Introduction of Engineering Materials

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Materials are the substances from which things are composed. The fundamental
science of materials looks at their structure and properties. Materials engineering
is the processing and selection of materials.
Processing → Structure → Properties → Application. (Read arrow as determines)
A material’s structure determines its properties which in turn determine the
applications for which it can be used. However, with knowledge of the structure
and some creativity, the engineer can formulate a process that will change the
structure and enhance the properties, thereby enabling it to be used for a
sophisticated application.

Classification of Materials

One way to classify materials is in these six categories:

1. Metals/Alloys
2. Ceramics
3. Glasses
 4. Polymers
5. Composites
6. Semiconductors

An alternate classification of materials uses categories based on their

properties:

1. Structural materials
2. Electronic materials
3. Magnetic materials
4. Semiconducting materials
5. Optical materials

Metals/Alloys

 Structure:
o any metallic element /alloy (see periodic table)
o simple crystalline structure
o metallic atomic bonding
o delocalized electrons
 Properties:
o high conductivity
o not transparent to visible light (i.e. opaque)
o lustrous
o strong
o ductile
 Examples:
o iron (Fe)
o steel (Fe+C)
o aluminum (Al)
o copper (Cu)
o brass (Cu+Zn)
o magnesium (Mg)
 o titanium (Ti)
o nickel (Ni)
o zinc (Zn)

Ceramics/ Glasses/ & Glass-Ceramics

 Structure:
o compounds of metals and non-metals (see periodic table)
o primarily ionic atomic bonding (however, these bonds might have
some covalent character)
o ceramics are crystalline (crystalline structure can be relatively simple
to relatively complex)
o glasses are amorphous (primarily made of SiO 2 )
o glass-ceramics are devitrified glasses
 Properties:
o insulative
o refractory
o wear resistant
o brittle
o strong
o hard
o chemically stable
o high melting temps
o glasses are transparent
o gl-cer can have low thermal expansion (good for thermal stresses)
 Examples:
o oxides (Al 2 O 3 , MgO, SiO 2 )
o nitrides (Si 3 N4 )
o carbides
o silicates
o lithium-alumino-silicates
o clay
o cement
Polymers (aka Plastics)

 Structure:
o organic compounds primarily based on C and H.
o large molecular structures in a chain or network configuration
o atomic bonding is covalent on the chains or network and additionally
there is secondary bonds acting between the chains or network.
o 5-95% crystalline in relatively simple structures to very complex
 Properties:
o very ductile (elastic and plastic)
o low density
o low strength
o low melting temp
o high chemical reactivity
o insulative
 Examples:
o polyethylene
o PVC
o rubber
o acrylics - O
o nylons - N
o fluoroplastics - F
o silicones - Si

Composites

 Structure:
o Engineered materials of more than one type, usually a matrix
material with fibers or particulates
 Properties:
o Could be anything, depending on constituents, relative amounts and
geometry.
o Examples:
o fiberglass
 o concrete
o asphalt
o wood

Semiconductors

 Structure:
o elemental (Group IVA)
o compound (Groups IIIA/VA or IIB/VIA)
o covalent/ionic bonding
o similar to ceramics
 Properties:
o intermediate conductivity which is extremely sensitive to minute
concentrations of impurities
o precise control of chemical purity allows precise control of electrical
properties
o techniques exist to produce variations in chemical purity over very
small spatial regions
o hence, sophisticated and minute circuitry can be produced in
exceptionally small areas (This is what makes micro-circuitry
possible in ICs)
 Examples:
o Si, Ge, Sn
o CaS
o GaAs

Structure and Properties of Engineering Materials

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Structure of Materials
The structure of materials can be discussed on different levels (scales) ranging
from the human scale to the atomic scale:

 Human scale – on the order of 1 meter This is also

called macroscopicscale because structure on this level is observable with
the human eye.
 Milliscale – on the order of 10 -3 meter
 Microscale – on the order of 10 -6 meter Milliscale and microscale are also
called microscopic scale because structure on this level is observable with
a microscope.
 Nanoscale – on the order of 10 -9 meter,nowadays, this is also observable
with a microscope.
 Atomic scale – on the order of 10 -10 meter

Material Properties
Material properties are the inherent characteristics of a material. These can be
described qualitatively and quantitatively.

