NORTHERN TECHNICAL COLLEGE

DISTANCE LEARNING

PROGRAMME: MECHANICAL TECHNOLOGY DIPLOMA LEVEL II

SUBJECT: MATERIALS AND METALLURGY

MODULE NUMBER: 1

TOPICS COVERED: MATERIALS AND THEIR PROPERTIES

BASIC SCIENCE OF MATERIALS
SOLIDIFICATION OF METALS

Copyright: No part of this module may be reproduced without permission

from Northern Technical College
1
 i

Table of Contents
Introduction ii
Objectives iii
Page
1. Introduction to Materials and their Properties
1.1 Types of Engineering Materials 1
1.2 Selection of Materials 2
1.3 Mechanical Properties of Materials 3
1.4 Physical properties of Materials 5
Exercise 10
2. Basic Science of materials 12
2.1 Makeup of Materials 12
2.2 How Atoms Bond 13
Exercise 18
3. Solidification of Metals 19
3.1 Change of State 19
3.2 Crystal Growth in Metals 19
3.3 Phase Diagrams 22
3.4 Types of Alloys 24
Exercise 27
 ii

INTRODUCTION

Dear student,
Welcome to the Mechanical Technology class.
One of the subjects in the study of Mechanical Technology is Materials and Metallurgy.
Materials and Metallurgy will help you understand the makeup of Engineering Materials,
their properties, and how materials are selected for various engineering purposes.

The mechanical technology level II class has several modules. This module is the first in the
series.
In this module, you will learn about engineering materials and their properties, basic science
of materials, and solidification of metals,

You will also learn about plain carbon steels and alloy steels.

You will discover that some of the concepts in this module have some similarities with those
that you learnt at Mechanical Technician level.

This module has been produced to prepare you for the level II Mechanical Technology final
examinations.

Take time to answer the exercises at the end of each unit. This will test your understanding of
the material.

Best wishes in your new endeavour.

 iii

OBJECTIVES
After studying this module, you should be able to:

1. Classify engineering materials

2. Analyse the properties of engineering materials
3. State the factors affecting material properties
4. Analyse basic engineering science of materials
5. Explain how solidification of metals occur
 1

Introduction to Materials and their Properties

1.1 Types of Engineering Materials

Welcome to unit 1 of your Materials and Metallurgy module which introduces you to
engineering materials and analyses their properties. You will find this unit interesting in that
it introduces you to a variety of engineering materials and analyses their properties.

Let us now examine what is contained in this unit.

Engineering materials are those materials that find application in the design and construction
of engineering items and products. Examples of engineering materials are metals, polymers,
and wood. The study of engineering materials deals with the selection of the most suitable
material for a certain product based on its properties. It also enables researchers to come up
with man-made materials which can be used to make engineering products.

The most convenient way to study the properties and uses of engineering materials is to
classify them into families as shown in fig. 1.11

Ferrous metals

Metals
Non-ferrous metals

Engineering
materials
Synthetic materials
Non-metals

Natural materials
Fig. 1.11 Classification of engineering materials
 2

Metals can be divided into two groups, ferrous and non-ferrous. As you will learn later,
ferrous metals are those metals that contain a high proportion of iron in them. Ferrous metals
themselves can be classified into three groups, which are steel, cast iron and wrought iron.

No-ferrous metals can also be classified as either pure metals or alloys. Examples of non-
ferrous pure metals are copper and aluminium. These metals do not contain any iron.
Examples of alloys which are non-ferrous metals include brass and bronze.

Non-metals can be divided into two distinct groups, synthetic materials and natural materials.
Synthetic materials are non-metallic materials that do not exist in nature, although they are
manufactured from natural substances such as oil, coal and clay. Typical examples of
synthetics include plastics, ceramics, and composites.

Natural materials (non-metals) are obtained from nature. Examples of these substances are
wood, rubber, glass, ceramic, oils, emery and silicon.

