MA6812 Advanced
Materials Engineering
METALLURGICAL
FUNDAMENTALS
AY2024-25 (S1) Sunil C. Joshi
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Metals
• A metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that
forms cations (+ve ions) in a cloud of electrons.
• Metals are usually shiny (they have "lustre").
Have a high density. Are ductile (capable of
sustaining large plastic deformations without
fracture) and malleable (its capability of
deformation, especially by hammering or rolling).
• Metals have a high melting point, are generally
hard, and conduct electricity and heat well.
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The metallic bond
Metals are solids comprised
of atoms held together by a
matrix of electrons.
Electrons are free to move
throughout the volume of (PAT, p33)
the crystal or piece of metal.
This is why –
metals are good conductors
of electricity and heat,
opaque, malleable (can
deform plastically) and can (KGB, p12)
be strengthened.
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Crystallization of metals
(NED, p33)
• Metals have crystalline structure
and ability to be formed.
• Crystallization takes place when
liquid metal changes into solid.
• No orderly arrangement of atoms in
liquid state.
• Crystallization occurs in 2 stages:
Crystal grain structure nucleation and crystal growth.
Titanium with 6% aluminum
Nucleation: Freezing of first crystals from liquid into solids.
Grains: Individual crystals.
Crystal growth: Happens in three dimensions around nuclear
crystals without regard to position or orientation.
Grain boundaries: Mismatch in crystal structure when randomly
grown crystals touch one another.
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Cubic crystals in metals
The simplest and the most
common crystal pattern in
metals.
The distances separating atoms
are vast compared with the
actual atom size.
Body-centered cubic Face-centered cubic
(BCC) (FCC)
BCC is a relatively "loosely" packed (atomic packing factor =
0.68) e.g. iron, chromium, tungsten.
FCC is relatively "tightly" packed (atomic packing factor = 0.74)
e.g. aluminum, copper, nickel, lead.
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Defects in crystalline materials
Real crystals deviate from perfect periodicity or have defects in
the lattice.
POINT defects involve single sites in space lattice
(vacancies, interstitial and substitutional impurities)
LINE defects may extend many atomic distances through the
crystal (edge and screw dislocations)
SURFACE defects exhibit the features and dimensions of a
surface (grain boundaries)
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(PAT, pp 80,84,85) Point Defects
VACANCY a vacant lattice site, where an
atom or ion is missing from its normal
location. (affects conductive properties)
Continuity lost
INTERSTITIAL defect - smaller atoms occupy
interstices in the lattice of larger atoms.
(causes local disturbance)
SUBSTITUTIONAL defect - impurity atom
occupies lattice position in the crystal. (causes
local disturbance)
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Line defects
(KGB, p13) EDGE dislocation - Introduction or
elimination of an extra row (plane) of
atoms in the crystal lattice. (responsible
for slip under certain conditions, plastic
deformations)
(GED, p115)
SCREW (Burgers) dislocation -
displacement of the atoms (plane ABCD)
is parallel to the dislocation line (AD). No
slip to the left of AD.
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Alloys
• An alloy is a homogenous mixture that contains at
least one metal element.
• They exhibit metallic properties
• Examples: Steel (iron and carbon), Brass (copper
and zinc), Bronze (copper and tin)
• In alloys, atoms of one element replace or occupy
internal spaces/ positions between the atoms of the
other elements.
• Some alloys could have up to 10 different elements
coming together to accomplish certain rare
properties.
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Phase diagram:
Some definitions
Phase diagram: Temperature - composition diagram for two
or more elements describing microstructure of the resultant
alloy at any given temperature and composition.
Liquidus: Line joining the points
where solidification begins.
Solidus: The line joining the points where
solidification is complete.
Eutectic: A point at which the liquid changes
instantaneously into a solid, defined
by eutectic temperature and eutectic
composition.
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Iron - Carbon diagram
(KGB, p293)
Equilibrium
microstructure
Phase
Diagram
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Solid phases
At a given temperature and composition for an alloy -
There may be only one gas and one liquid phase but can be many
solid phases. Solid phases are distinguished by Greek letters (α, β,
γ etc.). Difference between them is their atomic arrangement, or
crystal structure.
ALPHA: A solid solution of one component X in an excess of
another component Y (X is solute and Y is solvent).
BETA: A solid solution of one component Y in an excess of another
component X (X is solvent and Y is solute).
GAMMA, THETA, DELTA: Further solid solutions or intermetallic
compounds.
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Main phases of Iron-Carbon alloy
Ferrite is the alpha phase of steel. Occurs as a
primary solid at compositions of carbon below
the eutectic composition and at lower
temperatures. Forms part of the pearlite. BCC
atomic arrangement. Soft, ductile, magnetic.
Austenite is the gamma phase of steel.
Occurs above 727°C. FCC structure of Iron
with Carbon in solid solution (carbon atoms
sit in interstitial sites within the iron FCC
lattice). Soft, moderate strength, non-
magnetic.
