ME 1022

MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY

Dr. [Link] IQBAL

Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
SRM University
Kattankulathur
 SYLLABUS
UNIT I - ELASTIC AND PLASTIC BEHAVIOUR (9 hours)

Elasticity in metals - Mechanism of plastic deformation - Role of yield

stress, shear strength of perfect and real crystals – Strengthening

mechanisms - work hardening, Solid solutioning, grain boundary

strengthening, particle, fibre and dispersion strengthening - Effect of

temperature, strain and strain rate on plastic behavior.

 ELASTIC AND PLASTIC BEHAVIOUR

ELASTICITY
“Elasticity is the physical property of
materials which return to their original
shape after the stress that caused their
deformation is no longer
applied.”(within elastic limit)
PLASTICTY
Is the property of a material where it
undergoes permanent deformation
under the load.
 ELASTICITY IN METALS

• It is convenient to express the elasticity of

the material with the ratio of stress is to
strain, a parameter also termed as young’s
modulus.
• The stress and strain relationship is unique
for each metal.
 BRITTLE MATERIALS
• Brittle materials,which includes cast iron,
glass, and stone, are characterized by the fact
that rupture occurs without any noticeable
prior change in the rate of elongation.
DUCTILE MATERIALS
• They include steel, copper, tungsten etc
• The yield strength or yield point of a material is defined as
the stress at which a material begins to deform plastically.
Prior to the yield point the material will deform elastically
and will return to its original shape when the applied stress
is removed. Once the yield point is passed, some fraction of
the deformation will be permanent and non-reversible.
• Ultimate tensile strength is the maximum stress that a
material can withstand while being stretched or pulled
before necking.
• Necking is when large amount of strain is applied and there
is a prominent decrease in the cross-sectional area, which
provides the name “necking”.
 POLYMERS
• A polymer is a large molecule (macromolecule) composed
of repeating structural units. These sub-units are typically
connected by covalent chemical bonds.
• Examples of polymers are plastic, rubber, proteins etc
• Elastic properties of polymers differ from metals.
• Their elastic moduli are very small when compared to those
of metals
• They endure large deformation without rupture and can
still return to their original shape.
• Their elastic moduli is increased with
temperature.
 MECHANISMS OF PLASTIC DEFORMATION
• This type of deformation is irreversible.
• However, an object in the plastic deformation range will first have undergone elastic deformation,
which is reversible.
• Thermoplastics have large plastic deformation when compared to brittle and ductile materials.
• Plastic deformation is characterized by a strain hardening region and a necking region and finally,
fracture (also called rupture).
• During strain hardening the material becomes stronger through the movement of
atomic dislocations.(dislocations are imperfections in crystal structure which increases as strain
increases)
• There are two types of dislocations: edge and screw.
• The modes of deformation are twinning and slip.

• 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. The resulting
prominent decrease in local cross-sectional area provides the basis for the name "neck".
• This type of deformation is also irreversible. A break occurs after the material has reached the end
of the elastic, and then plastic, deformation ranges. At this point forces accumulate until they are
sufficient to cause a fracture. All materials will eventually fracture, if sufficient forces are applied.
Mechanism of elastic and plastic deformation
Dislocations and Strengthening
 What’s happening?
• Elastic deformation is straightforward to visualise
microscopically
– the bonds stretch or compress a bit and return to normal when
the load is removed

• But what is happening during plastic deformation?

– on one hand, the deformation is permanent so something
serious has taken place
– on the other hand, the material is still intact, so some bonds
must still be functional
– or at least broken and then re-formed
• This is related to dislocations in a crystal
– and wasn’t really understood until electron microscopes were
able to reveal dislocations directly
 Role of dislocations
• Dislocations in a material provide a mechanism by
which large numbers of atomic bonds can be
broken and re-formed
– the theoretical strength of ideal, dislocation-free
materials is much higher than that measured in practice
– also, the preparation and treatment of the material
significantly influenced the measured strength
• The two main types of dislocation
– edge dislocation
– screw dislocation
Line Defects : Edge Dislocations
 Edge dislocation
• Under an applied stress, the edge dislocation can
move in the direction of the stress
unit step
of slip

slip plane

shear stress


This process, leading to plastic deformation, is
called slip
 Screw dislocation
• The screw dislocation itself moves
perpendicular to the stress direction, but
the deformation ends up the same

