MODULE 3: METALS AND ALLOYS

METALS and CERAMICS

Ore
- Ore is a type of naturally occurring rock that contains certain
elements or minerals. Once you get ore, you can extract the
elements you what from it.
- Through processes like casting or forging, you can make that
material into more usable bulk form. A common example is ingot,
a bar of a pure metal (e.g. bar of gold). Those bulk materials can be
formed into stock shapes, like sheets, tubes, or even powders.

METALS
- Materials that are made from metals are relatively strong and stiff,
but also resistant to fracture. This makes them good for building
structures.
- Metals also reflect light well, which makes them shiny.
- Common metals on Earth are aluminum, iron, potassium, and
magnesium.
- Properties:
 Conduction (Heat and electricity)
 Malleable
 Ductile
 Low volatility (High melting and boiling point)
o ALLOY
- A metallic material composed of more than one element,
with at least one of those elements being a metal.
- Example: STEEL – an iron alloy.

- Alloy
s have different, and often better, properties than the
individual elements they are made from.
 - The bonds within metals and metallic materials leave a
large number of electrons that aren’t bound to particular
atoms and can move from one atom to another, known as
the FREE-ELECTRON THEORY OF METALS.
These free electrons can move as a group through the
metal itself.

- This explains why some metallic materials are so good at

conducting heat and electricity – especially simpler
metals. Their electron can more easily carry that energy
from one place in the metal to the other.

CERAMICS
- Ceramics are compounds that aren’t completely metallic, but they
don’t have carbon atoms bonded in a way that would make them
organic, either.
- Ceramics are relatively stiff and strong and often very hard. (In this
way, they are similar to metals.)
- Ceramics are also usually insulators, so they don’t conduct heat
and electricity well – although there are some that do.
- They also tend to be more resistant to extreme temperatures and
harsh environments than metal and polymers are.
- Properties:
 Extremely brittle
 Can fracture easily
 Stiff and strong
  Often very hard
 Usually insulators
o Glass VS. Ceramics
 Ceramics are usually crystalline, their molecules are more
ordered, whereas the molecules in various types of glass
are more random.
 The molecules in both ceramics and glasses are made up
of at least one metallic element, plus at least one non-
metallic element.
 They often include oxygen, nitrogen, or carbon. Common
examples are aluminum oxide (rust) and silicon carbide,
which can form a very hard material used to make car
brakes and bulletproof vests.
- Pottery, bricks, windows, and electronics.
- Traditional Ceramics: Cement and compounds made up of clay
materials (porcelain).

 Glass-ceramic materials, or materials whose chemistry falls

between a glass and other ceramics, are relatively strong and don’t
melt easily when heated. They are biologically compatible and
they make good insulators and can be completely transparent.
 Clay is inexpensive and commonly found in nature. You can often
use it as-is after mining it, meaning that you dont need to waste
time or resources on refinement.
 Cement is mainly used as a binder to help hold concrete together.
Cement can set at room temperature.

 MICRO ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS (MMS)

 - These are miniature smart systems that use tiny sensors to
collect information by measuring things like mechanical,
thermal, chemical, or optical properties.
- They then use the information to make decisions that tell
devices called microactuators to do something, like
move a fluid or redirect a beam of light.
- A major application of MEMS is the accelerometer.

METALLIC BONDING
- Metallic bonding is often described as an array of positive ions in
a sea of electrons. The metal is held together by the strong forces
of attraction between the delocalised electrons and the positive
ions.
- Metallic bonding have delocalized electons, or electrons that have
the freedom to move.
- Elecron Sea Model

- The more the free (valence) electrons, the higher the melting point.
Shell Model
METALLIC SOLIDS
- Metallic solids are built on electron sea model where the electrons
are free to move.
- Properties:
 Shiny – because of the free electrons on their surface that
absorb and reflect light.
 Conductors – have high amounts of free electrons and the
atoms have the ability to move.
 Ductile – able to stretch; not brittle.
 Malleable – can be shaped/flattened. The nuclei have the
ability to move.
 Alloys – can form different aloys
- Can form ALLOYS
 Interstitial Alloys – (Filling holes)
An interstitial compound, or interstitial alloy, is a
compound that is formed when an atom with a small
enough radius sits in an interstitial “hole” in a metal
lattice. Examples of small atoms are hydrogen, boron,
carbon and nitrogen. (e.g. steel)
STEEL – Heating up iron to allow carbon to fill the holes
inside the iron. It increases its density and make it a better
metal.