1.2 Selection of Materials

A material is selected for a particular purpose when it has properties that are found to be
suitable. All engineering products are made of certain materials, and the reasons for selecting
the material for engineering purposes can be summarized as follows:

1. Commercial or economical factors such as

a. Cost of the material
b. Availability of the material
c. Ease of manufacture
2. Engineering factors (these are properties of material), which are
a. Electrical conductivity
b. Strength
c. Toughness
d. Ease of forming by extrusion, forging and casting
e. Machinability
f. Corrosion resistance etc
 3

Of course, the final choice will involve a compromise. There is rarely, if ever, an ideal
choice.

Economic requirements are important, and should take into account the total cost, which
comprises the cost of raw material plus the cost of its manipulation, machining, joining and
finishing. A compromise has to be met between the cost, availability, ease of processing and
fitness for purpose.

Processing requirements are equally important in selecting materials. Materials, particularly

metals can be classified as either casting material or wrought material and the processes
suitability and ease with which each can be cast or worked can be very important. It is
important to consider how easily a cast or wrought material can be machined, and the quality
of surface finish that can be obtained, when using standard machine shop equipment and
tooling. The ease of joining the material must also be considered, depending upon whether it
is to be welded, brazed, soldered, or subjected to adhesive bonding. In addition, it is
important to consider both the duty and the shape of the component in order to select a
material with the required processing characteristics, whether it be metallic or non-metallic.

Property requirements are equally important in the choice of engineering materials. Any
material chosen must have the most suitable properties. As in the other requirements, a
compromise has to be made. Property requirements include mechanical properties such as
strength and hardness, and physical properties such as melting point and density.

1.3 Mechanical Properties of Materials

Principle properties of materials which are important to the engineer when selecting
materials can be divided into the mechanical properties which are concerned mainly with
strength, and the physical properties which are concerned with such properties as melting
temperature, density, electrical conductivity etc. we will look at mechanical properties
first.

1.3.1 Tensile Strength

This is the ability of a material to withstand tensile (stretching) loads without
breaking.
 4

Load Load

1.3.2 Compressive Strength

This is the ability of a material to withstand compressive (squeezing) loads
without being crushed or broken.

Load Load

1.3.3 Shear Strength

This is the ability of a material to withstand offset loads or transverse cutting
(shearing action).

Load

Load

Instead of the word strength, the word stress is usually used.

1.3.4 Toughness
This is the ability of a material to withstand shatter. If a material shatters, it is brittle
(eg glass). Rubbers and most plastic materials do not shatter, therefore they are
tough. (toughness is also called impact resistance).
 5

1.3.5 Elasticity
This is the ability of a material to deform under load and return to its original size and
shape when the load is removed.
1.3.6 Plasticity
This property is the exact opposite of elasticity. It is the state of a material which has
been loaded beyond its elastic limit, so as to course the material to deform permanently.
Under such conditions, the material takes a permanent set.

1.3.7 Ductility
This is the term used when plastic definition occurs as a result of applying a tensile load.
Ductility materials can be used in such processions as wire drawing, tube drawing, and
cold pressing low carbon steel sheers into motor car body panels.

1.3.8 Malleability
This is the term used when plastic deformation occurs as a result of applying a
comprehensive load. Materials that are malleable can be used in such processes as
forging, rolling, rivet heading.

1.3.9 Hardness
This is defined as the ability of a material to withstand scratching (abrasion) or
indentation, by another body. It is an indication of the wear resistance of the material.

1.3.10 Brittleness
If a material is brittle, it fractures easily without showing any plastic deformation.

1.3.11 Rigidity (Stiffness)

This is a measure of a material’s ability not to deflect under an applied load eg cast iron.

1.4 Physical Properties of Materials

In addition to mechanical properties, the design of an engineered product may require
other properties such as electrical or thermal conductivity to be taken into account.
Other properties of importance are: density, melting temperature, chemical stability
 6

(resistance to corrosion), magnetic properties, etc. we will now consider the physical
properties.

1.4.1 Density
This is the mass per unit volume of a material
Examples: Lead has density of 11350 kg/m3
Aluminium has density of 2720 kg/m3
Lead is used as a shield against radiation such as x-rays and gamma rays.
Aluminium is used in constructing airplanes because of its low density.

