Alloys

What are Alloys?

Alloys are the admixture substance compound that is made up by adding two or more than
two metals or from a metal and a non-metal. Usage of alloys was started in ancient timesas
brass alloyis made up of copper and zinc;a bronze alloy is made up of copper and tin. Today,
the main alloy that is used is steel alloys. Its composition changes with the changes in use.
Alloying retains parent matter properties andimproves the properties as the hardness,
strength, toughness, ductility, corrosion-resistant in steel. Intermetallicsalloyis made up of
more than one metal and the crystal structure of alloys differs from its parent metals. Copper
alloys such as brass have antimicrobial properties that were used to fight against COVID-19
andfor other hospital-acquired infections.

Iron Alloys:
Iron is a very reactive alloy and it is not found in a free state in nature. In a combined state,
iron is mined out from the earth in the following ore:

i. Haematite (Fe2O3)
ii. Magnetite (Fe3O4)
iii. Limonite (Fe2O3.3H2O)
iv. Siderite (FeCO3)
 Figure 1: Furnaces to produce various types of iron

(self-created)

1. Cast Iron:
Pig iron is refined in a furnace known as cupola with carbon content varying 2% to 5% that is
called a cast iron. This refinement is done because of pig iron, which is unsuitable for casting
and contains high impurities.

Alloy cast iron:

A large variety of alloy cast iron has been developed by the addition of different alloying
elements in a cast iron to overcome inherent drawbacks as carbon structure, hardness, poor
corrosion resistance, castability, less brittleness, toughness, and so on.The effect of alloying
of various elements with a cast iron ismentioned below:

i. Nickel: It is the main alloying element in a cast iron. Its addition in cast iron improves
the carbon structure of a cast iron and this leads to improving the physical properties
and mechanical properties of a cast iron.
ii. Silicon: It promotes the formation of free graphite with a decrease in the combined
state of carbon in a cast iron. Consequently, the addition of silicon leads to softening
of a cast iron.
iii. Chromium: It acts as a carbide stabilizer and due to its hardness, strength and
corrosion resistance it also improves a cast iron.
 iv. Copper: It promotes graphite formation and consequently, improves the toughness,
mach inability, and castability of a cast iron.
v. Sulfur: It promotes the formation of cementite and consequently, increases the
hardness and brittleness and decreases its fluidity.
vi. Phosphorous: It helps to improve the castability of cast iron.
vii. Molybdenum: It improves mach inability, toughness, and fatigue strength of a cast
iron.
viii. Manganese: It reduces the hardness and brittleness of a cast iron.

Uses:Alloy cast iron is used for making:

 Cylinder Head
 Piston Rings
 Grinding Machinery
 Crushing Machinery

2. Wrought Iron:
Wrought iron is the purest form of iron that containsupto 99.8% pure iron. It is unsuitable for
the casting process as it lacks fluidity property but it has high plasticity at a high
temperature.It is also very ductile and malleable,which enablesit to be hammered into thin
sheets. It is usefulfor forging and rolling intodesired shapes when hot. It is high resistance to
fatigue failure and its ultimate strength can be increased by cold working.

Uses:Wrought iron is used for making:

 Shipbuilding
 Pipes for oil, water
 Railway couplings
 Nuts and bolts, chains

3. Steel:
Steel hasnon-metallic element carbon content upto 1.5% and is found in a combined form. It
is produced either by extracting the carbon from a cast iron or adding a small amount of
carbon to wrought iron. The increase in the carbon content in steel leads to harder and
stronger steel.Steel is an interstitial alloy in which a small carbon atom fits into interstices
iron matrix in which carbon content is limited up to 1.5% only.

Classification of carbon steel with % of carbon:

a. Dead mild steel (carbon content upto 0.15%): It is highly ductile and malleable. It
is the softest among all the steels and can be forged, welded, machined easily to the
desired shape.

Uses: Dead mild steelis used for making:

 Wire and thin sheets

 Rods
 Chains
 Welded and solid drawn tubes
b. Mild steel (carbon content varying from 0.15% to 0.30%):It is asoft,ductile,
malleable, and also tough but it offersa low wear resistance. It can be forged, welded,
and machined easily.

