HANOI UNIVERSITY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING

MSE 3206
Phases and Phase Relations
NGUYEN THI VAN THANH
thanh.nguyenthivan@hust.edu.vn
Dep. of Materials Science, Heat & Surface Treatment

Text book:
M. F. Ashby and D. R. H. Jones, Engineering Materials 2: An Introduction to
Microstructures, Processing, and Design, Butterworth Heinemann (1998).

Further reading:
D. A. Porter, K. E. Easterling, and M. Y. Sherif; Phase transformations in Metals
and Alloys, 3rd edition, CRC Press, New York (2009).
W. D. Callister, D. G. Rethwisch; Materials Science and Engineering An
Integrated approach, 4th edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York (2012).
1
 MSE3206
Phases and Phase Relations
Assessment
Grading Percentage
Midterm Exam 40%
Final Exam 60%

2
 MSE3206
Phases and Phase Relations
Contents: (syllabus)
[6 chapters]
1.Engineering Materials,
2.Phase Diagrams & Reactions;
3.Phase transformations;
4.Structure change in Metallic materials;
5. Structures changes in ceramics
6.Polymers and composites
3
Conseptual Map:

Chap 4, 5, 6

4
 Chapter 1.
Engineering Materials
(STRUCTURES & PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS)
• 1.1. Classification of Engineering materials
• 1.2. Crystal structures and microstructures
• 1.3. Behaviors of materials under external loads.

5
1.1. Classification of Engineering materials

• Classification of engineering materials

• Bondings in materials
• Important characteristics

6
a. Classification of materials
• Solid materials have been conveniently
grouped into three basic classifications
Metals
(based on atomic structrures):
Carbon fiber
- Metals reinforced polymer
– CFRP
- Ceramics
Steel reinforced
- Polymers concrete Composite

• There are the composites,

Polymers Ceramics
combinations of two or more of
the above three basic material
classes.
• Advanced materials - used in high-
technology applications:
semiconductors, biomaterials,
smart materials, and
nanoengineered materials 7
c. Some important characterstics of materials

➢ Density = The weight of volume unit [Heavy or light?]

➢ Strength = the maximum load/stress that can be placed on
a material before it permanently deforms or breaks;
➢ Hardness = Resistance to plastic deformation;
➢ Stiffness: the resistance of deflection that a load causes in a
material ~ Young's modulus, E (elasticity); [All steels have
approximately the same stiffness/ E ~ 200 GPa]
➢ Fracture Toughness [Resistance to fracture] = the ability of
a material containing a crack to resist fracture (show the
way it fails: speedy or gradually)
➢ Durability = service‟s time (the time of it‟s service)
➢ Safety: Free from health hazards in use 8
 Density & Specific Volume of Materials
ρ, g/cm3

4,5g/cm3
Light
Materials

-Explain the bar chart.

-Calculate the specific volume of PTFE and Cu?

➢ Bar-chart of room temperature density values (g/cm3) for various

metals, ceramics, polymers and composite materials
➢ Specific volume is the volume of a substance divided by mass. It is
the reciprocal of density.
9
 Strength of Materials
TS, MPa

➢ Bar-chart of room temperature tensile strength values (MPa) for

various metals, ceramics, polymers and composite materials.
➢ Comment the bar chat; calculate specific strength (material’s strength
divided by its density) [km] (more precisely kN.m/kg) or breaking
10
length [km]
 Stiffness(~firm/rigidity) of Materials
E, GPa

Bar-chart of room temperature stiffness (i.e., elastic modulus) values

(GPa) for various metals, ceramics, polymers and composite materials
11
 Resistance to Fracture of Materials
Kc
[MPa.m1/2]

Bar-chart of room-temperature resistance to fracture (i.e., fracture

toughness) [MPa.m1/2] for various metals, ceramics, polymers,
and composite materials. 12
a. Classification of materials

Kc: plane strain fracture

toughness. It is a measure of
the resistance of a material to
crack extension under
predominantly linear-elastic
conditions
Average σy

low σy

13
Bonding forces and energies
Bonding forces FN = FA + FR
Bonding energies EN = EA + ER

• Each type of atomic bonding has a

typical energy-versus interatomic
separation curve
• Many material properties can be Equilibrium bond length
evaluated through the energy-versus ro ~ 0.3 nm.
interatomic separation curve:
Magnitude of bonding energy
Melting temperature bonding energy
Modulus of elasticity
Thermal expansion