1.4.2 Melting Temperature

This is the temperature at which a material melts. Only puree substances have
a single melting temperature. Alloys of metals have a melting range of
temperature.
Examples: Tungsten has melting temperature of 3410oC
Tin has a temperature of 2320 C
Tungsten is used for making the filament of light bulbs due to its high melting
temperature.
Tin is used for making soft solders due to its low melting temperature.

1.4.3 Electrical Conductivity

The ability of a material to allow electrons pass through it. Bad conductors,
also known as insulators, allow very few electrons to pass through them,
whereas good conductors offer very little resistance to the flow of electrons. In
between conductors and insulators lie a group of materials known as semi-
conductors. These can be good or bad conductors depending upon their
temperature. The conductivity of semi-conductors increases very rapidly for
relatively small temperature increases. This enable them to be used as
temperature sensors in electronic thermometers.

1.4.4 Permittivity
In electrostatics, permittivity is the ratio of the electrical flux density in the
die-electric to the electric field strength of the charge. Permittivity is exploited
in devices known as capacitors. In a capacitor, the die-electric (insulating
 7

material) is used to separate the charged surfaces of the electrodes (plates) of

the capacitor. Permittivity is dimensionless, since it is a ratio.

1.4.5 Magnetic Properties

Reluctance
This is the resistance of a magnetic circuit. Good magnetic conductors have a
low reluctance, and examples are the ferromagnetic materials. All other
materials are non-magnetic and offer a high reluctance to the magnetic flux
field.
Permeability
This is the ease with which material can be magnetised. It is a constant for any
given material, and has no units.
Hysteresis
This is the lagging effect of the magnetic field in relation to the current in a
material subjected to alternating fields, such as when AC current flows in the
transformer. Hysteresis causes energy loss which ends up as heat in the core of
the transformer.
Classification
Magnetic materials can be classified as either hard or soft. Hard magnetic
materials are those which retain their magnetism after the initial magnetising
force has been removed. These materials are hard and cannot be machined.
Examples of such materials are alnico, alcomax and columax.

1.4.6 Thermal Properties

Conductivity
This is the ability of a material to transmit heat energy by conduction. An
example of a good conductor of heat is copper, from which the bits of
soldering irons are made.
Expansivity
This is the expansion of a material due to an increase in temperature. The
linear expansivity of a material is the measure of the amount by which a unit
length of the material expands when its temperature is raised by 10C.
Specific heat capacity
 8

This is the heat energy required to raise the temperature of unit mass of that
substance by one degree. Different substances require different amounts of
heat energy to produce the same rise in temperature. For example water
requires more heat energy to raise its temperature by any given amounts than
any equal mass of any other liquid. This is why water is such a good coolant.

1.4.7 Fusibility
This is the ease with which a material will melt. Solder melts easily, and has
the property of high fusibility. On the other hand, fire bricks, used for furnace
linings only melt at very high temperatures, and so have the properties of low
fusibility.

1.5 Factors Affecting Engineering Materials

The following are the more important factors which can improve the properties and
performance of engineering materials

1. Heat treatment
This is the controlled heating and cooling of metals to change the properties, to
improve their performance or to facilitate processing. An example of heat treatment is
the hardening of a piece of high carbon steel rod. It is heated to a dull red heat and
plunged into cooled water to cool it rapidly (quenching), it will become hard and
brittle. If it is again heated to dull read heat but allowed to cool very slowly. It will
become softer and less brittle (more tough). In this condition it is said to be annealed.
In this condition it will be too soft and the grain will be too course for it to machine to
a good surface finish, but it will be in its best condition for flow forming.

During flow forming (waxing) the grains will be distributed and this will result in
most metals becoming more hardened if flow-formed at room temperature. To remove
any locked in stresses resulting from the operations and to prepare the material for
machining the material has to be normalized. This consists of again healing the metal
to dull red but cooling less slowly than for annealing. The hot metal is removed from
the furnace and allowed to cool in still air away from draughts. This results in a finer
grain than annealing and improves the metal machining properties and strength.
 9

Therefore, by various heat treatment processes a given material can be made to

exhibit a range of properties.

