Metals

I. Introduction
J. McCord

Contents
general remarks

Crystal structures of metals

Hexagonal close packed (hcp) structure
Face-centered cubic (fcc) structure
Base-centered cubic (bcc) structure
Examples

1.2

Metals as engineering materials

Mechanical properties structural engineering materials

Very unique: e.g., only metals retain fracture toughness at low

temperatures

Useful physical properties functional materials

High electrical and thermal conductivity
Soft or hard magnetic behavior
Superconductivity
Shape memory

Mechanical properties crucial for functional materials!

Stresses during processing and operation

1.3

Perfect single crystals:

In general poor engineering materials!

Example: Fe

Defects are crucial for

materials engineering!

Fig. 1.1.
Stress-strain curve for pure iron and a
high-strength steel.

1.4

Typical defects and microstructural features

Vacancies

Diffusion

Dislocations

Plastic deformation

Cracks

Fracture

Foreign atoms
Grain boundaries
Additional phases
Non-metallic components

Obstacles for movement of

Dislocations (mechanical)
Bloch walls (magnetic)
Flux lines (superconductive)

Physical metallurgy: Microstructure

properties
1.5

Crystal binding and structure of metals

Positive ion core

Nondirectional bonding
Close packed structures (fcc, hcp)
High ductility

Quasi-free electron
High electrical and thermal conductivity
High reflectivity

True for alkali metals,

noble metals, Al

Valence electrons
forming an electron gas
Fig. 1.2.
Principle of the metallic bond: Ion cores are surrounded
by the electron gas formed by the valence electrons.
1.6

Crystal binding and structure of metals

Positive ion core

Transition metals

Covalent bonds (directional)

Between partially filled d-orbitals
Binding energy W = 8.3 eV!
Also metallic bonding between
s-orbitals

Valence electrons
forming an electron gas
Fig. 1.2.
Principle of the metallic bond: Ion cores are surrounded
by the electron gas formed by the valence electrons.
1.7

Periodic table of elements

Fig. 1.3.

Core charge increases

Screening of core charge increases

Stronger binding
Weaker binding

1.8

Periodic table of elements

Fig. 1.3.

Core charge increases

Screening of core charge increases

Stronger binding
Weaker binding

1.9

Periodic table of elements

Fig. 1.4.

1.10

Closely packed crystal binding hexagonal closed-packed (hcp) structure

Fig. 1.5.
Hexagonal structure: (a) Triple
unit cell of the hexagonal point
lattice; (b) spheres arranged to
form the structure; (c) unit cell
composed of spheres.

(a)

c
=
a

a1

8
= 1.63
3

(b)
a2 center of atom at
2 1 1
, ,
2 3 2

Packing density Vfcc

= 0.74

(c)
center of
atom in next
unit cell
1/12 of
an atom
1/6 of
an atom

1.11

Interstices in hcp materials

(a)

(b)

Metal atoms
Atoms in octahedral
interstice

Metal atoms
Atoms in tetrahedral
interstice

Fig. 1.6.
Interstitial sites in the hcp lattice. (a) octahedral interstice; (b) tetrahedral interstice.
1.12

Closely packed crystal binding face-centered cubic (fcc) structure

Fig. 1.7.
Face-centered cubic structure: (a)
Unit cell of the fcc point lattice; (b)
unit cell composed of spheres; (c)
atoms are in contact along the
face diagonal.

(c)
(a)

(b)
Packing density Vfcc

= 0.74
1.13

Interstices in fcc materials

Metal atoms
Atoms in octahedral
interstice

Metal atoms
Atoms in tetrahedral
interstice

Fig. 1.8.
Interstitial sites in the fcc lattice. (a) Octahedral interstice; (b) tetrahedral interstice.

1.14

Comparison - hcp vs. fcc

A-B-A-B-A-B
A-B-C-A-B-C

Fig. 1.9.
Comparison of two closed-packed structures: fcc and hcp. The (111)-plane of the fcc lattice
corresponds to the (0002)-plane of the hcp lattice. The only difference between the two
structures is the stacking sequence of these two planes .

1.15

Body-centered cubic structure

Fig. 1.10.
Body-centered structure: (a)
Unit cell of the bcc point
lattice; (b) unit cell composed
of spheres; (c) atoms are in
contact along the body
diagonal.

Packing density Vbcc

= 0.68
1.16

Interstices in bcc materials

Metal atoms
Atoms in octahedral
interstice

Metal atoms
Atoms in tetrahedral
interstice

Fig. 1.11.
Interstitial sites in the bcc lattice. (a) Octahedral interstice; (b) tetrahedral interstice.
1.17

Body-centered cubic structure

Transition metals

V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, ... (covalent d-bonding)

Alkali metals

Li, Na, at room temperature!

bcc structure unexpected for metals (not close packed)

Advantages
More effective nearest neighbors
Entropic stabilization

fcc 12 nearest neighbors Z = 12

bcc 8 nearest neighbors at

a
3 =0.866a
2

6 next nearest neighbors at a

Zeff 14
1.18

Entropic stabilization of bcc

Shear instability
Entropic stabilization of bcc!
Allotropy
High T
Vibrational mode with large amplitude
in <110> direction
Large vibrational entropy (positional
uncertainty)
Low T
Martensitic transformation (flip process)
bcc fcc or hdp (Na < 36 K fcc, Ti <
882 C hcp, Zr < 852 C hcp)

Fig. 1.12.
Shear instability of the simple cubic lattice
in <100> direction and of the bcc-lattice in
<110> direction.
1.19

Overview

Fig. 1.13.
Crystal structure of some more important metallic elements.

1.20

Example - Crystal structure of transition metals

Fe Co Ni

Fig. 1.14.
Periodic table. Fe (bcc), Co (hcp), and Ni
(fcc) at room temperature.
1.21

Example - Magnetic anisotropy of Fe and Ni

Fig. 1.15.
Magnetization curves of Fe and Ni. An iron
crystal is much easier to magnetize along
the [100] direction than along the [111]
direction. The opposite is the case for
nickel.

1.22