[Link]
 Line Defects : Burgers Vectors
(Defines the Magnitude & Direction of Slip)
Perfect
Edge
Crystal
Dislocation
b l

Screw Mixed
Dislocation Dislocation
b // l
 Slip systems
• In crystalline materials, the anisotropy of the structure can
mean that certain slip directions are preferred
– termed slip planes
– and these move in slip directions
• Together slip planes and directions are called slip systems
– and these slip systems act to minimise the overall atomic
distortion caused by the motion of the dislocation
• It follows from the above that the slip planes are those
planes in the crystal which have the highest packing density
of atoms
– by keeping these densely packed atoms together, fewer bonds
are distorted
 (111) plane of a FCC
material, showing three
<110> slip directions

• The number of slip systems depends on the crystal

structure
– each slip system for BCC and FCC has at least 12 slip directions
– while the maximum for HCP is 6
• Hence FCC (Cu, Al, Ni, Ag, Au) and BCC (Fe) metals tend to
be ductile and exhibit large plastic deformation
– while HCP (Ti, Zn) are more brittle
 Slip and Twinning
Figure 1.5 Permanent deformation (also
called plastic deformation) of a single
crystal subjected to a shear stress: (a)
structure before deformation; and (b)
permanent deformation by slip. The size
of the b/a ratio influences the magnitude
of the shear stress required to cause slip.

Figure 1.6 (a) Permanent deformation of a single crystal under a

tensile load. Note that the slip planes tend to align themselves in the
direction of the pulling force. This behavior can be simulated using a
deck of cards with a rubber band around them. (b) Twinning in a
single crystal in tension.
Slip Lines and Slip Bands
Figure 1.7 Schematic illustration of slip lines
and slip bands in a single crystal (grain)
subjected to a shear stress. A slip band
consists of a number of slip planes. The
crystal at the center of the upper illustration is
an individual grain surrounded by other grains.
single crystal zinc
• TWINNING • SLIP
• Common in hcp and bcc • Dislocations move on a
structures certain crystallographic
• Limited deformation but plane: slip plane
help in plastic • Dislocations move in a
deformation in hcp and certain crystallographic
bcc crystals. direction: slip direction
• Occurs on specific • The combination of slip
twinning planes and direction and slip plane
twinning directions is called a slip system.
 Yield stress for real crystals
• The stress level at which a metal or other material ceases to behave elastically.
The stress divided by the strain is no longer constant. The point at which this
occurs is known as the yield point.
• The initial elastic strain is caused by the simple stretching of bonds. Hooke's Law
applies to this region.
• At the yield point, stage I begins. The crystal will extend considerably at almost
constant stress. This is called easy glide, and is caused by slip on one slip system.
• The geometry of the crystal changes as slip proceeds.
• In this stage of deformation, known as stage II, dislocations are gliding on two
slip systems, and they can interact.
• Consequently, the crystal becomes more difficult to extend. This phenomenon is
called work hardening.
• Stage III corresponds to extension at high stresses, where the applied force
becomes sufficient to overcome the obstacles, so the slope of the graph becomes
progressively less steep. The work hardening saturates.
• Stage III ends with the failure of the crystal.
 SHEAR STRENGTH FOR PERFECT CRYSTALS
• It is a term used to describe the strength of a material against structural
failure(fracture), where the material or component fails due to deforming force( shear
force).
•
• STRENGTH TERMS:-
• Tensile strength or ultimate tensile strength is a limit state of tensile stress that leads to
tensile failure in the manner of ductile failure. or brittle failure.
•
• Compressive strength is a limit state of compressive stress that leads to failure in the
manner of ductile failure or brittle failure.
•
• Fatigue strength is a measure of the strength of a material or a component under cyclic
loading,[6] and is usually more difficult to assess than the static strength measures.
•
• Impact strength, is the capability of the material to withstand a suddenly applied load
and is expressed in terms of energy.
 Polycrystalline materials
• When plastic deformation occurs in polycrystalline metals
– i.e. in ‘normal’ metals – grain boundaries stay intact but
the grains change shape by slip
– e.g. in a steel rolling mill, grains are aligned to the roll direction
– properties (incl. magnetic) may be different parallel and
perpendicular to the direction of roll