Material properties fit into six broad categories bases on the type of stimulus:

 Mechanical properties – measures the response to a load (force) (e.g.

tensile strength, elastic modulus)
 Electrical properties – measures the response to an electric field (e.g.
conductivity)
 Thermal properties – measures the response to heat (e.g. melting
temperature)
 Magnetic properties – measures the response to a magnetic field (e.g.
permeability)
 Optical properties – measures the response to electromagnetic or light
radiation (e.g. index of refraction)
 Deteriorative properties – measures the response to environmental
factors including moisture, oxygen, uv radiation.

Crystal Structure of Materials

Crystal structure is defined as the arrangement of the crystal within metals. When
metals solidify from molten state, the atoms arrange themselves into various
crderly configurations called crystal.
There are seven basic crystal structures, they are given below:
There relatively simple crystal structures are found for most of the common
metals i.e., SSC, BCC and FCC are discussed below.

Simple Cubric Cell (SCC)

In this arrangement, atoms are present at each corner of the cell and their centres
are coincide with each corner.
So, part of the atom is present in the atom,

r+r=a
Where, r = Atomic radius

a = Lattice constant.

The total number of atoms present in crystal structure,

Atomic Packing Factor (APF):

Percentage APF = 52% Percentage of voids = 100 – 52 = 48%

 In crystal structure, the arrangement of the atoms in the crystal is called

crystalline structure.
 The lattice structure of a particular metal is shown by a smallest group of
atoms and known as a unit cell.

Body Centered Cubic (BCC) Structure In this, arrangement, an atom is present at

the centre of the crystal and each corner is a centre of an atom. Total effective
number of atoms present in the crystal
  Atomic Packing Factor (APF)

 Percentage APF = 68%

 Percentage of voids = 100 – 68 = 32%

Face Centred Crystal (FCC) In this arrangement, each face has an atom and
corners are also occupied by atoms.

 Total effective number of atoms in cell

 Atomic Packing Factor (APF)
Percentage APF = 74%
Percentage of voids = 100 – 74 = 26%

Material Properties:

 Poisson's Ratio
o When a material is stretched in one direction it contracts in the
lateral directions. The resulting longitudinal and lateral strains occur
in a fixed ratio known as Poisson's ratio.
The value of Poisson's ratio for a given material may be determined

from a simple tension test as:

o The minus sign recognizes that the two strains always have opposite
signs.
o This simple definition can be used to calculate the value of Poisson’s
ratio only for a uniaxial stress state with the material still in the linear
region where σ = Eε. In multidimensional stress states both strains
are effected by stress induced strains in the other direction.

 Generalized Hooke's Law: Three dimensional stress state.

These relationships are valid within the linear region of the materials stress -strain
response.

G is the modulus of rigidity (shearing modulus of elasticity)

G, E, and ν are related by the formula:

Plane stress state:  z =  xz =  yz = 0

 Gibbs Phase Rule
The Gibbs Phase Rule describes the possible number of degree of freedom in a
system at equilibrium, in terms of the number of separate phases and the number
of constituents in the system.

This is defined by the formula as

D=C–P+2

Where, D = degree of freedom

C = number of components

P = number of phases

Total number of variables in a system is given by

P(C-1)+2 = PC – P+2

 Coordination number of HCP crystal is 6.

 Coordination number of BCC crystal is 8.
 Coordination number of FCC crystal is 12.

Phase Diagrams
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Phase Diagram

 It is also known as equilibrium diagram.

  The plots showing relations between phases in equilibrium versus
composition, pressure and temperature are called phase diagrams.
 The composition is plotted on X-axis and temperature is plotted on Y-axis
at any specified pressure. Pressure is generally taken atmospheric.
o Water in liquid or vapor state is single phase.
o Ice floating on water is an example two phase system.

Gibbs Phase rule

The number of degrees of freedom, F (no. of independently variable
factors),number of components, C, and number of phases in equilibrium, P,
are related by :

 Gibbs phase rule :

F=C–P+2

 Number of external factors = 2 (pressure and temperature).

For metallurgical system, pressure has no appreciable effect on phase
equilibrium and hence,

F=C–P+1

One component system

 The simplest phase diagram is the water which is a one component system.
 It is also known as pressure-temperature or P-T diagram.
 Two phases exist along each of the three phase boundaries.
 At low pressure (0.006 atm) and temperature (0.01 °C) all the three phases
coexist at a point called triple point.

Water phase diagram is shown in the following figure.