2. Processing
Metals are said to be worked when they are squeezed or stretched or beaten into
shape. Metals which have being shaped in this manner one said to be in the wrought
state. Therefore, metals which are worked into shape must possess the property of
plasticity. A metal is either cold-worked or hot-worked depending upon the
temperature at which it is flow formed to shape. When metals are examined under the
microscope, it can be seen that they consist of very small grains. When most metals
are bent or worked at room temperature (cold worked), these grains become distorted
and the metal becomes hard and brittle. That is why metals which have been cold-
worked become work-handed. Care must be taken to avoid excessive cold working,
because this can cause the metal to crack.

3. Composition
The properties of a material depends largely upon the composition of the material. An
example is that of plain carbon steels which are alloys of iron and carbon. If the
carbon content is between 0.1 % and 0.3 % then the material is referred to as low
carbon steel. This is relatively soft and ductile with moderate strength and it cannot be
hardened by heating and quenching. However, if the carbon content is increased to
between 0.8 % and 1.4% the material is referred to as high carbon steel. This is much
less ductile, but is stronger and can be hardened by heating and cooling rapidly
(quenching) to make cutting tools. Another example is an alloy of brass containing 70
% copper and 30% zinc which has very great ductility and can be cold worked into
complicated shapes without cracking. On the other hand a brass alloy containing 60%
copper and 40% zinc lacks ductility and cannot be readily cold-worked.

4. Environmental Reactions
The properties of materials can also be affected by reactions with the environment in
which they are used. Examples are:
(i) Dezinfication of brass on alloy of copper and zinc. When brass is exposed to
 10

(ii) Marine environment for a long time, the salt in the sea water reacts with the
zinc content of the brass so as to remove it and leave behind a spongy porons
mass of copper. This obviously weakens the material which falls under normal
working conditions.
(iii) Rusting of steel: unless steel structure one regulating maintained by rust
(iv) Neutralization and painting processes rusting will occur. The rust will eat into
the steel, reduces its thickness and therefore it strength
(iii) Degradation of polymers: many plastics degrade and become weak and brittle
when exposed to the ultraviolet content of sunlight. Special life stuffs have to
be incorporated into the plastic to filter out these harmful rays.

EXERCISE
1. State the main property required in each case by a material used in the manufacture
of:
(a) coins
(b) copper wire
(c) steel girders
(d) the front wheel axle of a car
(e) a cutting tool
2. Explain briefly the essential difference between the following terms as applied to the
physical properties of metals:
(a) Resistance and reluctance
(b) Conductor and insulator
(c) Permittivity and permeability
(d) Specific heat capacity and thermal expansivity
3. Sort the following materials into groups of ferrous metals, non ferrous metals, and
non metals: iron, carbon, sulphur, low carbon steel, low carbon steel, bronze,
polystyrene, brass, stainless steel, zinc, PVC, phosphorus, silicon, duralumin,titanium,
grey cast iron.
4. List the essential criteria for selecting a material for a specific application.
5. Select suitable material for each of the following applications and discuss the reason
for your selection in each case in terms of cost and availability, suitability for the
manufacturing processes required and suitability for the applications listed below.
 11

(a) National electric grid overhead cables

(b) Telephone handset
(c) Body castibng for a steam valve
(d) Filing cabinet
6. Explain the essential differences between tensile strength, shear strength and impact
strength
7. With reference to the physical properties of metals, choose a suitable material for:
(a) A wire wound resistor that has to maintain a stable resistance at all normal
working temperatures.
(b) A motor car radiator
(c) The insulation of a refrigerator
(d) The lining of a furnace
8. List the factors that can affect the mechanical properties of a material. In each case,
give an example of how the factor chosen affects their property.
 12

Basic Science of Materials

2.1 Make-up of Materials

Welcome to unit 2 of your Materials and Metallurgy module which introduces you to the
basic science of materials. You will find this unit interesting in that it analyses the make-up
of materials and shows how atoms bond.

Let us now examine what is contained in this unit.