from Callister

before deformation after deformation

 STRENGHTENING MECHANISMS
• Methods have been devised to modify the yield strength, ductility, and toughness
of both crystalline and amorphous materials.
• Work hardening (such as beating a red-hot piece of metal on anvil) has also been
used for centuries by blacksmiths to introduce dislocations into materials,
increasing their yield strengths.
• What is strengthening?
• Plastic deformation occurs when large numbers of dislocations move and multiply
so as to result in macroscopic deformation. In other words, it is the movement of
dislocations in the material which allows for deformation. If we want to enhance a
material's mechanical properties (i.e. increase the yield and tensile strength), we
simply need to introduce a mechanism which prohibits the mobility of these
dislocations.
 How many dislocations?
• Unless specially prepared, all materials contain
dislocations
– due to deformation or during solidification
• Dislocation density is the total length of
dislocations per unit volume
– best achievable in metals ~103 mm-2
– heavily deformed metal ~ 1010 mm-2
 Strengthening of materials
• Now that we understand a little about why materials
deform, how can we make them stronger?
• Since deformation arises from the mobility of dislocations
– we expect that anything that reduces the motion of dislocations
will strengthen the material (or) Increasing the yield strength by
offering resistance to the movement of dislocation.
• Essentially, we can do three things
– reduce the size of crystal grains
– add impurity atoms (Alloying)-selective addition of atoms of
foreign element
– strain hardening or Cold working
• (We will see something similar in magnetic materials)
 Grain boundary strengthening
• Normally solidified materials are polycrystalline in nature.
• A grain or a crystal is a solid domain in which the atoms are oriented in a
particular fashion
• At a grain boundary, the crystal orientation changes
– hence it is difficult for a dislocation arriving at the boundary to continue into the
adjacent grain. i.e. grain boundary acts as a barrier for dislocation movement.
– moreover, there is a certain atomic randomness associated with the region
between grains, which also makes it harder for the dislocation to propagate.
– In a given material if you have less number of grains then the barrier is less,
obviously strength of the material is less.
– Finer the grain more number of barrier, therefore the material is stronger.

grain boundary
• For moderate grain sizes, the Hall-Petch
relationship holds for the yield strength, sy
s y  s 0  k y d 1 2

– where d is the average grain diameter, and k0 and s0

are constants for the material
• In practice, the grain size can be determined by
the rate of cooling of the solid from the melt
 Grain boundary strengthening
• Is a method of strengthening materials by changing their
average crystallite (grain) size.
• It is based on the observation that grain boundaries
impede dislocation movement and that the number
of dislocations within a grain have an effect on how easily
dislocations can traverse grain boundaries and travel from
grain to grain.
• So, by changing grain size one can influence dislocation
movement and yield strength.
• For example ,heat treatment after plastic For example
,heat treatment after plastic deformation and changing
the rate of solidification are ways to alter grain size.[
deformation and changing the rate of solidification are
ways to alter grain size.
GRAIN BOUNDARY STRENGTHENING
 Solidification
Figure 1.11 Schematic
illustration of the stages
during solidification of
molten metal; each small
square represents a unit cell.
(a) Nucleation of crystals at
random sites in the molten
metal; note that the
crystallographic orientation
of each site is different. (b)
and (c) Growth of crystals
as solidification continues.
(d) Solidified metal,
showing individual grains
and grain boundaries; note
the different angles at which
neighboring grains meet
each other. Source: W.
Rosenhain.
 Grain Sizes
TABLE 1.1
2 3
ASTM No. Grains/mm Grains/mm
–3 1 0.7
–2 2 2
–1 4 5.6
0 8 16
1 16 45
2 32 128
3 64 360
4 128 1,020
5 256 2,900
6 512 8,200
7 1,024 23,000
8 2,048 65,000
9 4,096 185,000
10 8,200 520,000
11 16,400 1,500,000
12 32,800 4,200,000
 Solid solution strengthening
• One of the oldest-known and most straightforward way
to increase the strength of a metal is to add impurities
– to make a solid solution or alloy
– either interstitially, or substitutionally

