10 Non-Ferrous and Other Topics
10 Non-Ferrous and Other Topics
Aluminum
Aluminum ore is found as a hydrated aluminum oxide, called bauxite.
The impurities present in it are oxides of iron, silicon, and titanium.
To remove impurities, the bauxite is fused in electric furnace and
carbon is added to reduce the impurities, which form slag/sludge and
can be removed. As a result of this refining pure aluminum oxide is
separated from the impurities. Then electrolysis process is used to
reduce aluminum from its oxide.
Properties:
1. Low density (2.7 g/cm3 as compared to 7.9 g/cm3 for steel)
2. High electrical and thermal conductivity
3. Good resistance to corrosion in some common environments
4. Highly ductile even at relatively low temperature
5. Light in weight
Application
1. Used for heavy conductor and bus bar work.
2. In domestic utensils and other heat conductive appliances.
3. Used in manufacture of containers for chemical industries.
4. It can be easily worked, extruded, rolled, drawn, and forged.
Copper
Aluminum alloys
1. Duralumin: It contains 4% Cu, 0.5% Mg, 0.5% Mn and the rest
aluminum. Duralumin alloys are relatively soft, ductile, and workable
in the normal state; they may be rolled, forged, extruded, or drawn
into a variety of shapes and products. Their light weight and
consequent high strength per unit weight compared to steel suit
them for aircraft construction.
Because duralumin loses strength in welding, a special laminated
sheet form called alclad is used for aircraft construction; it has thin
surface layers of pure aluminum or a corrosion-resistant aluminum
alloy covering the strong duralumin core.
2. Aluminum casting alloy: It contains 90% Al, 8% Cu, 1% iron and
1% Si. It has good strength, hardness and machinability. It may be
sand, pressure or gravity die cast.
Copper alloys
Brasses
All brasses are basically alloys of copper and zinc. There are two
main varieties of brasses:
1. Alpha brass (Zn up to 37%) - for cold working.
2. Alpha beta brass (Zn 33% to 46%) – for hot working.
Alpha brasses are very ductile and can be readily cold worked
without any chances of fracture. They can be cold rolled into sheet,
drawn into wire, deep drawn and drawn into tubes. In these brasses, as
the proportion of zinc increases, their strength increases but ductility
decreases.
They are worked hardened when subjected to intensive cold
working, but ductility can be regained by annealing them at 600 ⁰C.
Slow cooling provides maximum ductility, but for common uses they
may be water quenched. Deep drawing of this brass requires
periodical annealing during the process.
Alpha beta brasses lose strength at high temperature but become
very plastic. It, therefore respond very well to hot rolling, hot
extrusion, hot stamping and casting, etc. when cold worked, fracture
are likely to develop.
2. Bronzes
Bronze is basically an alloy of copper and tin. In general, it
possesses superior mechanical properties and corrosion resistance
than brass. Those containing up to 8% tin are called working bronze.
They can be easily cold worked, rolled, formed and drawn. They are
available in various forms, as strip, wire and sheet etc.
With the increase in tin content, its strength and corrosion resistance
increase. It is then known as hot working bronzes. Small addition of
phosphorous further improves its strength, ductility and bearing
properties. The amount of phosphorous added is 0.5%. This is then
known as phosphorous bronze.
Friction
Friction is, by definition, the resistance to motion. The magnitude of
this resistance is a function of the materials, geometries and surface
features of the bodies in contact, as well as the operating conditions
and environment. It is often desirable to minimize friction to order
to maximize the efficiency of a component or process.
Wear
Wear is the loss/damage/removal of materials, usually due to
sliding. Typically wear is undesirable as it can lead to increased
friction and ultimately to component failure. Like friction, wear is
typically minimized by using a lubricant to separate the two bodies
so that they do not directly touch one another.
Lubricants and Lubrication
Lubricants are primarily used to separate two sliding surfaces to
minimize friction and wear. They also perform other functions, such
as carrying heat and contaminants away from the interface. Lubricants
are often liquids, typically consisting of oil and added chemicals,
called additives, which help the oils, better perform specific functions.
However, there are some applications where lubricants can be gases
(nitrogen) or even solids (graphite).
Ceramic matrix composite: Ceramic spread out in a ceramic matrix. These are
better than normal ceramics as they are thermal shock and fracture resistant
Carbon Fibre reinforced polymer: Carbon fibre set in plastic which has a
high strength-to-weight ratio
2. Design flexibility
4. Low weight
5. Durability