Substitutional Alloys – (Replacing atoms)

When the atoms are relatively similar in size, the atom
exchange method usually happens, where some of the
atoms composing the metallic crystals are substituted with
atoms of the other constituent. This is called
a substitutional alloy. (e.g. brass)
 BRASS – If we add zinc to copper, then we can make
brass and will have different characteristics than thoes
metals by themselves.

 Combination:
STAINLESS
STEEL – If we
add atoms (Chromium, Nickel, Carbon) to iron.
Interstitial in carbon and substitutional in chromium and
nickel. It allows it not to interact with oxygen and not
form rust.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF METAL
o The properties of a metal are the characteristics by
which it can be accurately identified, or by which its
range usefulness can be determined.
o The property makes the identity of the material. It is
the characteristics.
1. HARDNESS
 The ability to resist wear, abrasion, cutting,
and indentation.
 This may be a property which is uniform
throughout the metal, or it may be surface
condition of a metal, called case hardening
(Making the surface of the metal harder).
 Increasing hardness throughout would also
increase its brittleness.
 Hardness Test

2. BRITTLENESS
 A property of metals which permits no
permanent deformation before breaking.
 Brittle materials generally breaks instantly
without any intermediate stage of bending (lack
of plasticity)
 Glass is an example of brittle material.
 Opposite of brittleness is plasticity and
ductility.
3. PLASTICITY
 A material is said to be plastic or exhibit
plasticity, if it is very soft and easily
deformed.
  Plastic materials have very little elasticity; that
is they don’t return to their original shape after
the deforming force is removed. (permanent
deformation)
 Plastic materials are not brittle.

4. DUCTILITY (tensile strength)

 The ability of the material to deform under
tensile stress
Tension/Tensile Stress – forces away from
each other.
 This often characterized by the material’s ability
to be stretch into a wire. (e.g. copper)

5. MALLEABILITY
 The ability of the material to deform under
compressive stress.
Compressive Stress – forces towards each
other.
 This is often characterized by the ability of the
material to form thin sheets by hammering or
rolling. (e.q. iron sheets (yero))
 The malleability of a material increase
significantly when the material is heated.

6. ELASTICITY
 The ability of the material to return to its
original shape after any force acting on it has
been removed. (e.g. rubber)
 Materials with high ductility and toughness
are elastic.
  Materials which are hard and brittle have
very little elasticity.
7. TOUGHNESS
 It is called as “impact strength”
 The property that determines whether or not a
material will break at a sudden impact.
 Related to elasticity – the tough material returns
to its original form/shape after the sudden
impact.

o ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF METAL

 Electricity – movement of electrons
 BAND THEORY
The Band Theory states that the delocalized
electrons move freely through “bands” formed
by overlapping molecular orbitals.
  METALS – electrons are able to jump easily from valence bond to
conduction bond.
 SEMICONDUCTORS – a small amount of energy is needed in
order for the electrons to jump to the conduction band. That’s why
semiconductors are need to be heated up (heat energy) first before
they can conduct electricity.
 INSULATORS – it will be hard for the electrons to jump from
valence band to conduction band due to the large energy gap.
Insulators rarely conduct electricity because of the very large
amount of energy needed. (Di kaya ng Milo to beat the energy gap,
LOL, joke yan ni Sir Neil hindi ako HAHA)

SUMMARY
The mechanical properties of materials are hardness, brittleness,
ductility, plasticity, elasticity, malleability, and toughness. The properties of
a metal are the characteristics by which it can be accurately identified, or by
which its range usefulness can be determined.

