which nitrogen is
diffused into the surface of steel to form hard nitrides, increasing wear
and fatigue resistance.
19. Differentiate between Hardening & Tempering.
Answer:
Hardening: Heating steel and quenching it rapidly to increase
hardness.
Tempering: Reheating hardened steel to a lower temperature and
cooling it to reduce brittleness.
20. What do you mean by Brazing?
Answer: Brazing is a metal joining process where two or more metals
are joined by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint, which
has a lower melting point than the base metals.
21. Why Cast Iron cannot be forged?
Answer: Cast iron is brittle due to high carbon content and lacks
ductility, so it fractures under forging forces.
22. What is High Carbon Steel?
Answer: Steel with carbon content above 0.6% is called high carbon
steel; it is hard and strong but less ductile.
23. What is the difference between Metal & Alloy?
Answer:
Metal: A pure element like iron or copper.
Alloy: A mixture of two or more elements, where at least one is
a metal, to enhance properties.
24. What is Soldering?
Answer: Soldering is a low-temperature metal joining process using a
filler metal (solder) that melts below 450°C.
25. What do you mean by Mild Steel?
Answer: Mild steel is low-carbon steel (around 0.15–0.25% carbon)
with good ductility, weldability, and malleability.
26. What is the material of gears?
Answer: Gears are commonly made from materials like alloy steels
(e.g., EN8, EN24), cast iron, and sometimes brass or bronze for specific
applications.
27. Why new files should not be used on castings & forgings?
Answer: New files are sharp and may get clogged or damaged due to
the rough and hard surface of castings/forgings.
28. What is material used for shaper tool?
Answer: High-Speed Steel (H.S.S.) or Carbide-tipped tools are
commonly used for shaper tools.
29. Can you explain the difference between ferrous and non-
ferrous metals?
Answer:
Ferrous metals contain iron (e.g., steel, cast iron) and are
magnetic.
Non-ferrous metals do not contain iron (e.g., copper, aluminum)
and are non-magnetic.
30. Can you explain the difference between a polymer and a
composite?
Answer:
Polymer is a single material made from long chains of molecules
(e.g., plastic).
Composite is made from two or more materials (e.g., fiber +
resin) to achieve superior properties.
31. How do you measure the thermal conductivity of a material?
Answer: Thermal conductivity is measured using methods like the
steady-state technique (Fourier’s Law) or transient techniques like the
laser flash method.
32. How do you calculate Young’s modulus?
Answer:
E=StressStrain=σϵE = \frac{\text{Stress}}{\text{Strain}} =
\frac{\sigma}{\epsilon}E=StrainStress=ϵσ
Where EEE = Young’s modulus, σ\sigmaσ = stress, ϵ\epsilonϵ = strain.
33. How do you test the corrosion resistance of a material?
Answer: Through salt spray tests (ASTM B117), electrochemical tests,
or environmental exposure tests.
34. Can you explain the difference between elastic and plastic
deformation?
Answer:
Elastic deformation: Temporary, the material returns to its
original shape.
Plastic deformation: Permanent, the material does not return to
its original shape after the stress is removed.
35. Can you explain the difference between a superconductor and
a semiconductor?
Answer:
Superconductor: Has zero electrical resistance below a critical
temperature.
Semiconductor: Conducts electricity partially and its
conductivity can be controlled (e.g., silicon used in electronics).