2.1.1 Atoms
Atoms can be considered as the smallest particles of a substance which can exhibit all the
properties of that substance. An atom is electrically neutral because it has an equal number of
negatively charged electrons and positively charged protons. The diagram below shows an
atom of hydrogen gas (this is the simplest atom)

2.1.2 Basic Structure of an Atom

An atom consists of the following:
Nucleus: This is the basic core of the atom and consists of protons and neutrons.
Protons: These are positively charged particles of mass greater than the electrons.
Neutrons: These particles have the same mass as protons but carry no electrical charge.
 13

The mass of the atom is generally considered to be the same as the mass of the protons and
neutron present, since the mass of the electron is negligible by comparison.
Electrons: These particles are negatively charged and orbit the nucleus like planets around
the sun. The chemical properties of an atom are determined by the number of electrons it has.
Electrons also determine the electrical and magnetic properties of a material.

2.1.3 Ions
Ions are atoms which have gained or lost one or more electrons. Loss of an electron makes an
atom electro-positive. Since there well be positively charged protons without balancing
electron. Such an ion is called a positive ion. Gaining an electron makes the atom electro-
Negative. Since there is no spare positively charged proton in the nucleus to balance the
additional electrons. Such an ion is called a negative ion.

2.2 How Atoms Bond

Atoms rarely occur as single particles but are generally allocated with other atoms in small or
large groups. There several ways in which atoms bond together.

2.2.1 Covalent Bonding

This is the type of bonding formed by sharing of electrons. The shared electrons are is the
outer or valency shell of the atom as shown in the figure below.
 14

When atoms bond together covalently, a molecule is formed. Where a compound only
contains non-metal atoms, a covalent bond is formed by atoms sharing two or more electrons.
Non-metals have 4 or more electrons in their outer shells (except boron). With this many
electrons in the outer shell, it would require more energy to remove the electrons than would
be gained by making new bonds. Therefore, both the atoms involved share a pair of electrons.
Each atom gives one of its outer electrons to the electron pair, which then spends some time
with each atom. Consequently, both atoms are held near each other since both atoms have a
share in the electrons.

More than one electron pair can be formed with half of the electrons coming from one atom
and the rest from the other atom. An important feature of this bond is that the electrons are
tightly held and equally shared by the participating atoms. The atoms can be of the same
element or different elements. In each molecule, the bonds between the atoms are strong but
the bonds between molecules are usually weak. This makes many solid materials with
covalent bonds brittle. Many ceramic materials have covalent bonds.

Compounds with covalent bonds may be solid, liquid or gas at room temperature depending
on the number of atoms in the compound. The more atoms in each molecule, the higher a
compound’s melting and boiling temperature will be. Since most covalent compounds
contain only a few atoms and the forces between molecules are weak, most covalent
compounds have low melting and boiling points. However, some, like carbon compounds,
can be very large. An example is the diamond in which carbon atoms each share four
electrons to form giant lattices.

Some Common Features of Materials with Covalent Bonds:

 Hard
 Good insulators
 Transparent
 Brittle or cleave rather than deform

Some molecules contain thousands of individual atoms and these are called macro-molecules.
 15

2.2.2 Ionic Bonding

All ionic solids are compound. Ionic solids are formed by the transfer of electron from one
atom to another. For example sodium chloride (common salt, NaCl) has a molecule in which
there is an ionic bond between a sodium atom and a chlorine atom.

Since electrons have a negative charge, the atom that gains electrons becomes a negatively
charged ions (aka anion) because it now has more electrons than protons. Alternately, an
atom that loses electrons becomes a positively charged ion (aka cations). The particles in an
ionic compound are held together because there are oppositely charged particles that are
attracted to one another.

The images above schematically show the process that takes place during the formation of an
ionic bond between sodium and chlorine atoms. Note that sodium has one valence electron
that it would like to give up so that it would become stable with a full outer shell of eight.
Also note that chlorine has seven valence electrons and it would like to gain an electron in
order to have a full shell of eight. The transfer of the electron causes the previously neutral
sodium atom to become a positively charged ion (cation), and the previously neutral chlorine
atom to become a negatively charged ion (anion). The attraction for the cation and the anion
is called the ionic bond.