METALS
- Elements that are good conductors of heat and electricity and
have the tendency to form positive ions (lose electron forming
cation) in ionic compounds.
 Abundance of elements in the Earth’s crust

- Almost 1/3 are metals.

OCCURRENCE OF METALS
MINERAL
- A naturally occurring substance with a range of chemical
composition.

ORE (Mineral Ore)

- A mineral deposit concentrated
enough to allow economical recovery
of a desired metal. (Metallic
minerals)
- Example: Manganese Ore

TYPES OF MINERALS
1. Uncombined Metals – Individual/free metals.
2. Carbonates - Carbonate minerals contain carbonate (CO3), a
combination of carbon and oxygen, combined with other elements.
3. Halides – Metals are bonded with halogens (chlorine and fluorine).
4. Oxides – Metals that are bonded with Oxygen.
 5. Phosphates – Metals that are bonded with phosphate (PO4).
6. Silicates – Metal is combined with a silicate.  Silicate minerals
contain silicon (Si) and oxygen (O), the two most abundant
elements in the earth’s crust.
7. Sulfides – Metals that are bonded with Sulfur atom.
8. Sulfates - Sulfate minerals contain sulfur and oxygen (SO4)
combined with other elements (metal).

MINERAL ORES ARE MINED

 SURFACE MINING - Surface
mining refers to the removal of
the terrain surface to access
minerals underneath. In
particular, surface mining is
used to retrieve sand, gravel,
stones, coal, iron and other
metals.
 UNDERGROUND MINING - Underground mining is used to
extract ore from below the surface of the earth safely,
economically and with as little waste as possible. (Tunnels)

 SMALL
SCALE MINING - Small-Scale Mining refers to extraction of
minerals that relies heavily on manual. labor using simple
implements and methods. (run-off minerals from rivers)
METALLIC MINERAL DEPOSITS IN THE PHILIPPINES

MINERAL ORES (Examples)

  The basis of determining whether a mineral ore is a good ore is
by its theoretical yield/percent composition.

SUMMARY
Metals came from the Earth’s crust. Some are found as free metals,
but most metals are bound to other elements forming minerals.

METALLURGY
o The process used for the extraction of metals in their pure form
from their ores.

Methods of obtaining Pure Metals from their Ores:

 Crushing or grinding of ore – Ores are crushed into a fine
powder in big jaw crushers and ball mills. This process is called
pulverization.
 Concentration of Ore – After pulverization, the ores are
concentrated based on the type of impurities and their percentage
proportions.
Concentration can be done in three methods:
1. Concentration or Centrifugation based on varying density –
Centrifugation is done when there is difference between the
densities of the ore and the impurities. In this method, the
powdered ore is placed on a moving table with slots (grooves)
and is moved rapidly. The dense ore particles settle down in the
grooves, while lighter impurities are separated.

2. Froth Floatation Method - Froth floatation is used to

concentrate ores that are in sulfide forms. Concentration of
sulfide ores of copper, lead, and zinc metal are carried out by
froth floatation method. The ore is taken in a large tank
containing oil and water and is agitated with a current of
compressed air. The ore, wetted by the oil, separates from the
impurities or gangue in the form of froth. Heavy particles like
clay, sand, etc. become wet and settle at the bottom. The sulfide
 ore is removed with sieves in a second vessel and washed with
water.

3. Magnetic Separation - In magnetic separation, the pulverized

ore is placed on a conveyor belt that has two magnetic wheels.
The magnetic particles are attracted to the magnetic wheels
and fall separately apart from the non-magnetic particles.
 Roasting, Calcination and Smelting – These are the methods of
conversion of ores to oxides.
1. Roasting – Roasting is the process of heating the concentrated
ore to high temperature in presence of excess air.

