Non-Ferrous Metals and Alloy – Aluminum and its alloy and

copper and its alloy

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

Copper is extracted from its ores through a series of processes. Copper

pyrite is the main ores used for extracting copper. The copper ore is first
roasted to drive out the water, CO2 and sulfur. It is followed by melting
in a reverberatory furnace of the type used for wrought iron. Silica is
added to the charge to form slag with impurities like iron and alumina.
The molten metal is tapped and transferred to a convertor where air is
blown through it to burn the impurities. This results in the production of
crude form of copper, known as blister copper, containing 68% purity.
Final refining is done by an electrolytic process, pure copper
depositing on the cathode. This gives a highly pure (99.9%) copper
which is re melted and cast into suitable shapes.
Properties:
1. High electrical and thermal conductivity.
2. Good corrosion resistance
3. High ductility
4. Light in weight
Application:
1. Used as electrical conductor in various shapes and forms viz., sheet
and contacts.
2. Used in heat exchanger and heating vessel and appliances.
3. Used for providing base coating on steel prior to nickel and
chromium plating.
4. Can be easily cold worked, rolled, and drawn.
5. Used in various appliances where light weight is desired.
Non-ferrous alloys
Due to poor physical and mechanical properties and high costs the
non-ferrous metals are seldom used in their in pure state. But their
alloys carry very good physical and mechanical properties and are
widely used. In general they have lower strength, hardness, and
modulus of elasticity than irons and steels. However they carry their
own importance due to some exceptional properties possess, like
lightness, ease in fabrication, good machinability, high resistance to
corrosion, attractive appearance and good cast ability etc. Some
commonly used non-ferrous alloys are described in the following
articles:

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.

3. Y-alloy: It contains 93% Al, 4% Cu, 2% Ni, and 1% Mg. Its

principle use is as a casting alloy. It maintains its strength at elevated
temperatures, and is used for pistons of I.C. engines. A treatment of
Y-alloy castings, consisting of quenching in boiling water from a
temperature of 5100 C and then aging for 5 days, develops very good
mechanical properties in them. It is also used in strip and sheet forms.

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.

Common types of brasses in engineering use are the following:

a) Cartridge brass: It has 70% Cu and 30% Zn. It is very strong and
ductile. It is used for wide range of drawn components like cartridge
cases, head lamp reflector, radiator shells and drawn tubes.
b) Muntz metals: It contains 60% Cu and 40% Zn and can be cast,
rolled, extruded and stamped. It is a sort of general purpose alloy
having good resistance to corrosion. It is used for casting pump parts,
valve, taps and other similar items.
c) Naval brass: It contains 60% Cu, 39% Zn and 1% tin. It is more or
less similar in composition to Muntz metals except that 1% Zn is
replace by 1% tin. As a result of this change the resistance to sea
water corrosion is vastly improved. This alloy is therefore, widely
used for cast and forged fittings for ships.
d) Admiralty brass: It contains 70% Cu, 29% Zn and 1% tin. It is
similar to cartridge brass in composition except that 1% Zn is
replaced by 1% tin. It can be cold worked and has good resistance
to sea water corrosion. It is cold drawn into tubes and rolled into
sheets and bars. It is widely used in ship fitting, bolts, nuts, washer
and other items subjected to sea water corrosion.
e) Gilding brass: It contain up to 15% zinc and the rest Cu. It is very
cold working alloy and is used for jewelry, decorative and ornamental
work. It is commercially available as cold rolled strip, wire or sheet.
Its color according to the percentage of Zn varies from red to bright
yellow. It is also called Gilding metal.
f) Delta brass: It is also known as delta metal, it consists of 60% of
Cu, 37% Zn and 3% iron. It can be easily hot worked, forged, rolled,
extruded and cast. It has fairly good tensile strength after hot working
and casting. It also has a good corrosion resistance. It can suitably
replace steel castings.
g) Free cutting brass: It contains 60% Cu, 37%Zn and 3% Pb. It is
specially used in machining work, such as producing components
from bar stock on turret and automatic lathe. It is also used for
making cast, forged, or stamped, blanks to be used for further
machining. With this metal very high speeds and feeds can be
employed in machining.
h) Beta brass: It contains 50% Cu, and 50% Zn. Higher percentage
of zinc render it hard and brittle, but it softens quickly when heated
and melts at 8700 C. Its main application is brazing solder.
i) Silicon brass: It contains 80% Cu, 16% Zn and 4% Si. It responds
well to welding and is widely used for refrigerators and fire
extinguisher shells. It can also be easily sand or
gravity die cast, hot stamped and extruded. It can be used as a cheaper
substitute for phosphor bronze.