Binary Phase diagrams

 A binary phase is a two component system.

 Binary phase diagrams are most commonly used in alloy designing.
 The simplest binary system is the Cu-Ni which exhibits complete solubility
in liquid and solid state.
The Cu-Ni equilibrium phase diagram is shown below.

 The line above which the alloy is liquid is called the liquidus line. At
temperature just below this line crystals of α solid solution start forming.
  The line below which solidification completes is called solidus line. Hence,
only α solid solution exists at any temperature below the solidus line.
 The intermediate region between liquidus and solidus lines is t he two-
phase region where liquid and solid coexist.

It can be noted that the two metals are soluble in each other in the entire range of
compositions in both liquid and solid state. This kind of system is known
as‘Isomorphous’ system.

There are 5 invariant reactions occurring in binary phase system:

 Eutectic reaction,
 Eutectoid reaction,
 Peritectic reaction,
 Peritectoid reaction, and
 Monotectic reaction.

Eutectic Point
When a liquid phase changes into two different solid phases during cooling or two
solid phases change into a single liquid phase during heating, this point is known
as eutectic point and this temperature is known as eutectic temperature.
In the eutectic system between two metals A and B, two solid solutions, one rich
in A (α) and another rich in B (β) form. In addition to liquidus and solidus lines
there are two more lines on A and B rich ends which define the solubility limits B
in A and A in B respectively. These are called solvus lines.
Three phases (L+ α+ β) coexist at point E. This point is called eutectic point or
composition. Left of E is called hypoeutectic whereas right of E is called
hypereutectic.

Equation for Eutectic:

Phase Diagram characteristic of Eutectic:

Eutectoid Point
When a solid phase changes into two solid phases during cooling and vice-versa
that point is known as eutectoid point and temperature at this reaction occurs
known as Eutectoid temperature.
Three phases (L+ α+ β) coexist at point E. This point is called eutectic point or
composition. Left of E is called hypoeutectic whereas right of E is called
hypereutectic.

Equation for Eutectoid:

Phase Diagram characteristic of Eutectoid:

Peritectic Point
A binary system when solid and liquid phases changes solid phase on cooling and
vice-versa on heating, then state of system is known as peritectic point.

Equation for Peritectic:

Phase Diagram characteristic of Periterctic:

Peritectoid Point
If a binary phase diagram when two solid phases changes to one solid phase,
then state of system is known as peritectoid point.

Equation for Peritectiod:

Phase Diagram characteristic of Pertitectoid:

Monotectic Point
Another three phase invariant reaction that occurs in some binary system is
monotectic reaction in which a liquid transforms to another liquid and a soli d.
L1→ L2 + α

Equation for Montectic:

Phase Diagram characteristic of Monotectic:

 Heat Treatment
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Heat treatment of a metal or alloy is a technological procedure, including

controlled heating and cooling operations, conducted for the purpose of changing
the alloy micro-structure and resulting in achieving required properties.

Normalising

 For this process, the metal is placed in the furnace and heated to just
above its 'Upper Critical Temperature'.
 When the new grain structure is formed it is then removed from the furnace
and allowed to cool in air as it cools new grains will be formed.
 These grains, although similar to the original ones, will in fact be smaller
and more evenly spaced.
 Normalising is used to relieve stresses and to restore the grain
structure to normal.

This is particularly useful after heavy machining where grains may have become
stressed or after the prolonged heating of a forging process has allowed the
grains to grow large.
Quenching

 It is a heat treatment when metal at a high temperature is rapidly cooled by

immersion in water or oil.
 Quenching makes steel harder and more brittle, with small grains
structure.

Annealing (Softening)

 Annealing is a heat treatment procedure involving heating the

alloy andholding it at a certain temperature (annealing temperature),
followed bycontrolled cooling.
 Annealing results in relief of internal stresses, softening, chemical
homogenising and transformation of the grain structure into more stable
state.
 The annealing process is carried out in the same way as normalising,
except that the component is cooled very slowly. This is usually done by
leaving the component to cool down in the furnace for up to 48 hours.
 Annealing leaves the metal in its softest possible state and is u sually
carried out to increase ductility prior to cold working or machining.
 Annealing is carried out in different stages which are classified as:
o Stress relief (recovery)
 A relatively low temperature process of reducing internal
mechanical stresses, caused by cold-work, casting or welding.
 During this process atoms move to more stable
positions in the crystal lattice. Vacancies and interstitial
defects are eliminated and some dislocations are
annihilated.
 Recovery heat treatment is used mainly for preventing

stress-corrosion cracking and decreasing distortions,

caused by internal stresses.
o Recrystallization
 It can be easily said to be alteration of the grain

structure of the metal.