Uses:Mild steel is used for making:

 Screws
 Nuts and bolts
 Stamping of automobile parts
 Rivet and wire
c. Medium carbon steel (carbon content varying from 0.30% to 0.80%):It is harder
and less ductile than mild steel. It has a good tensile strength and can be welded easily
because heat treatment can be given to this type of steel.

Uses:Medium mild steel is used for making:

 Shafts and axles

 Rods and tubes
 Hammerhead and fitter’s square
d. High carbon steel (carbon content varying from 0.80% to 1.5%):Itis the strongest
among above-mentioned steel and less ductile. It has the highest tensile strength and
low mach inability.
Uses:High carbon steel is used for making:

 Hand tools and woodworking tools

 Wheels and springs
 Drills and milling cutter

Alloys steels:
Alloy steel is the carbon steel in which one or more elements are added to improve the
properties of steel.The addition of elements improvesits properties as a tensile strength while
maintaining the ductility, toughness, resistance to corrosion, promoting fine grain size,
cutting ability, and so on. The effect of alloying of various elements with steel is as follows:

a. Nickel: It improves the toughness, tensile strength, ductility, and corrosion resistance
of steel.
b. Chromium: It improves the tensile strength, thermal resistance, magnetic properties,
hardness, and the toughness of steel.
c. Cobalt: It improves the tensile strength, thermal resistance, magnetic properties,
hardness, and the toughness of steel.
d. Manganese: It improves the strength, hardness, toughness, and also minimizes the
effect of sulphur on steel.
e. Silicon: It improves the elasticity, magnetic permeability and reduces hysteresis
losses in steel.
f. Molybdenum: It improves a wear resistance, thermal resistance, and the hardness of
steel.
g. Tungsten: It improves the hardness, toughness, shock, and wears resistance of steel.
h. Copper: It improves the strength and corrosion resistance of steel.
i. Aluminum & Titanium: Theypromote fine-grain growth in steel.
j. Boron: It improves the harden-ability.
k. Vanadium:It improves the tensile strength, shock resistance, density, and elastic limit
of steel.

Special Alloys steel:

This type of alloy was developed for special applications. Special alloys steels are as follows:

i. Stainless steel (or corrosion-resistant steel):This type of steel has face--centred

cubic crystal structure, where the main alloying element is chromium (about 12%),
 which forms chromium oxide with atmospheric oxygen.It is highly corrosion
resistance, which protects the steel. The other elements such as nickel (at least 8%)
and manganese added in small amounts.Due to high percentage of chromium and
nickel, stainless steel is non-magnetic.

Uses: Stainlesssteel is used for making:

 Utensils and cutlery

 Surgical instruments
 Furnace parts
ii. High-speed steel: This type of steel is used for making cutting tools. As the amount
of heat is generated during metal cutting, tools retain their hardness at an elevated
temperaturethat is made up of high-speed steel. In this type of steel, the main alloying
element is tungsten (18%), which improves the hardness of steel. The other element in
small amountas chromium (4%), whichincreases thehardness of steel and vanadium
(1%) increases thestrength of steel.

Uses: High-speedsteel of 18:4: 1 composition is used for tools material, which has a good
hardness, corrosion resistance and toughness at a high temperature.

iii. High-temperature resistance steel (or super alloys):Thistype of steel is used for
retaining hardness and toughness at a high temperature. The main alloying element is
nickel, which increases red hot hardness.
iv. Magnetic steel: This type of steelcan have iron (60%), nickel (20%), aluminum (20
%,), and cobalt (8%), which is responsible for magnetic retentive power.
v. Cryogenic steel (nickel-based steel): This type of steel is used to store and transport
liquefied gases below the temperature of -157.50C.

