METALS

1. Alloys and Phase Diagrams

2. Ferrous Metals
3. Nonferrous Metals
 Metals: The Most Important
Engineering Materials
 They have properties that satisfy a wide variety of
design requirements
 The manufacturing processes by which they are
shaped into products have been developed and
refined over many years
 Engineers understand metals
 Why Metals Are Important
 High stiffness and strength ‑ can be alloyed for high
rigidity, strength, and hardness
 Toughness ‑ capacity to absorb energy better than
other classes of materials
 Good electrical conductivity ‑ Metals are conductors

 Good thermal conductivity ‑ conduct heat better than

ceramics or polymers
 Cost – the price of steel is very competitive with
other engineering materials
 Classification of Metals
 Ferrous ‑ those based on iron
 Steels
 Cast irons

 Nonferrous ‑ all other metals

 Aluminum, magnesium, copper, nickel, titanium,
zinc, lead, tin, molybdenum, tungsten, gold,
silver, platinum, and others

 Superalloys
 Metals and Alloys
 Some metals are important as pure elements (e.g.,
gold, silver, copper)

 Most engineering applications require the enhanced

properties obtained by alloying

 Through alloying, it is possible to increase strength,

hardness, and other properties compared to pure
metals
 Solid Solutions
An alloy = a mixture or compound of two or more
elements, at least one of which is metallic
An alloy in which one element is dissolved in another
to form a single‑phase structure

 A phase = any homogeneous mass of material,

such as a metal in which the grains all have the
same crystal lattice structure

 In a solid solution, the solvent or base element is

metallic, and the dissolved element can be either
metallic or nonmetal
 Phase Diagrams
A graphical means of representing the phases of a
metal alloy system as a function of composition and
temperature

 A phase diagram for an alloy system consisting of

two elements at atmospheric pressure is called a
binary phase diagram
 Other forms of phase diagrams are discussed in
texts on metallurgy and materials science
 Phase Diagrams
 Composition is plotted on the horizontal axis and
temperature on the vertical axis

 Any point in the diagram indicates the overall

composition and the phase or phases present at the
given temperature under equilibrium conditions
 Copper-Nickel Phase Diagram

Figure 6.2 Phase diagram for the copper‑nickel alloy

system.
 Chemical Compositions of Phases
 The overall composition of the alloy is given by its
position along the horizontal axis

 However, the compositions of liquid and solid

phases are not the same
 These compositions can be found by drawing a
horizontal line at the temperature of interest
 Where the line intersects the solidus and liquidus
indicates the compositions of solid and liquid
phases, respectively
 Example
Determine compositions of liquid and solid phases in
the Cu-Ni system at an aggregate composition of
50% nickel and a temperature of 1316oC (2400oF)
 Inverse Lever Rule – Step 1
 The phase diagram can be used to determine the
amounts of each phase present at a given
temperature
 Using the horizontal line that indicates overall
composition at a given temperature, measure the
distances between the aggregate composition
and the intersection points with the liquidus and
solidus, identifying the distances as CL and CS,
respectively
 Inverse Lever Rule – Step 2
 The proportion of liquid phase present is given
by

CS
L phase proportion =
(CS  CL )
 And the proportion of solid phase present is
given by

CL
S phase proportion =
CS  CL
 Ferrous Metals
Based on iron, one of the oldest metals known to man

 Ferrous metals of engineering importance are alloys

of iron and carbon

 These alloys divide into two major groups:

 Steel
 Cast iron

 Together, they constitute approximately 85% of the

metal tonnage in the United States
 Iron as a Commercial Product
 Electrolytic iron - the most pure, at about 99.99%, for
research and other purposes where the pure metal is
required

 Ingot iron - contains about 0.1% impurities (including

about 0.01% carbon), used in applications where high
ductility or corrosion resistance are needed

 Wrought iron - contains about 3% slag but very little

carbon, and is easily shaped in hot forming operations
such as forging
 Steel and Cast Iron Defined
Steel = an iron‑carbon alloy containing from 0.02%
to 2.1% carbon
Cast iron = an iron‑carbon alloy containing from
2.1% to about 4% or 5% carbon

 Steels and cast irons can also contain other

alloying elements besides carbon
 Steel
An alloy of iron containing from 0.02% and 2.11%
carbon by weight
 Often includes other alloying elements: nickel,
manganese, chromium, and molybdenum
 Steel alloys can be grouped into four categories:
1. Plain carbon steels
2. Low alloy steels
3. Stainless steels
4. Tool steels
 Plain Carbon Steels
 Carbon is the principal alloying element, with only
small amounts of other elements (about 0.5%
manganese is normal)