 If the alloy reaches a particular temperature

(recrystallization or annealing temperature) new grains

start to grow from the nuclei formed in the cold worked
metal. The new grains absorb imperfections and
distortions caused by cold deformation. The grains are
equi-axed and independent to the old grain structure.
 As a result of recrystallization mechanical properties

(strength, ductility) of the alloy return to the pre-cold-

worklevel.
 The annealing temperature and new grains size are

dependent on the degree of cold-work which has been

conducted. The more is the cold-work degree, the lower
is the annealing temperature and the fine
recrystallisation grain structure.
 Low degrees of cold-work (less than 5%) may cause

formation of large grains. Usually the annealing

 temperature of metals is between one-third to one-half
of the freezing point measured in Kelvin (absolute)
temperature scale.
o Grain growth (over-annealing, secondary
recrystallization)
 Growth of the new grains at the expense of their

neighbours, occurring at temperature, above the

recrystallization temperature.

This process results in coarsening grain structure and is undesirable.

Hardening

 Hardening also requires the steel to be heated to its upper critical

temperature (plus 50°C) and then quenched.
 The quenching is to hold the grains in their solid solution state
calledAustenite; cooling at such a rate (called the critical cooling rate) is to
prevent the grains forming into ferrite and pearlite.
 Hardening is a process of increasing the metal
hardness, strength,toughness, fatigue resistance.
 The rate of cooling affects the hardness of the metal, in that the faster the
cooling rate, the greater the hardness.
 The cooling liquid can therefore be selected to suit the hardness required.
If a steel is quenched too rapidly it may crack, this is especially true with
thin walled components.
o Strain hardening (work hardening)
 Strengthening by cold-work (cold plastic deformation),
 It causes increase of concentration of dislocations, which
mutually entangle one another, making further dislocation
motion difficult and therefore resisting the deformation or
increasing the metal strength.
o Grain size strengthening (hardening)
 Strengthening by grain refining.
 Grain boundaries serve as barriers to dislocations, raising the
stress required to cause plastic deformation.
o Solid solution hardening
 Strengthening by dissolving an alloying element.
 Atoms of solute element distort the crystal lattice, resisting the
dislocations motion. Interstitial elements are more effective in
solid solution hardening, than substitution elements.
o Dispersion strengthening
 Strengthening by addition of second phase into metal matrix.
 The second phase boundaries resist the dislocations motions,
increasing the material strength.
 The strengthening effect may be significant if fine hard
particles are added to a soft ductile matrix (composite
materials).
o Hardening as a result of Spinodal decomposition
  Spinodal structure is characterized by strains on the coherent
boundaries between the spinodal phases causing hardening of
the alloy.
o Precipitation hardening (age hardening)
 Strengthening by precipitation of fine particles of a second
phase from a supersaturated solid solution.
 The second phase boundaries resist the dislocations motions,
increasing the material strength. The
age hardening mechanism in Al-Cu alloys may be illustrated by
the phase diagram of Al-Cu system.
 When an alloy Al-3%Cu is heated up to the temperature T M, all
CuAl 2 particles are dissolved and the alloy exists in form of
single phase solid solution (α-phase). This operation is
called solution treatment.
 Slow cooling of the alloy will cause formation of
relatively coarse particles of CuAl 2 intermetallic phase,
starting from the temperature T N.
 However if the the cooling rate is high (quenching),
solid solution will retain even at room temperature T F .
Solid solution in this non-equilibrium state is
called supersaturated solid.
 Obtaining of supersaturated solid solution is possible
when cooling is considerably faster, than diffusion
processes. As the diffusion coefficient is strongly
dependent on the temperature, the precipitation of
CuAl 2from supersaturated solution is much faster at
elevated temperatures (lower than T N).This process is
called artificial aging. It takes usually a time from
several hours to one day. When the aging is conducted
at the room temperature, it is called natural aging
Tempering

 As there are very few applications for very hard and brittle steel, the
hardness and brittleness needs to be reduced. The process for reducing
hardness and brittleness is called tempering.
 Tempering consists of reheating the previously hardened steel.
 During this heating, small flakes of carbon begin to appear in the needle
like structure. (See below) This has the effect of reducing the hardness and
brittleness.
  The temperature to which the steel is reheated depends on the hardness
required by the application of the component. The higher the tempering
temperature, the less hard will be the resulting steel.