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.

a. Phosphorous bronze: The addition of small amounts (0.01–0.45)

of phosphorus increases the hardness, fatigue resistance and wear
resistance of bronze, leading to applications such as springs,
fasteners, masonry fixings, shafts, valve spindles, gears and bearings.
Cast phosphor bronzes with up to 10% tin and 20% lead are widely
used for heavy duty bearings.
b. Gun metal: The term 'gunmetal' is applied to a family of copper-
based casting alloys containing between 2-11% tin and 1-10% zinc.
Modified forms may contain, additional elements, such as lead (up
to 7%) and nickel (up to 6%) when the alloys are classified as 'leaded
gunmetal' and 'nickel gunmetal'. Gunmetal is used for the manufacture
of intricate castings required to be pressure tight such as valves, pipe
fittings and pumps.
c. Aluminum bronze: Aluminum bronzes are used for their
combination of high strength, excellent corrosion and wear
resistance. Most commercial aluminum bronze alloys typically
contain 4 to 11% aluminum and iron (0.5 to 5%) and nickel (up to
5%). Aluminum bronzes are used in marine hardware, shafts and
pump and valve components for handling seawater, sour mine waters,
and industrial process fluids. They are also used in applications such
as heavy duty sleeve bearings, and machine tool ways.

d. Silicon bronze: It contains 1 to 4% Si, 0.25% to 1.25% Mn, 0.5%

to 1% iron (if added) and the rest copper. Small addition of upto 0.5%
Pb will improve machinability. It has high strength, toughness, and
corrosion resistance. It can be readily hot worked. With low silicon
content it can be safely cold worked also. It is widely used for boiler
parts, tanks marine hardware and similar other item.

e. Manganese bronze: It contains 55% to 60% copper, 38% to 42%

Zn, upto 1.5% tin, upto 2% iron, upto 1.5% Al and upto 3.5% Mn. It
has superior mechanical properties and high corrosion resistance. It
has poor respond to cold working but can be readily hot worked. It is
used for such part where high strength and corrosion resistance are
desired, such as in ship propellers and rudders, etc.
 Tribology

Tribology is the science and technology of interacting surfaces in

relative motion. The term tribology is derived from the Greek word
tribo – meaning (to rub) by Professor Peter Jost in 1966. Although the
term itself was not coined until 1966, there are images of tribology in
action from as long ago as ancient Egypt, when early tribologists used
oil to help facilitate sliding of large statues. Generally, tribology
includes three key topics: friction, wear and lubrication.

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).

Role of Tribology in Energy Efficiency

Tribology is particularly important in today's world because so much
energy is lost to friction in mechanical components. To use less
energy, we need to minimize the amount that is wasted. Significant
energy is lost due to friction in sliding interfaces. Therefore,
finding ways to minimize friction and wear through new technologies
in tribology is critical to a greener and more sustainable world.
Global energy consumption is expected to grow in upcoming years,
straining both resources and the environment. At the same time, a
huge amount of energy is lost to friction: for example, about 33% of
energy is wasted annually due to friction in passenger cars globally.
Further waste occurs due to wear of contacting materials, as the
energy required to replace parts is substantial, and the economic,
environmental, and safety costs of wear-induced failures can be
extensive. Moreover, many of the challenges facing new energy-
efficient technologies - such as wind turbines - are tribological in
nature. Therefore, tribology is critically important to addressing some
of the world's key issues related to energy efficiency and the
economic and societal implications of energy usage.
 Composite Materials

A composite material is a combination of two materials with different physical

and chemical properties. When they are combined they create a material which
is specialized to do a certain job, for instance to become stronger, lighter or
resistant to electricity. They can also improve strength and stiffness. The
reason for their use over traditional materials is because they improve the
properties of their base materials and are applicable in many situations.

Some common types of composite materials include:

Ceramic matrix composite: Ceramic spread out in a ceramic matrix. These are
better than normal ceramics as they are thermal shock and fracture resistant

Metal matrix composite: A metal spread throughout a matrix

Fibreglass: Glass fibre combined with a plastic which is relatively inexpensive

and flexible

Carbon Fibre reinforced polymer: Carbon fibre set in plastic which has a
high strength-to-weight ratio

Reinforced concrete: Concrete strengthened by a material with high tensile

strength such as steel reinforcing bars

What are the Advantages of Composite Materials?

1. Low costs compared to metals

2. Design flexibility

3. Resistance to a wide range of chemical agents

4. Low weight

5. Durability

6. Electric insulation and 7. High Impact strength

 Smart Materials
Smart (or intelligent) materials are a group of new and state-of-the-art
materials now being developed that will have a significant influence
on many of our technologies. The adjective “smart” implies that
these materials are able to sense changes in their environments and
then respond to these changes in predetermined manners—traits that
are also found in living organisms. In addition, this “smart” concept is
being extended to rather sophisticated systems that consist of both
smart and traditional materials.

Components of a smart material (or system) include some type of

sensor (that detects an input signal), and an actuator (that performs
a responsive and adaptive function). Actuators may be called upon
to change shape, position, natural frequency, or mechanical
characteristics in response to changes in temperature, electric fields,
and/or magnetic fields.
 Wear Resistant Steel

Wear resistant or abrasion steel

Wear-resistant steel, also called abrasion-resistant steel contains
alloys like carbon, manganese, nickel, chrome and boron are added in
different proportions. The grades therefore have different mechanical
and chemical properties that will produce different results in an end
product.
Carbon plays a key role in making the wear steel abrasion- and wear-
resistant because it increases the steel’s hardness and toughness. But
too much carbon alloy will reduce the steel’s tensile strength, making
it brittle and susceptible to cracking.
Industries and uses for wear-resistant steel
Wear-resistant steels are used in applications where abrasion, wear
and impact are the main causes of failure, not constant pressure or
tension. So, such steels make the ideal choice for using in heavy-duty
equipment and attachments in challenging or extreme environments.
Typical uses for wear-resistant steels include:
1. Earthmoving equipment and attachments
2. Construction, demolition and recycling
3. Material handling, crushing and conveying
4. Mining and quarrying
5. Cement and other industrial plants
6. Agricultural machinery
7. Trucks, trailers and other vehicles