Generally, solid materials with ionic bonds:

 Are hard because particles cannot easily slide past one another.
 16

 Are good insulators because there are no free electrons or ions (unless dissolved or
melted).
 Are transparent because their electrons are not moving from atom to atom and less
likely to interact with light photons.
 Are brittle and tend to cleave rather than deform because bonds are strong.
 Have high melting point because ionic bonds are relatively strong.

2.2.3 Metallic Bonding

This is also a form of ionic bond but instead of pairs of atoms bonding, electrons are shared
among all the atoms in the lattice. As the name implies, a metallic bond is only formed
between metallic atoms of the same elements. These atoms loss electronic and become
ionized. The metal ions do not form molecules but they form large, three dimensional
geometrical lattices. It is this form of ionic bonding together with the lattice structure that
gives metals their special properties.

The figure above shows what happens in metallic bonding of aluminium. When aluminium
atoms are grouped together in a block of metal, the outer electrons leave individual atoms to
become part of common “electron cloud.” In this arrangement, the valence electrons have
considerable mobility and are able to conduct heat and electricity easily. Also, the delocalized
nature of the bonds, make it possible for the atoms to slide past each other when the metal is
deformed instead of fracturing like glass or other brittle material.
 17

Since the aluminum atoms lose two electrons, they end up having a positive charge and are
designated Al3+ ions (cations). These ions repel each other but are held together in the block
because the negative electrons are attracted to the positively charged ions. A result of the
sharing of electrons is the cations arrange themselves in a regular pattern. This regular pattern
of atoms is the crystalline structure of metals. In the crystal lattice, atoms are packed closely
together to maximize the strength of the bonds. An actual piece of metal consists of many
tiny crystals called grains that touch at grain boundaries.

The figure below shows the forces that act on a metallic bond.

Positive ion + + Positive ion

- Free electron

The following are the properties of metals by virtue of metallic bonding.

i. Metals can be bent and deformed into complex shapes in the solid condition.
ii. Metals readily conduct heat and electricity.
iii. Metals have shinning surfaces when cut.

 The positive ions are attracted to the free electron (denoted by the circle with a minus
(-) sign). This free electron to delocalized, which means it is free to move about.
Remember that live charges repel each other and unlike charges attract each other.
 The attractive forces between the positive ions and the electrons are greater than
repulsive forces between the ions themselves. This is because the ions are nearer to
the electrons than they are to each other.
 The forces of attraction between the positively charged ions and the negatively
charged electrons hold the ions in position in the lattice.
 18

2.2.4 Van Der Waals Forces

Just as atoms are held together by powerful primary bonds to form molecules, so molecules
can be bonded together by weaker secondary electro-static forces. These forces are called
Van der Waals forces. The secondary electrostatic force bonding molecules together
influence such property as melting point, solutbility and tensile strength of materials.

The Van der Waal bonds occur to some extent in all materials but are particularly important
in plastics and polymers. These materials are made up of a long string molecules consisting
of carbon atoms covalently bonded with other atoms, such as hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen,
fluorine. The covalent bonds within the molecules are very strong and rupture only under
extreme conditions. The bonds between the molecules that allow sliding and rupture to occur
are called Van Der Waal forces.

EXERCISE
1. (a) Name the particles that make up an atom and state what electrical charge they
carry, if any.
(b) State which of the particles are found in the nucleus of an atom
2. Explain the differences between an atom and an ion
3. Considering the fundamental structures of materials, name the essential differences
between:
(a) A covalent bond
(b) An ionic bond
(c) A metallic bond
 19

Solidification of Metals

3.1 Change of State

Welcome to unit 2 of your Materials and Metallurgy module which analyses the solidification
of metals. You will find this unit interesting in that it analyses the stages a metal goes through
when it solidifies. In this unit you will also be introduced to phase equilibrium diagrams.

Let us now examine what is contained in this unit.

Most substances can exist as solids, liquids, or gases depending upon their temperature. The
change of state of a substance does not proceed evenly as the temperature rises but is a series
of steps as in the example shown below for water.