If the steel is polished before tempering, the range of oxide colours that the steel
goes through during heating can be used as a guide to its temperature.

Stress Relieving

 When a metal is heated, expansion occurs which is more or less

proportional to the temperature rise. Upon cooling a metal, the reverse
reaction takes place. That is, a contraction is observed.
 When a steel bar or plate is heated at one point more than at another, as in
welding or during forging, internal stresses are set up.
  During heating, expansion of the heated area cannot take place
unhindered, and it tends to deform. On cooling, contraction is prevented
from taking place by the unyielding cold metal surrounding the heated area.
 The forces attempting to contract the metal are not relieved, and when the
metal is cold again, the forces remain as internal stresses. Stresses also
result from volume changes which accompany metal transformations and
precipitation.
 The term stress has wide usage in the metallurgical field. It is defıned
simply as bad or force divided by the cross-sectional area of the part to
which the bad or force is applied.
 Internal, or residual stresses, are bad because they may cause warping of
steel parts when they are machined.

To relieve these stresses, steel is heated to around 1100 0 F (595 0 C) assuring that
the entire part is heated uniformly, then cooled slowly back to room temperature.
This procedure is called stress relief annealing, or merely stress relieving

Allotropic Forms of Steel

 The temperature 723 o C is known as Curie temperature, below it steel

shows magnetic properties and above it steel becomes non-magnetic.
 In the diagram, the carbon percentage is plotted on X-axis and temperature
plotted on Y-axis.
 The melting point of iron is about 1539 o C. The melting temperature of iron
varies with increasing carbon percentage.
 The iron has carbon upto 2% known as steel. The cast-iron is a form of
having 2 to 4.5% carbon. The iron has carbon upto 6.67% known as pig
iron.
Eutectcid Point
 Eutectoid reaction in this diagram occurs when temperature 1 o C and carbon is
0.83%. At this point a solid form iron (γ) changes into two solid forms α–iron and
cementite (Fe 3 C).

 A eutectoid mixture of ferrite (α–iron) and cementite is known as pearlite.

This is a microconstituent.
 The fraction of ferrite in eutectoid steel is 88%.

Eutectic Point

 In this diagram, the location of this point is at 1175 o C temperature and 4.3%
at the carbon. At this point eutectic reaction occurs.
 In this reaction, a liquid phase changes two solid phases γ-iron (austenite)
and cementite (FeC).
 Peritectic reaction occurs at 1495 o C and at this point carbon composition is
0.18%. This temperature is known as peritectic temperature.

Heat Treatment
 240 upvotes
 83 comments

Heat treatment of a metal or alloy is a technological procedure, including

controlled heating and cooling operations, conducted for the purpose of changing
the alloy micro-structure and resulting in achieving required properties.

Normalising
  For this process, the metal is placed in the furnace and heated to just
above its 'Upper Critical Temperature'.
 When the new grain structure is formed it is then removed from the furnace
and allowed to cool in air as it cools new grains will be formed.
 These grains, although similar to the original ones, will in fact be smaller
and more evenly spaced.
 Normalising is used to relieve stresses and to restore the grain
structure to normal.

This is particularly useful after heavy machining where grains may have become
stressed or after the prolonged heating of a forging process has allowed the
grains to grow large.

Quenching

 It is a heat treatment when metal at a high temperature is rapidly cooled by

immersion in water or oil.
 Quenching makes steel harder and more brittle, with small grains
structure.
Annealing (Softening)

 Annealing is a heat treatment procedure involving heating the

alloy andholding it at a certain temperature (annealing temperature),
followed bycontrolled cooling.
 Annealing results in relief of internal stresses, softening, chemical
homogenising and transformation of the grain structure into more stable
state.
 The annealing process is carried out in the same way as normalising,
except that the component is cooled very slowly. This is usually done by
leaving the component to cool down in the furnace for up to 48 hours.
 Annealing leaves the metal in its softest possible state and is usually
carried out to increase ductility prior to cold working or machining.
 Annealing is carried out in different stages which are classified as:
o Stress relief (recovery)
 A relatively low temperature process of reducing internal
mechanical stresses, caused by cold-work, casting or welding.
 During this process atoms move to more stable
positions in the crystal lattice. Vacancies and interstitial
defects are eliminated and some dislocations are
annihilated.
 Recovery heat treatment is used mainly for preventing

stress-corrosion cracking and decreasing distortions,

caused by internal stresses.
o Recrystallization
 It can be easily said to be alteration of the grain

structure of the metal.