AluminumAlloys:
Aluminum is abundant in the earth and not found in a free state and obtained from the
processing of bauxite ore (Al2O3.H20 and Al2O3.3H20). Alloying of aluminium is done to
improve the tensile strength and hardness. The alloying elements with aluminum are nickel,
copper, zinc, silicon, magnesium, and manganese. Alloys of aluminum are listed below:
 1. Duralumin:This is an age-hardenable aluminum alloy, which has the following main
constituents:
 Aluminum (93.5%)
 Copper (4.4%)
 Magnesium (1.5%)
 Manganese (0.6%)

Copper is the main hardening element, where magnesium improves the hardness and
manganese acts as a strengthening element. Duralumin is non-magnetic, and has a high
strength to weight ratio and electrical conductivity. It hasa high strength and hardness and can
be cast and forged.

Uses: Duralumin is used for making:

 Structures of aircraft
 Orthopadic and surgical work
2. Y-alloy:This type of aluminium alloy can retain strength at a high temperature,
which has the following main constituents:
 Aluminum (92.5%)
 Nickel (2%)
 Copper (4%)
 Magnesium (1.5%)

Uses: Y-alloy is used for making:

 Components that retain strength at a high temperatureare pistons, crankcases of IC

engines.
 Piston rods and sparking chisels
3. Hindalium: This type of alloy is produced by the Hindustan Aluminium Corporation
of India. It is manufactured in the form of sheets of 16 gauges. Hindalium is used
instead of stainless steel for the manufacturing of utensils because the cost of
manufacturing is one-third of that of stainless steel.The main constituents of
hindalium are:
 Aluminum Silicon
 Manganese
  Magnesium
4. Magnelium: This is a lightweight alloy that has the properties as a high ductility,
good machinability and can be welded easily. It hasthe following main constituents:
 Aluminum (95%)
 Nickel (0 to 1.2%)
 Copper (0 to 2.5%)
 Magnesium (1 to 5.5%)
 Manganese (0.2 to 0.6%)
 Tin (0 to 3%)

Uses: Magnelium is used for making:

 Grinder parts
 Door handles, fixtures, and luggage racks

Nickel Alloys:
Nickel is a versatile element that combines with most of the metals and forms corrosion-
resistant and heat resistant alloy. Some common alloys are:

 Nickel-Chromium alloy: This alloy has a high resistivity and resistance against
corrosion. Consequently, it is used for making heating wires, resistors, electrical
cords, and so on. As nickel % gets decrease in an alloy and after that the heating
resistance decreases.
 Nickel-Titanium alloy: Thisalloy has an equal proportion of nickel and titanium and
has a Shape-memory effect and super-elasticity property. This helps to make crack
sense wires for civil engineering work, which helps to sense cracks and contract to
heal macro cracks.

Context and Applications

Alloys are not new materials, used from ancient times. They can be used as per requirements.
Nowadays, they are largely used in manufacturing and construction industries. In
manufacturing units, if high temperature required alloys are used. For cooking, alloys are
used which can be light weight, corrosion resistant and cheap.
Practice Problems
1. Mild steel belongs to which of the following category:
a. Medium carbon steel
b. High carbon steel
c. Low carbon steel
d. None of the above

Option c. as in mild steel only 0.15 – 0.30% of carbon is present, which is the lowest among
all in the given options.

2. The ultimate tensile strength of mild steel while working at a high strain rate can be:
a. Decrease
b. Increase
c. Remain constant
d. First increase then decrease

Option b. as low carbon steel is ductile and the strain rate can get increase.

3. Aluminum alloys find use in the aircraft industry because:

a. High strength
b. Low specific gravity
c. Good corrosion resistance
d. Good weld ability

Option b. as the specific gravity of aluminium alloy is equal to one–third of steel and equal
strength.

4. Copper is used for making electrical conductors because it is:

a. Ductile
b. Resist corrosion
c. Cheap
d. Low resistance

Option d. as copper is a good conductor of electricity.Consequently, it provides less electrical

resistance.

5. Brass is an alloy of
a. Copper and Zinc
 b. Copper and Tin
c. Copper and Aluminum
d. None of the above

Option a. as brass is made of copper and zinc (5-45%).

Related Concepts
Hardness and toughness

Carbon content

Strength

Ore