Steam (vapour)
T (o C)

Water (liquid)

Ice (solid)

Time

3.2 Crystal Growth in Metals (Or Solidification of Metals)

When metals are in the liquid state, there is no orderly arrangement of the atoms which are
free to move about with respect to each other. Therefore in the liquid state metals posses
 20

mobility. As the temperature of a molten metal falls, a point is reached where the metal starts
to solidify. At this point the atoms change from a disordered or amorphous state to an ordered
or crystalline state. Like all pure crystalline substances, pure metals solidify at a fixed
temperature as shown in the figure below.

T (o C)

Time

The figure (b) shows the cooling curve for a non-crystalline substance (amorphous) solid
such as glass, pitch and some polymers. The graph in (b) shows that for such substances,
there is no change point and there is gradual change from the liquid state to the solid state.
The following are the stages a metal undergoes when it solidifies.

1. Crystal nuclei commence to form around microscopic impurities this is call nucleation
2. Dendrites begin to form from crystal nuclei. These dendrites will have primary and
secondary arms.
3. Dendrites continue to grow, forming tendon arms which meet and join.
4. Dendrites thicken up and fill in. Where arms of one dendrite touch those of adjacent
dendrites, growth ceases and grain boundaries are established.
5. When metal is completely solid little evidence of dendritic growth remains and only
the grain boundaries are visible.
 21

These stages are depicted in the figure below.

One factor that influences the size and shape of the grains as a metal cools down is the rate of
cooling. In a casting this rate of cooling varies from the surface to the centre of a casting. The
figure below shows a section through the corner of a large casting.

The grain structure is not uniform but varies with the shape of the mould and the rates of
cooling. Fine chill, grains occur at the surface of the casting where the molten metal first
comes into contact with the cold surface of the mould. At the centre of the casting where the
rate of cooling is relatively slow, large grains are formed. At an intermediate pattern, Iron
calcium grains are formed at right angles to the surface of the casting. These results in a plane
of weaken at each corner of the casting which can be overcome to some extent if the corners
are given a large radius.
 22

3.3 Phase Diagrams

A phase diagram, or a phase equilibrium diagram, is a diagram formed from the cooling
curves at different concentrations of the solute and solvent.

3.3.1 Cooling Curve for Salt Solution

A salt water solution has a lower freezing point than pure water and at 0oc no change of state
occurs. However as cooling occurs or continues, droplets of pure water separate out from the
solution and immediately change into particles of ice. This occurs at the upper-most
temperature which is not too well defined. The process of separation continues as the
temperature continues to fall more and more water separates out and freezer, causing the
concentration of the remaining solid solution to increase. When the lower arrest point is
reached, even the concentrated salt water solution freezes and no liquid phase is left. The
solid formed consist of fine crystals of pure (water) and fine crystals of salt (wall). If the
experiment is repeated several times using stronger and weaker solutions, a family of cooling
curves can be plotted on the same axes as shown in the figure below.
 23

Hypo-eutectic solutions Hyper-eutectic solutions

Weak solutions Strong solutions

Temp Upper arrest

Temperatures

Lowe arrest
temperatures

Eutectic compositions

Time

Reference to the figure above shows that

1. The temperature of the lower arrest point remains constant.
2. The temperature of the uppermost point falls as the concentration of the solution
increase until a point is reached where the temperatures of the upper and lower arrest
points coincide.
3. The ratio of solid to liquid, where the temperatures of the arrest point coincide is
referred to as a eutectic composition. Solutions with lower concentrations of solid to
liquid are referred to as hypo-eutectic solutions. Solutions with higher concentration
of solid to liquid are referred to hyper-eutectic solutions.
4. When the concentration of the solution increases beyond that of the eutectic
composition the temperature of the upper arrest point rises once more.

3.3.2 Phase
A phase maybe defined as a potion of a system which is of uniform composition and texture
throughout, and which is separated from the other phases by clearly defined surfaces.
Therefore for the salt water solution there are four possible phases.