 If the alloy reaches a particular temperature

(recrystallization or annealing temperature) new grains

start to grow from the nuclei formed in the cold worked
metal. The new grains absorb imperfections and
 distortions caused by cold deformation. The grains are
equi-axed and independent to the old grain structure.
 As a result of recrystallization mechanical properties

(strength, ductility) of the alloy return to the pre-cold-

worklevel.
 The annealing temperature and new grains size are

dependent on the degree of cold-work which has been

conducted. The more is the cold-work degree, the lower
is the annealing temperature and the fine
recrystallisation grain structure.
 Low degrees of cold-work (less than 5%) may cause

formation of large grains. Usually the annealing

temperature of metals is between one-third to one-half
of the freezing point measured in Kelvin (absolute)
temperature scale.
o Grain growth (over-annealing, secondary
recrystallization)
 Growth of the new grains at the expense of their

neighbours, occurring at temperature, above the

recrystallization temperature.

This process results in coarsening grain structure and is undesirable.

Hardening

 Hardening also requires the steel to be heated to its upper critical

temperature (plus 50°C) and then quenched.
 The quenching is to hold the grains in their solid solution state
calledAustenite; cooling at such a rate (called the critical cooling rate) is to
prevent the grains forming into ferrite and pearlite.
 Hardening is a process of increasing the metal
hardness, strength,toughness, fatigue resistance.
 The rate of cooling affects the hardness of the metal, in that the faster the
cooling rate, the greater the hardness.
 The cooling liquid can therefore be selected to suit the hardness required.
If a steel is quenched too rapidly it may crack, this is especially true with
thin walled components.
o Strain hardening (work hardening)
 Strengthening by cold-work (cold plastic deformation),
 It causes increase of concentration of dislocations, which
mutually entangle one another, making further dislocation
motion difficult and therefore resisting the deformation or
increasing the metal strength.
o Grain size strengthening (hardening)
 Strengthening by grain refining.
 Grain boundaries serve as barriers to dislocations, raising the
stress required to cause plastic deformation.
o Solid solution hardening
 Strengthening by dissolving an alloying element.
 Atoms of solute element distort the crystal lattice, resisting the
dislocations motion. Interstitial elements are more effective in
solid solution hardening, than substitution elements.
o Dispersion strengthening
 Strengthening by addition of second phase into metal matrix.
 The second phase boundaries resist the dislocations motions,
increasing the material strength.
 The strengthening effect may be significant if fine hard
particles are added to a soft ductile matrix (composite
materials).
o Hardening as a result of Spinodal decomposition
  Spinodal structure is characterized by strains on the coherent
boundaries between the spinodal phases causing hardening of
the alloy.
o Precipitation hardening (age hardening)
 Strengthening by precipitation of fine particles of a second
phase from a supersaturated solid solution.
 The second phase boundaries resist the dislocations motions,
increasing the material strength. The
age hardening mechanism in Al-Cu alloys may be illustrated by
the phase diagram of Al-Cu system.
 When an alloy Al-3%Cu is heated up to the temperature T M, all
CuAl 2 particles are dissolved and the alloy exists in form of
single phase solid solution (α-phase). This operation is
called solution treatment.
 Slow cooling of the alloy will cause formation of
relatively coarse particles of CuAl 2 intermetallic phase,
starting from the temperature T N.
 However if the the cooling rate is high (quenching),
solid solution will retain even at room temperature T F .
Solid solution in this non-equilibrium state is
called supersaturated solid.
 Obtaining of supersaturated solid solution is possible
when cooling is considerably faster, than diffusion
processes. As the diffusion coefficient is strongly
dependent on the temperature, the precipitation of
CuAl 2from supersaturated solution is much faster at
elevated temperatures (lower than T N).This process is
called artificial aging. It takes usually a time from
several hours to one day. When the aging is conducted
at the room temperature, it is called natural aging
Tempering

 As there are very few applications for very hard and brittle steel, the
hardness and brittleness needs to be reduced. The process for reducing
hardness and brittleness is called tempering.
 Tempering consists of reheating the previously hardened steel.
 During this heating, small flakes of carbon begin to appear in the needle
like structure. (See below) This has the effect of reducing the hardness and
brittleness.
  The temperature to which the steel is reheated depends on the hardness
required by the application of the component. The higher the tempering
temperature, the less hard will be the resulting steel.