400 60

tensile elongation
strength (MPa) 300 40 (% of 2in.)

200 20
10wt% Ni in Cu 50wt% Ni in Cu
• The addition of a ‘foreign’ atom locally strains
the surrounding material
– making it harder for the dislocation to propagate
– almost like a mini-grain boundary

small impurity atom large impurity atom gives

gives tensile strain compressive strain
impurity hinders edge
dislocation movement
 SOLID SOLUTIONING
• Metals usually form homogenous liquid
solutions in their liquid state.
• Even after to solid crystalline state, the metals
retain their homogeneity and consequently
their solubility, this is called solid solution.
• There are two types of solid solution:-
1) Substitutional( (a)disordered and (b)ordered)
2) Interstitial
SUBSTITUTIONAL SOLID INTERSTITIAL SOLID
SOLUTION SOLUTION
• It is formed when solute
• In this there is a direct substitution of
one type of atom for the another so atoms are very small as
that the solute atoms (Cu) enter the compared to solvent atoms,
crystals to take the position normally they are unable to
occupied by solvent atoms.(Ni)
• In disordered substitutional solution
substitute solvent
the atoms do not occupy any paticular atoms(because of large
position and are disordered. difference in diameters) and
• In ordered solution ,the alloy is in
can only fit into the
disordered condition and if it is cooled
slowly, it undergoes rearrangment of interstices or spaces in the
atoms due to diffusion that takes place crystal lattice of the solvent
due to cooling.
atom.
 WORK HARDENING

• Work hardening is the result of many contributing factors.

• The primary species responsible for work hardening are
dislocations.
• Dislocations interact with each other by generating stress
fields in the material.
• As a material is plastically deformed, dislocations move
extensively throughout the crystal, and in addition
the dislocation density increases.
• The effect of this is to increase the number
of entanglements - these are points where dislocations
interact in such a way that their further motion is hindered.
 Strain hardening
• Mechanism of increasing the dislocation density causes more
obstacle for the movement and hence the strength increases.
• Strain hardening is the process whereby a material becomes
stronger as plastic deformation takes place
– it is also called work hardening or cold working
– the effect is well known by machinists because it makes the
material harder to machine even as you do so – stainless steel is a
notorious example
• After strain hardening, the material is more brittle
• The mechanism is that more dislocations are formed as the
metal is plastically deformed
– and hence the movement of dislocations is more difficult and the
material hardens
Preferred Orientation

Figure 1.12 Plastic deformation of

idealized (equiaxed) grains in a
specimen subjected to compression
(such as occurs in the rolling or
forging of metals): (a) before
deformation; and (b) after
deformation. Note teh alignment of
grain boundaries along a horizontal
direction; this effect is known as
preferred orientation.
 Anisotropy
(b)