2. Calcination –
Calcination is
the process of
heating the
concentrated
ore in absence of air at
as temperature not
sufficient to
melt the ore

3. Smelting – Smelting is a melting operation in which the

constituents of the ore are in melted form.
 Reduction
Methods
Reduction
of Metallic
Oxides;
1. Reducing
Agents –
Reducing
agents like
carbon or
carbon
monoxide
are used to
reduce zinc, iron, lead and copper oxides. When oxides of
metals, like iron manganese, and chromium are heated with
aluminum, the corresponding metal is obtained by reduction.

2. E
l
e
c
t
r
o
l
y
s
 is – Electrochemical reduction method is used to obtain metals
from oxides of active metals because these metals attract more
oxygen than carbon.

3. Thermal Decomposition
 Refining of Metals
Method of Refining Impure Metals
1. Electrolysis – Metals like copper, zinc, tin, lead, chromium,
nickel, silver, and gold are refined electrolytically.

2. Liquefaction – Liquefaction is used for refining of metals like

tin, lead, etc. having low melting points. In this method, a
furnace having slope if kept slightly at higher temperature than
the melting point of the metal. The metal melts and is
collected in the vessel kept below. The melting points of
impurities are higher and so do not melt and are found in the
solid form on the slope.
 3. Distillation
 Zone Refining – The refining of semimetals like silicon,
boron, etc. is carried out by zone refining method. The
impurities are more soluble in the molten form. So as the
molten metal cools down, the solubility of impurities decrease
and separates out from the metal in the form of crystals.

SUMMARY
 The process used for the extraction of metals in their pure form
from their ores is called metallurgy.
 Ores are crushed into fine powder in big jaw crushers and ball
mills and this process is called pulverization.
 The first step in metallurgy is concentration of ore. It is done by
gravity separation, froth floatation and magnetic separation.
 After the ore is concentrated, it is reduced to metallic oxide by the
processes of roasting and calcination.
 Roasting is the process of heating the concentrated ore to high
temperature in presence of excess air.
 Calcination is the process of heating the concentrated ore in
absence of air at a temperature not sufficient to melt the ore.
 Smelting is a melting operation in which the constituents of the ore
are in melted form.
 Next step of metallurgy involves reduction of metals. It can be
done by electrolysis.
 The impure metal thus received can be purified by distillation,
liquefaction, and electrolytic refining.
ROCK TO IRON
Fe3O4 + 2C 3Fe + 2CO2
ORE TO STEEL
  COKE - Coke is a grey, hard, and porous fuel with a high carbon
content and few impurities, made by heating coal or oil in the
absence of air—a destructive distillation process. It is an important
industrial product, used mainly in iron ore smelting, but also as a
fuel in stoves and forges when air pollution is a concern.
 BLAST FURNACE – The ore and coke flow downward and melt
by a 1600 degree blast of hot air moving at 110,000 cubic feet per
minute.

 The wind is coming is coming in with what we call the bosh level
of the furnace through nozzles which are called tweeters, and we
have 18 of them depending on the size of the blast furnace that air
is pushing up through a solid burden material.
 The bosh is the hottest part of the furnace because of its close
proximity to the reaction between air and coke. 
 The superheated air ignites the coke like charcoal in a grill and
heats up the furnace to nearly 4000°F. At this temperature the
oxygen is finally blasted away leaving pure molten iron. As the
heat from the coke flame strips away the oxygen, the carbon in the
coke is bonding with iron.
 Under the extreme heat the mixture liquefies impurities, like silica
and sulfur, rise to the top. The heavier iron sinks to the botton
where it’s drawn out in a glowing molten stream.
 Every 45 minutes, some 500 tons of molten metal called pig iron
gushes from the tap. It’s is called pig iron because it was originally
cast into molds resembling piglets suckling a sow. But ironically,
though the iron has been freed from the oxygen, the molten pig
iron that flows from the furnace has a new problem, too much
carbon over 4% which makes the resulting metal much to brittle to
become steel. That number needs to be reduced to less than 2%.