If the steel is polished before tempering, the range of oxide colours that the steel
goes through during heating can be used as a guide to its temperature.

Stress Relieving

 When a metal is heated, expansion occurs which is more or less

proportional to the temperature rise. Upon cooling a metal, the reverse
reaction takes place. That is, a contraction is observed.
 When a steel bar or plate is heated at one point more than at another, as in
welding or during forging, internal stresses are set up.
  During heating, expansion of the heated area cannot take place
unhindered, and it tends to deform. On cooling, contraction is prevented
from taking place by the unyielding cold metal surrounding the heated area.
 The forces attempting to contract the metal are not relieved, and when the
metal is cold again, the forces remain as internal stresses. Stresses also
result from volume changes which accompany metal transformations and
precipitation.
 The term stress has wide usage in the metallurgical field. It is defıned
simply as bad or force divided by the cross-sectional area of the part to
which the bad or force is applied.
 Internal, or residual stresses, are bad because they may cause warping of
steel parts when they are machined.

To relieve these stresses, steel is heated to around 1100 0 F (595 0 C) assuring that
the entire part is heated uniformly, then cooled slowly back to room temperature.
This procedure is called stress relief annealing, or merely stress relieving

Allotropic Forms of Steel

 The temperature 723 o C is known as Curie temperature, below it steel

shows magnetic properties and above it steel becomes non-magnetic.
 In the diagram, the carbon percentage is plotted on X-axis and temperature
plotted on Y-axis.
 The melting point of iron is about 1539 o C. The melting temperature of iron
varies with increasing carbon percentage.
 The iron has carbon upto 2% known as steel. The cast-iron is a form of
having 2 to 4.5% carbon. The iron has carbon upto 6.67% known as pig
iron.
Eutectcid Point
 Eutectoid reaction in this diagram occurs when temperature 1 o C and carbon is
0.83%. At this point a solid form iron (γ) changes into two solid forms α–iron and
cementite (Fe 3 C).

 A eutectoid mixture of ferrite (α–iron) and cementite is known as pearlite.

This is a microconstituent.
 The fraction of ferrite in eutectoid steel is 88%.

Eutectic Point

 In this diagram, the location of this point is at 1175 o C temperature and 4.3%
at the carbon. At this point eutectic reaction occurs.
 In this reaction, a liquid phase changes two solid phases γ-iron (austenite)
and cementite (FeC).
 Peritectic reaction occurs at 1495 o C and at this point carbon composition is
0.18%. This temperature is known as peritectic temperature.

Stress-Strain Diagrams for Engineering Materials

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The relationship between the stress and strain that a material displays is known
as a Stress-Strain curve. It is unique for each material and is found by recording
the amount of deformation (strain) at distinct intervals of tensile or compressive
loading. These curves reveal many of the properties of a material (including data
to establish the Modulus of Elasticity, E).
Stress-Strain diagrams are obtained by drawing a graph or curve from the data
obtained in a tensile test. There are resulting changes in length which can be
observed and recorded by strain measuring devices.

Stress-Strain diagram for Steel:

Stress-Strain diagram for Cemented tungsten carbide:
Stress-Strain diagram for Plaster of Paris:
Stress-Strain diagram for Soft rubber:

In the case of ductile materials, at the beginning of the test, the material extends
elastically. The strain (both longitudinal and lateral) at first increases
proportionally to the stress and the sample or specimen returns to its original
length on removal of the stress. The limit of proportionality (stress α strain) is the
stage up to which the specimen, i.e., material obeys Hooke’s law perfectly.
On further increasing the applied stress, i.e., beyond the elastic limit, it produces
plastic deformation so that a permanent extension remains even after the removal
of the applied load, i.e. stress. The resultant strain, in this stage begins to
increase more quickly than the corresponding stress and continues to increase till
the yield point is reached. We must note that at the yield point the material
suddenly stretches.
The ratio of applied load to original cross-sectional area is called the normal
stress and this continues to increase with elongation, due to work hardening or
strain hardening, until the tensile stress is maximum. This is the value of stress at
maximum load and one can calculate it by dividing the maximum load by the
original cross-sectional area. This stress is called ultimate tensile stress.
At a certain value of load the strain continues at slow rate without any further
stress or loading. This phenomenon of slow extension increasing with time, at
constant stress, is termed creep. A neck begins to develop at this point, along the
length of the specimen and further plastic deformation is localized within the neck.
The cross-sectional area decreases in proportion to the increasing length during
elastic elongation. We must note that the volume of the test bar, i.e. specimen
remains constant.