Figure 1.13 (a) Schematic illustration of a crack in sheet metal that has been subjected to bulging
(caused by, for example, pushing a steel ball against the sheet). Note the orientation of the crack
with respect to the rolling direction of the sheet; this sheet is anisotropic. (b) Aluminum sheet with a
crack (vertical dark line at the center) developed in a bulge test; the rolling direction of the sheet
was vertical. Source: J.S. Kallend, Illinois Institute of Technology.
 DISPERSION HARDENING
• Dispersion hardening is a mean of strengthening a
metal by creating a fine dispersion of insoluble
particles within the metal.
• So metals containing finely dispersed particles are
much stronger than the pure metal matrix.
• This effect depends on the size, shape, concentration
and physical characteristics of particles.
• Dispersion hardened materials can be produced with
the help of powder metallurgy- a process in which
powder(of materials) of required shape, size and
distribution are mixed in desired proportions and
then compacted and sintered at the appropriate
temperature.
PARTICULATE STRENGTHENED SYSTEMS
• The difference between particulate and dispersion strengthened systems
are in the size of dispersed particles and their volumetric concentration.
• In dispersion strengthening the particle size are small as compared to
particulate strengthened systems
• Because of their size the particle can not interfere with dislocations and
exhibits a strengthening effect by hydrostatically restraining the
movement of the matrix close to it.
• Particulate composites are made mainly by powder metallurgy techniques
that may involve solid or liquid state sintering(atomic diffusions preferably
at high temperatures) or even impregnation by molten metals
• Examples are Tungsten-nickel-iron system obtained as a liquid –sintered
composite.
Precipitation Strengthening
 Precipitation Strengthening
Step 1: Solution Treatment
• The alloy is first heated above the solvus temperature and held
until a homogeneous solid solution is produced.
• This step dissolves the phase precipitate and reduces any micro
chemical segregation present in the original alloy.
• We could heat the alloy to just below the solidus temperature
and increase the rate of homogenization; however, the presence
of a non equilibrium eutectic microconstituent may cause
melting.
• Thus, the Al-4% Cu alloy is solution treated between 500°C and
548°C, that is, between the solvus and the eutectic temperatures.
 Precipitation Strengthening
Step 2: Quenching
• After solution treatment, the alloy, which contains only α in its
structure, is rapidly cooled, or quenched.
• The atoms do not have time to diffuse to potential nucleation
sites, so the θ does not form.
• After the quench, the structure is a supersaturated solid
solution α containing excess copper, and it is not an
equilibrium structure.
• It is a metastable structure. This situation is effectively the same
as under cooling of water, molten metals, and silicate glasses .
• The only difference is we are dealing with materials in their
solid state.
 Precipitation Strengthening
Step 3: Ageing
• Finally, the supersaturated α is heated at a temperature below the solvus
temperature.
• At this aging temperature, atoms diffuse only short distances. Because
the supersaturated αis metastable, the extra copper atoms diffuse to
numerous nucleation sites and precipitates grow. Eventually, if we hold
the alloy for a sufficient time at the aging temperature, the equilibrium α
+ θstructure is produced.
• Note that even though the structure that is formed has two equilibrium
phases (i.e. α + θ ) , the morphology of the phases is different from the
structure that would have been obtained by the slow cooling of this alloy
• This produce the θ phase in the form of ultra-fine uniformly dispersed
second-phase precipitate particles. This is what we need for effective
precipitation strengthening.
 SUPERPLASTICITY
• In materials science, superplasticity is a state in
which solid crystalline material is deformed well beyond its usual
breaking point, usually over about 200% during tensile
deformation.
• Such a process happens at a very high temperature.
• Examples of superplastic materials are some fine-grained metals
and ceramics.
• Other non-crystalline materials (amorphous) such as silica glass
("molten glass") and polymers also deform similarly, but are not
called superplastic, because they are not crystalline
• Superplastically deformed material gets thinner in a very
uniform manner, rather than forming a "neck" (a local
narrowing) which leads to fracture.
SUPERPLASTICITY OF NANOCRYSTALLINE COPPER AT ROOM
TEMPERATURE
 DEFORMATION OF NON-CRYSTALLINE
MATERIALS
• In non-crystalline materials, permanent deformation is
often related to localized slip and/or viscous flow (low
stress or high temperature)
• Viscous flow is due to permanent displacement of atoms in
different locations within the material.
• Glass transition temperature is an important factor to the
deformation in non-crystalline material.
• The glass-liquid transition (or glass transition for short) is
the reversible transition in amorphous materials (or in
amorphous regions within semicrystalline materials) from a
hard and relatively brittle state into a molten or rubber-like
state. 10 pow 19degree/sec