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Heat treatment
Heating and cooling operations. In equilibrium
(sufficient development time) described phases will
form. Otherwise, different micro-structural changes
occur at different heating/cooling rates and cycles.
1. Hardening
2. Tempering
3. Annealing
4. Normalizing
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Hardening
High operating stresses,
Increased wear resistance.
For hardening carbon steels -
1) Heat to austenite temperature range - BCC structure
changes to FCC.
2) Sufficient carbon content (>0.6%) - FCC can hold more
carbon in solution.
3) A rapid quench (by immersing in water or oil) - Iron
cannot return to BCC due to trapped carbon.
Results in BC tetragonal hard structure (Martensite)
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Tempering
Reduce brittleness and relieve hardening stresses
from a quench-hardened steel
Rapid quenching → re-heating to a particular temp →
soaking for some time at that temp → air cooling
Tends to transform martensite into stable pearlite.
Involve diffusion of carbon from martensite and
formation of carbon precipitation.
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Annealing
Produce ductile, low hardness steel. Remove internal strains
from cold work or some fabrication process.
1) Heating the steel to its austenizing temperature.
2) Cooling it very slowly (keeping in switched-off furnace
after soaking or packing in sand/ lime) to prevent the
formation of a hardened structure.
At annealing temperature, distorted grains re-crystallize.
Generally yield large grains and coarse pearlite.
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Normalizing
Produce higher strength steels (~20%) without major
reduction in machinability.
1) Heating the steel to its austenizing
temperature.
2) Followed by cooling in still air at room
temperature.
Normalizing generally yields
smaller grains and finer pearlite.
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Strengthening mechanisms
Utilized to strengthen and harden metals and alloys
1. Solid solution strengthening
2. Quench hardening
3. Mechanical working
a) cold working or strain hardening
b) hot working
4. Precipitation or age hardening
5. Case hardening or surface heat treatment
6. Strain aging
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Solid solution strengthening
Solid solutions- Impurity atoms are added to a pure metal to make
an alloy.
Substitutional: the solute atoms occupy lattice sites that would
normally be occupied by the solvent atoms. Interstitial: the solute
atoms occupy positions in the interstices of the solvent lattice.
If the atoms of the alloying element are significantly larger than the
atoms of the host metal, these large atoms can impede the motion
of dislocations and thus strengthen the metal and decrease its
ductility.
Substitutional Interstitial
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Quench hardening
Atomic strains are
produced by quench-
induced trapping of
solute atoms into the
lattice. The distorted
lattice and the action of
the quenched-in solute
atoms impede
dislocation motion and
thus strengthen the
metal.
(KGB, p15)
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Mechanical working
Strengthens metals by multiplication of dislocations.
(KGB, p15)
The dislocations interact with each other and also with grain boundaries.
Thus,movement of individual dislocations becomes difficult and the metal
is strengthened.
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Cold working/ strain hardening
Occurs when metal is bent, squeezed or stretched to shape
below the temperature of re-crystallization. Results in
distortion of the grains. The metal becomes stiff and very
brittle.
Metal that has become harder and stiffer as a result of cold
working is said to be work hardened. The metal must not be
allowed to become excessively work hardened or it will be
prone to fracture.
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Re-crystallization and annealing
Cold working
by rolling
a. Original
b. Highly stressed
grains
c. Nucleation of
new grains at
grain boundaries
d. New stress-free
grains
e. Annealing
complete
f. Grain growth
(PAT, p166)
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Hot working
Occurs when metal is bent, squeezed or stretched to shape
above the temperature of re-crystallization.
Examples: forging, hot rolling and extrusion.
Grains reform as fast as they are distorted.
The initial temperature has to be limited
- so that over-heating and ‘burning’ of the metal does not occur
or it will be excessively weakened or,
- so that the melting point is not reached.
[Link]
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Precipitation or age hardening
(KGB, p15)
Used to strengthen many nonferrous metals
•When occurs naturally over a period of time → natural aging
•If speeded up by re-heating → artificial aging
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Case hardening
(RLT, p127) bone charcoal or charred
leather + 40% energizer
(sodium carbonate) After quenching
C<0.1%) After
Carburizing carburizing C~0.4%
C~1%
1. Carburizing: Add carbon to the surface layers.
2. Heat treatment: Details - ref. RL Timings, p128.
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Strain aging
Associated with the
yield-point
phenomenon. Strength
of a metal is increased
and the ductility is
decreased on heating at
a relatively low
temperature after cold-
working.
(GED, p208)
A: Plastic deformation; B:dislocations move away from carbon atmosphere; C:
Diffusion of carbon to dislocation sites.
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Practice MCQs
1. Most metals and alloys are -
(a) Microscopically homogenous, continuous and isotropic
(b) Macroscopically non-homogenous, non-continuous and
non-isotropic
(c) Macroscopically heterogeneous, continuous and
non-isotropic
(d) Microscopically non-homogenous, non-continuous and
non-isotropic
2. Burgers dislocation is one of the ___________ defects seen in
crystalline materials.
(a) Point
(b) Surface
(c) Volumetric
(d) Line
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