Stree-strain diagram for a brittle material:

Stress-strain diagram for mild steel is clearly shows the limit of proportionality,
elastic limit, yield point, ultimate tensile stress and fracture stress at the breaking
points. We note that this diagram shows a well-defined yield point. Poorly defined
yield point as in the case of brittle materials is shown in the following figure.
For the determination of the yield strength in such materials, following the general
practice, one has to draw a straight line parallel to the elastic portion of the
stress-strain curve at a predetermined strain ordinate value (say 0.1%). The point
at which this line intersects the stress vs. strain curve is the yield point at off -set
and called the yield strength at 0.1% or 0.2% of set strain.
Stress vs. strain curves also help to explain the properties of ductile materials.
We find that:

 Greater the angle of inclination of the line of stress vs. strain proportionality
to the ordinates, the more elastic is that metal.
 A higher yield point reveals greater hardness of the metal.
 A higher value of the maximum stress point shows that the metal is a
stronger one.
 The toughness and brittleness of metal are indicated by the distance from
the ordinates of the breaking stress or load point.
 The metal is more brittle when the distance is shorter.

Engineering and True Stress-Strain Diagrams:

 When we calculate the stress on the basis of the original area, it is called
theengineering or nominal stress.
 If we calculate the stress based upon the instantaneous area at any instant
of load it is then termed as true stress.
 If we use the original length to calculate the strain, then it is called
theengineering strain.
Brittleness:

 It may be defined as the property of a metal by virtue of which it will

fracture without any appreciable deformation.
 This property is just opposite to the ductility of a metal.
 Example: cast iron, glass and concrete.
 This property of metals find its importance for design of machine tools,
which are subjected to sudden loads.
 Metals with less than 5% elongation are known to be brittle ones.

Toughness:

 It may be defined as the property of a metal by virtue of which it can absorb

maximum energy before fracture takes place.
 Toughness is also calculated in terms of area under stress -strain curve.
  Toughness is the property of materials which enables a material to be
twisted, bent or stretched under a high stress before rupture.
 The value of toughness falls with the rise in temperature.
 Toughness is highly desirable property for structural and mechanical parts
which have to withstand shock and vibration.

Stiffness:

 This may be defined as the property of a metal by virtue of which it resists

deformation.
 Modulus of rigidity is the measure of stiffness.
 The term flexibility is quite opposite of stiffness.
 The materials which suffer less deformation under load have high degree of
stiffness.

Resilience:

 This may be defined as the property of a metal by virtue of which it stores

energy and resists shocks or impacts.
  It is measured by the amount of energy absorbed per unit volume, in
stressing a material up to elastic limit.
 This property is of great importance in the selection of a material used for
various types of springs.

Endurance:

 This is defined as the property of a metal by virtue of which it can withstand

varying stresses (same or opposite nature).
 The maximum value of stress, which can be applied for indefinite times
without causing its failure, is termed as its endurance limit.
 For ordinarily steel, the endurance limit is about half the tensile strength.
 This property of a metal is of great importance in the design and production
of parts in a reciprocating machines and components subjected to
vibrations.

Anelastic Behaviour:

 Recoverable deformation that takes place as a function of time is termed

an-elastic deformation.
 Due to some relaxation process within the material, the elastic deformation
of the material continues even after the application of the load.
 On removal of the load, some part of the elastic deformation is recovered
only as a function of time, with the reversal of the relaxation process.

Viscoelastic Behavior:

 This is found in those materials which respond to an applied stress by both

recoverable and permanent deformations, which are time dependent.
 Non-crystalline organic polymers exhibit this behaviour.
 Time dependent permanent deformation is termed as viscous flow.
 We may note that it is analogous to the creep phenomenon in crystalline
materials.