EAT104 MANUFACTURING AND MATERIALS

WEEK 3 THE CRYSTAL STRUCTURE OF METAL

From liquid to solid

A pure metal solidifies at a fixed single temperature, and the atoms arrange themselves in some regular pattern.

Metal crystals

Miller Indices Plane Indices

 Direction indices

Figure: Direction indices for identifying crystal directions, showing how the [166] direction is defined. The lower part of the figure shows the family of (111) directions.

Dendritic solidification
When the temperature of a molten pure metal falls below its freezing point, crystallisation will begin. The nucleus of each crystal will be a single unit of the appropriate crystal lattice. For example, in the case of a metal with a bodycentred cubic lattice, nine atoms will come together to form a single unit and this will grow as further atoms join the lattice structure.

Figure: The nucleus of a metallic crystal (in this case a body-centred cubic structure).

The early stages in the growth of a metallic dendrite.

The dendritic solidification of a metal

The influence of cooling rates on crystal size

The rate at which a molten metal is cooling as it reaches the freezing temperature affects the size of the crystals which form.

Zones of different crystal forms in an ingot.

References
R.A. Higgins, 2006, Materials for Engineers and Technicians, 4th Editions, Butterworth-Heinemann.

Last Updated:11 May 2013

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