1. Ice (crystals of water)

 24

2. Liquid salt solution (sodium chloride solution)

3. Water vapour (steam)
4. Crystals of salt. (sodium chloride)

When a liquid solution of two metals (binary alloy) solidifies one of the following conditions
will occur.
1. Metals which are soluble in the liquid state may become totally insoluble in the solid
state and separate out as grains of two pure metals. Therefore there will be two phases
present, with each phase consisting of many grains of the same composition.
2. Metals which are soluble in the liquid sate may remain totally soluble in the solid
state resulting in a solid solution. Therefore, a single phase solid solution will be
present consisting of many grains of the same composition.
3. The two metals may react together chemically to form an inter-metallic compound.
Again a single phase consisting of many grains of the same composition will be
present. Therefore, a binary alloy maybe built up in a number of different ways and
may consist of:
i. Two pure metals existing entirely separately is the structure. In practice this is
extremely rare because there is usually some solubility of one metal in the other.
ii. Single solid solutions of one metal dissolved in the other.
iii. A mixture of two solid solutions if the metals are only partially soluble in each
other.
iv. An inter-metallic compound and a solid solution mixed together.

3.4 Types of Alloys

Binary alloys can be classified into the following types:
1. Simple eutectic type.
The two components are soluble in each other in a liquid state but are completely
insoluble in each other in the solid state.
2. Solid Solution type.
The two components are completely soluble in each other both in the liquid state and
is the solid state.

3. Combination Type
 25

The components are completely soluble in the liquid state but are only partially
soluble in each as the solid state. Therefore this type of alloy combines some of the
characteristics of both the previous types, hence its name combination type phase
equilibrium diagram.

Simple Eutectic Type Phase Equilibrium Diagram

The Figure below shows the eutectic type of phase diagram.

Liquid phase
(A+B in solution)
Solid B liquidus
Plus liquid A+B liquidus solid A
Plus liquid B+A
solidus solidus

solid (A+B)

0 25 50 E 75 100% A
100 75 50 25 0% B

The two components of the alloy are metals A and B. They are mutually soluble in the liquid
state, but they retain their individual identities of crystals of A and crystal of B in the liquid
state. The line joining the points where solidification begins is referred to as the liquidus, and
the line joining the points where solidification is complete is referred to as the solidus.

This type of equilibrium diagram gets its name from the fact that at one particular
composition (E), the temperature at which solidification commences is a minimum for the
alloying elements present. With this composition, the liquidus and the solidus coincide at the
same temperature, thus the liquid changes into a solid with both A crystal and B crystal
forming instantaneously at the same temperature. This point on the diagram is called the
 26

eutectic, the temperature at which it occurs is the eutectic temperature, and the composition is
the eutectic composition.

Solid Solution Phase Equilibrium Diagram

The figure below shows the solid solution phase equilibrium diagram for a copper-nickel
alloy.

Again, the lines marked liquidus joins the points where solidification starts, whilst the line
marked solidus join the points where solidification is complete. This time there is no eutectic
composition.

Combination Type Phase Equilibrium Diagram

 27

Many metals and non metals are neither completely soluble in each other or a solid state, nor
are they completely insoluble. Therefore they form a phase equilibrium diagram of the type
shown below.

In the system there are two solid solution labelled α and β. The Greek letters α, β, γ etc in
phase equilibrium diagrams may be defined in general as follows.

i. The solid solutions of one component A in an excess of another component B such

that A is the solute and B is the solvent is referred to as solid solution α.
ii. A solid solution of the component B is an excess of the component A so that B now
becomes the solute and A becomes the solvent is referred to as solid solution β.

EXERCISE
1. (a) Explain in detail the mechanism of crystal formation and growth as a metal cools
from the liquid state to the solid state.
(b) With the aid of sketches, explain how dendritic growth occurs
2. With reference to phase equilibrium diagrams, explain what is meant by the following
terms. You may use sketches to illustrate your answers:
(a) Eutectic
(b) Solid solution
 28

(c) Intermetallic compound

(d) Solvus
(e) Solidus
2. Sketch typical examples of the following phase equilibrium diagrams for binary
alloys:
(a) Simple eutectic type
(b) Solid solution type
(c) Combination type

Material compiled by:

Mulapa Stembridge Fredrick

Northern Technical College
Mobile: +260 964 913 361
mulapafs@yahoo.com
Stembridge.mulapa@nortec.edu.zm