Unit V: Metals

Low-Carbon Steels – characterized by low ratio

of carbon to iron.

• Contain less than 0.25%wt of carbon

• Soft and weak
• High ductility and toughness
Types of Metal Alloys
• Cheap, weldable and machinable
Ferrous Alloys – metals that consist mostly of • Used in pipelines, buildings, and tin cans
iron. They are widespread and used in various
Examples:
fields.

• Includes mild steel, carbon steel, cast

iron, stainles steel, etc.
• Iron containing compounds is abundant
on the Earth’s crust.
• High quality and durable
• Used as a material for engineering
constructions
Examples:
Medium-Carbon Steels – have carbon
concentrations between 0.25%wt to 0.60%wt.
• May be heat-treated by austenitizing,
quenching and tempering.
• High strength, good weldability, good
machinability, wear resistant

Examples:

Steels – a strong and hard material made of

iron, carbon, and a combination of other alloying
elements.

• Some more common types are classified

according to carbon concentration.
• Commonly contains less than 1%wt of
carbon.
• Alloy steels contains more alloying
elements for specific purposes.
• Plain carbon steels only contain residual
amount of impurities.
Examples:
High-Carbon Steels – have carbon contents
between 0.60%wt and 1.40%wt.
• Strongest and hardest carbon steel
• Low Ductility
• Wear resistant and can hold a sharp
cutting edge
Examples:
Cast Irons – a class of ferrous alloy with carbon Examples:
contents above 2.14%wt.

• Most cast irons contain between 3.0 and

4.5%wt.
• Some are very brittle
• Easily melted and amenable casting

Examples:

Non-Ferrous Alloys – materials that are not

iron based. Includes magnesium, copper,
titanium and aluminum alloys.

• High strength and excellent wear

• Corrosion Resistant
Gray Iron – contains silicon and carbon that • High electrical and thermal conductivity
vary between 2.5 and 4%wt and 1.0 and 3.0%wt. • Good Ductility

• Weak and brittle in tension Examples:

• Sharp points may serve as points of
stress

Example:

Fabrication of Metals

Ductile (or nodular) Iron – formed by adding • Process of fabricating and producing
magnesium and or cerium to the gray iron before structures from raw metal materials.
casting. • Includes cutting, burning, 3d printing,
machining, forming, etc.
Examples:
• Metal fabrication techniques are
normally preceded by refining, alloying
and heat-treating processes.

Forming Operations

• Process in which the shape of a metal

White Iron or Malleable Iron – most of the
piece is changed by plastic deformation.
carbons exists as cementite and not graphite.
• Hot Working – when deformation is
• The fractured surface of this alloy achieved at a temperature above at
produces a white appearance. which recrystallization occurs.
o Higher quality finish
o Better mechanical properties
o Closer dimensional control
 • Cold Working – increases the strenth of Drawing – pulling of a metal piece through a die
the metal piece in expense of less having a tapered bore by means of a tensile
ductility. force that is applied on the exit side.
o Energy reuired for deformation
process is less
o Poor finals surface finish
o Most metals experience surface
oxidation

Forging – deforming a piece of hot metal

through successive blows or continuous
squeezing.
Casting

• A molten metal is poured into a mold

cavity having the desired shape. It is
employed when:
• The finished shape is too large
• The alloy has low ductility and other
methods is not applicable
• The process is economical as compared
Rolling – most widely used deformation process, to others
consists of passing a piece of metal in two rolls.

• Reduces the thickness of the metal piece

due to the compressive force.

Sand Casting – the most common method of

casting.

• A two-piece mold is formed by packing

Extrusion - a cylindrical billet inside a closed sand around a pattern that has the shape
cavity is forced to flow through a die of a of the intended casting.
desired cross section. • A gating system is used to minimize
internal casting defects
Die Casting - It is accomplished by forcing Continuous Casting – casting and rolling steps
molten metal under high pressure into reusable are combined.
metal dies.
• The molten metal is cast directly into a
• The cast piece is ejected from the mold continuous strand that has either a
after the metal has completely arectangular or circular cross section.
solidified. • The metal is solidified in a cooled-die
with the desired cross-sectional
geometry.

Investment Casting - Investment casting

produces precise components while minimizing
material waste, energy, and subsequent
machining.
Miscellaneous Techniques
• Investment casting produces precise
components while minimizing material Powder Metallurgy – powdered metals are
waste, energy, and subsequent compressed, and heat treated.
machining. • Suitable for metals with low ductility

Lost-Foam Casting – polystyrene beads are
expanded in an aluminum tool and bonded
together to form complete patterns or sections
that are assembled into a foam pattern.
Welding - two or more metal parts are joined to
form a single piece.
• Similar and dissimilar metals may be
welded together
• Includes gas and arc welding, soldering,
brazing
3d Printing – also called additive manufacturing. Stress Relief - Internal residual stresses may
develop in metal pieces in response to the
• It is a process of making three
following:
dimensional solid objects from a digital
file.
1. Plastic deformation processes such as
• It is created by the addition of raw machining and grinding
material incrementally, often in a layer 2. Nonuniform cooling of a piece that was
like fashion, one layer at a time, from processed or fabricated at an elevated
computer-aided design (CAD) data. temperature, such as a weld or a casting
3. A phase transformation that is induced
upon cooling in which parent and product
phases have different densities.
Distortion and warpage may result if these
residual stresses are not removed.

Thermal Processing of Metals

Annealing Process

• A material is heated for a long period of

time and cooled down slowly.
• It is typically done to:
Annealing of Ferrous Alloys
1. Relieve stresses Normalizing – used to refine the grains and
2. Increase softness, ductility, and produce a more uniform and desirable size
toughness distribution.
3. Produce a specific
microstructure • It is accomplished by heating at least
• The annealing process has three stages: 55°C (100°F) above the upper critical
1. Heating to the desired temperature.
temperature
2. Holding or soaking to that desired
temperature
3. Cooling, usually at room
temperature

Processing Annealing – used to negate the

effects of cold working. Commonly used during
fabrication procedures Full Anneal - used in low and medium-carbon

• Increases ductility of a metal steels that will experience extensive plastic

deformation during a forming operation.
Spheroidizing – used on steels having a
microstructure containing even coarse pearlite.

• Used on steels to develop a spheroidite

structure.

Heat Treatment of Steels

• Involves continuous and rapid cooling of

an austenitized specimen in some type of
quenching medium, such as water, oil, or
air.
• The successful heat treating of steels to
produce a predominantly martensitic
microstructure throughout the cross
section depends mainly on three factors:
1. The composition of the alloy.
2. The type and character of the
quenching medium.
3. The size and shape of the
specimen. The influence of each
of these factors is now
addressed.