ALUMINUM
 Light and strong material that is found from jet planes to cans.
  Aluminum is widely used today and the world’s most abundant
metallic element does not occur in a natural state.
 The most available source of aluminum is Bauxite.
 Bauxite is mainly mined in tropical countries. The aluminum
atom in bauxite is bonded to oxygen molecules. These bonds have
to be broken by electrolysis to produce pure aluminum.
 Bauxite is carried by rail to the plant where it will be crushed, then
through a chemical transformation called the Bayer process,
alumina is extracted.
 This is then roasted in calciners to eliminate all moisture.
Alumina is then transported by rail to the reduction facility.
 Alumina will be undergo electrolysis. An overhead crane dumps
alumina into the pots then the electric current from the anode
placed in the aluminum passes through the alumina.
 Via the process of reduction of the alumina at 950 degrees
centigrade, the anodes lose volume and will have to be replaced.
Each anode has a lifespan of about 20 days.
 The electric current breaks the molecular bonds. The heavier
aluminum collects at the bottom of the pot while the oxygen
bound to fluorine is released as a gas which is drawn off and
treated.
 The liquefied aluminum remain at the bottom of the pot. It has to
be recovered with a huge crucible with a tube.
 The crucible is filled with molten aluminum is are transported to
the casting house. Their contents are poured into holding furnaces
which have a capacity of 60 times.
 Finally the casting begins. The aluminum is either semi
continuously vertically cast producing ingots sheets or billets or
directly cast into semi-finished products.
 The cooling of aluminum pieces is accelerated by water sprays.
The large rectangular ingots which can weigh up to 25 tons will
head for hot roller eventually leading to fabrication of products
such as aluminum foil.
 From 4 to 5 tons of bauxite have produced 2 tons of aluminum.
Which in turn produces one ton of aluminum.

ALLOYS AND THEIR PROPERTIES

ALLOYS
 a metal made by combining two or more metallic elements,
especially to give greater strength or resistance to corrosion.
 Alloys still retain the metallic of the starting metals but are usually
stronger.
Metal Atoms
 Metal atoms are typified by having only few electrons in their
outer shells. This means that even when they bond there’s always
room in their valence shell for more electrons.
 Each metal atom can bond with up to 12 others in a close-packed
lattice.

 A less compact crystal structures are possible too.

 Because there are

still not enough electrons to complete the outer shell of any of the
atom, the electrons can move from one atom to another making
metals good conductors of both heat and electricity.

 Because the electrons are not

localized in fixed bonds, the atoms can slide past each other,
making them ductile, allowing the metal to change shape.

 When metals are react

together, the atoms normally just mix into the lattice forming
 metallic bonds with each other and with no fixed proportions and
randomly distributed. These structures are called alloys.

 The atoms in
a metal lattice are held by non-directional bonds, sea of loose
electrons, allowing the atoms to slide past each other making
metals relatively easy to melt and bend but hard to vaporize.

 When metals change shape, atoms actually slip over each other.
However, this process doesn’t happen all at once, but bit by bit.

 The slip is moving

easily one atom at a time where there’s a dislocation in the lattice.
It is the easy movement of atoms in the crystal lattice that makes
most pure metal soft.

 If another atom is put into the lattice, the easy movement of the
dislocation is blocked. The bigger atom stabilizes the dislocation
which gets no further unless you put greater force, meaning that
it’s harder to bend the alloy.
IRON ALLOY

CAST IRON (Pig Iron)

 Cast iron is the iron that first obtained from the blast furnace.
 Cast Iron contains about 4% Carbon, which comes from coke used
in the extraction process from hematite in the blast furnace.
  This cast iron is brittle, which means that it breaks instead of
forming many different shapes when a force is applied.
 Cast iron is used to make manholes in roads, certain types of
cookware, and some piping materials.
 The carbon content of cast iron can be removed if we blow oxygen
into molten cast iron fresh from the blast furnace.
 The oxygen reacts with carbon to create monoxide which can be
reused in the extraction process.