 Strength of plain carbon steels increases with carbon

content, but ductility is reduced

 High carbon steels can be heat treated to form

martensite, making the steel very hard and strong
Figure 6.12 Tensile strength and hardness as a function of
carbon content in plain carbon steel (hot rolled).
 Plain Carbon Steels
1. Low carbon steels - contain less than 0.20% C
 Applications: automobile sheet-metal parts,
plate steel for fabrication, railroad rails
2. Medium carbon steels - range between 0.20% and
0.50% C
 Applications: machinery components and
engine parts such as crankshafts and
connecting rods
3. High carbon steels - contain carbon in amounts
greater than 0.50%
 Applications: springs, cutting tools and blades,
wear-resistant parts
 Low Alloy Steels
Iron‑carbon alloys that contain additional alloying
elements in amounts totaling less than  5% by
weight
 Mechanical properties superior to plain carbon steels
for given applications
 Higher strength, hardness, hot hardness, wear
resistance, toughness, and more desirable
combinations of these properties
 Heat treatment is often required to achieve these
improved properties
 Stainless Steel (SS)
Highly alloyed steels designed for corrosion resistance
 Principal alloying element is chromium, usually greater
than 15%
 Cr forms a thin impervious oxide film that protects
surface from corrosion
 Nickel (Ni) is another alloying ingredient in certain SS
to increase corrosion protection
 Carbon is used to strengthen and harden SS, but high
C content reduces corrosion protection since
chromium carbide forms to reduce available free Cr
 Properties of Stainless Steels
 In addition to corrosion resistance, stainless steels are
noted for their combination of strength and ductility
 While desirable in many applications, these
properties generally make stainless steel difficult to
work in manufacturing
 Significantly more expensive than plain C or low alloy
steels
 Tool Steels
A class of (usually) highly alloyed steels designed for use
as industrial cutting tools, dies, and molds
 To perform in these applications, they must possess
high strength, hardness, hot hardness, wear
resistance, and toughness under impact
 Tool steels are heat treated
 Cast Irons
Iron alloys containing from 2.1% to about 4% carbon and
from 1% to 3% silicon
 This composition makes them highly suitable as
casting metals
 Tonnage of cast iron castings is several times that of
all other cast metal parts combined, excluding cast
ingots in steel-making that are subsequently rolled into
bars, plates, and similar stock
 Overall tonnage of cast iron is second only to steel
among metals
 Types of Cast Irons
 Most important is gray cast iron
 Other types include ductile iron, white cast iron,
malleable iron, and various alloy cast irons
 Ductile and malleable irons possess chemistries
similar to the gray and white cast irons, respectively,
but result from special processing treatments
 Nonferrous Metals
Metal elements and alloys not based on iron
 Most important nonferrous metals are aluminum,
copper, magnesium, nickel, titanium, and zinc, and
their alloys
 Although not as strong as steels, certain nonferrous
alloys have corrosion resistance and/or
strength‑to‑weight ratios that make them competitive
with steels in moderate to high stress applications
 Many nonferrous metals have properties other than
mechanical that make them ideal for applications in
which steel would not be suitable
 Aluminum and Magnesium
 Aluminum (Al) and magnesium (Mg) are light metals
 They are often specified in engineering
applications for this feature
 Both elements are abundant on earth, aluminum on
land and magnesium in the sea
 Neither is easily extracted from their natural
states
 Properties of Aluminum
 High electrical and thermal conductivity
 Excellent corrosion resistance due to formation of a
hard thin oxide surface film
 Very ductile metal, noted for its formability
 Pure aluminum is relatively low in strength, but it can
be alloyed and heat treated to compete with some
steels, especially when weight is taken into
consideration
 Copper
 One of the oldest metals known to mankind
 Low electrical resistivity ‑ commercially pure
copper is widely used as an electrical conductor
 Also an excellent thermal conductor
 One of the noble metals (gold and silver are also
noble metals), so it is corrosion resistant
 Copper Alloys

 Strength and hardness of copper is relatively low; to

improve strength, copper is frequently alloyed
 Bronze - alloy of copper and tin (typical  90% Cu,
10% Sn), widely used today and in ancient times
(i.e., the Bronze Age)
 Brass - alloy of copper and zinc (typical  65% Cu,
35% Zn).
 Highest strength alloy is beryllium‑copper (only about
2% Be), which can be heat treated to high strengths
and used for springs
 Titanium and Its Alloys
 Abundant in nature, constituting  1% of earth's
crust (aluminum is  8%)
 Density of Ti is between aluminum and iron
 Importance has grown in recent decades due to its
aerospace applications where its light weight and
good strength‑to‑weight ratio are exploited
 Properties of Titanium
 Coefficient of thermal expansion is relatively low
among metals
 Stiffer and stronger than Al
 Retains good strength at elevated temperatures
 Pure Ti is reactive, which presents problems in
processing, especially in molten state
 At room temperature Ti forms a thin adherent oxide
coating (TiO2) that provides excellent corrosion
resistance
 Applications of Titanium
 In the commercially pure state, Ti is used for corrosion
resistant components, such as marine components
and prosthetic implants
 Titanium alloys are used as high strength components
at temperatures ranging up to above 550C (1000F),
especially where its excellent strength‑to‑weight ratio
is exploited
 Examples: aircraft and missile components
 Alloying elements used with titanium include
aluminum, manganese, tin, and vanadium
 Lead and Tin
 Often considered together due to their low melting
points and use in soldering alloys
 Lead - dense, low melting point; low strength, low
hardness, high ductility, good corrosion resistance
 Applications: solder, bearings, ammunition, type
metals, x‑ray shielding, storage batteries, and
vibration damping
 Tin - lower melting point than lead; low strength, low
hardness, good ductility
 Applications: solder, bronze, "tin cans" for storing
food