WROUGHT IRON
 If we remove almost all the carbon in cast iron, we get wrought
iron.
 Wrought iron is as close to pure iron as we can get.
 Wrought iron is very soft and malleable and was once molded into
fences.
 Since it is soft and malleable it does not have as many real-life
applications as steel.
STEEL
 Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. An alloy is a mixture of two
or more elements, with at least one of the elements a metal.
 We can get varying strength of steel all depending on the
percentage of carbon and therefore many different applications for
that type of steel.
 Low-Carbon Steel (Mild Steel)
- Contains less than 0.25% carbon.
- The presence of carbon atoms within the metallic
structure of iron makes it stronger.
- When a force is applied to a metal, the metal ions slide
over one another. If carbon atoms are inserted into the
metallic structure, it will be harder for the metal ions to
slide over one another, thereby strengthening the overall
structure.
  Mild steel is used to make the outer bodies of cars and
ships, nails, many building materials, and even bridges
 High-Carbon Steel
 High-carbon steel can contain anywhere from 0.5-1.5%
carbon.
 High-carbon steel is expected to be stronger than low-
carbon steel because of the higher percentage of carbon.
 Since high-carbon steel is stronger it is used to make
many cutting and manufacturing tools such as drill bits.
 The high carbon content makes it brittle just like cast iron
 Low-carbon and high-carbon steel can rust when exposed to
oxygen and moisture so there needs to be a layer of grease or paint
to prevent corrosion.
 Stainless Steel, as implied in its name, does not rust. Stainless
steel is an alloy of iron, chromium, nickel, and a small percentage
of carbon. Stainless steel is very strong and hard. Therefore it is
used to make many cutlery, some types of cookware and industrial
equipment.
 Manganese Steel is a stronger alloy with 15% composition of
manganese. Because of its incredible strength, manganese steel is
used to make railway tracks, equipment used to crush rocks and
cement mixture.
 Titanium Steel is an alloy of iron and titanium and a small
percentage of Nickel, Chromium, and Carbon. It is very resistant
to high temperature. Titanium steel is also light (less dense) than
other alloys of iron. It has extensive applications in the aerospace
industry. Titanium steel is used to make the outer bodies of
airplanes and spacecraft. Titanium steel is also used in the medical
field, it is used to make many artificial joints and in hip
replacement surgeries.
TYPES OF METALS
1. FERROUS METALS
 Metal that is iron or contains iron and they are
usually magnetic.
 Examples include steel, stainless steel, cast iron.
 Most ferrous metals will also rust or oxidize when
exposed to moisture or oxygen
 MILD STEEL
- Cheap – most common metal.
- Tough – can take knocks without damage
- Malleable – pressed into shape without
breaking.
- Magnetic
- Easily recycled
- Will rust if exposed to oxygen
 STAINLESS STEEL
- Tough
- Malleable
- Easily cleaned
- Can be recycled
- Specialist equipment is needed in cutting
and welding because it is hard.
 HIGH CARBON STEEL
- Used to make tools and drills.
- Need to be heat treated
- Hard, resists abrasion.
- Rusts if not protected.
 CAST IRON
- Strong in compression
- Strong but brittle, will crack if hit.
- Resistant to rusting.
 -
Easily cast into ornate shapes like the
fireplace.
 WROUGHT IRON
- Tough, will resist impact.
- Ductile, can be hammered and shaped
easily.
- Resistant to rusting.
2. NON-FERROUS METALS
 Metals that do not contain iron and they are non-
magnetic.
 Aluminum, copper, brass
 ALUMINUM
- Lightweight
- Ductile – drawn easily into thin wires.
- Malleable – easily cast
- Good conductor of electricity
- Good corrosion resistance
- Relatively expensive
- Easily recyclable.
 COPPER
- Malleable
- Ductile – made into wire easily
- Very good electrical conductor.
- Good corrosion resistance
- Can be recycled
- Expensive
- Will tarnish/change colors over time.
 ZINC (Coating)
- Extremely resistant to corrosion
- Protective coating for railings/dustbins
- Brittle – easily cracks
- GALVANIZING – is a protective coating
used on mild steel to protect against rust.
 BRASS
- Very resistant to corrosion
- Has good fluidity for casting
- Good conductor of electricity
- Can be polished
- Relatively expensive