The dependence of repulsive,

attractive, and net forces (a) and
energies (b) on interatomic
14
separation for two isolated atoms.
Example: Shape of energy curve ↔ coefficient
of thermal Expansion

15
Example: Shape of energy curve ↔ melting
temperature

16
b. Bondings
Interatomic Bonding
• Primary atomic bonding: 3 types: ionic, covalent, and metallic
(involves the valence electrons)
• Secondary atomic bonding: Van der Waals bonding
• The secondary bonds is weaker than the primary ones

18
Ionic Bonding
• Found in compounds that are composed of both metallic and nonmetallic elements

Z = 11 Z = 17

19
 Ionic Bonding
• The attractive bonding forces are
coulombic;
• Ionic bonding is nondirectional (the
magnitude of the bond is equal in all directions
around an ion)
• For ionic materials to be stable, all
positive ions must have as nearest
neighbors negatively charged ions in a
three dimensional scheme
• Ionic materials are hard and brittle
Bonding energies, which
and, electrically and thermally generally range between 600
insulative. and 1500 kJ/mol (3 and 8
eV/atom), are relatively large
The predominant bonding in ceramic
materials is ionic. High melting temperature
20
Ionic Bonding: Examples

21
Covalent Bonding
✓ The covalent bonding is formed
by the sharing of electrons
between adjacent atoms
(Electronegativities are the same or
comparable)
✓ The covalent bond is directional;
✓ The number of covalent bonds
(X):
For N valence electrons, an atom
can covalently bond with at most 8
– N other atoms.
Example:
Cl2 (N=7, X=1); C (N=4, X=4)

22
Covalent Bonding: Examples

(H2,Cl2, F2, CH4, H2O, HNO3, HF)

(ZnS, CuCl)
(Si, C, Ge)
(SiC, GaAs, InSb)

23
Covalent Bonding: Examples

The greater the difference in electronegativity, the more ionic the bond

24
Metallic Bonding

25
 Secondary bonding (Van de Waals bonding)
• Secondary bonding forces arise from atomic or molecular dipoles
(electric dipole exists whenever there is some separation of positive and negative
portions of an atom or molecule)
• The bonding results from the coulombic attraction between the
positive end of one dipole and the negative region of an adjacent
one
• There are 3 types of secondary bonds:
– Fluctuating Induced Dipole Bonds
– Polar Molecule
– Permanent Dipole Bonds-Induced Dipole Bonds
• Found in polymer materials; gas/liquid molecules

26
Bondings: comparision

27
• 1.2 Crystal structures and microstructures
• A. Crystal Structure;
• B. Imperfections;
• C. Polycrystal Structure;
• D. Structure of ceramic, polymer and composite (chap 5,6)

Cryst.structure

PolyCr.struct.
28
1.2 Crystal Structures and microstructures
Part A: Crystal Structure
Crystalline and Non-Crystalline (amophous) materials

“Short order” “Short order”

and “long order” No “long order”
atoms pack in periodic 3D arrays atoms have no periodic packing
29
A. Crystal Structures
Crystal structure: The manner in which atoms, ions, or
molecules are spatially arranged

Atoms (ions, molecules) as hard spheres

Drawn lines that intersections at atom centers

Crystal Lattice Crystal structure

30
1.2 Crystal Structures
Unit cell

• A unit cell is the smallest component/building

block of the crystal that reproduces the whole
crystal when stacked together with purely
translational repetition.
• A unit cell is chosen to represent the symmetry
of the crystal structure.
• Each crystalline material has only one crystal
structure so only one unit cell.

31
Crystallographic Coordinate System: Oxyz
➢ All periodic unit cells may be
described via a 3D coordinate system
Oxyz with 3 unit vectors 𝑎,Ԧ 𝑏, 𝑐Ԧ
➢ Coordinate system is Righ-Handed!
 Crystallographic Coordinate
System: Oxyz
➢ An Unit cell is defined with only a, 𝑏, 𝑐Ԧ

Lattice parameters
• axial lengths: a, b, c (Unit cell edge length or
lattice constant)
𝒄
• interaxial angles: , ,  𝒃
• In general: a ≠ b ≠ c;  ≠  ≠ 
𝒂
unit vectors: 𝑎,
Ԧ 𝑏, 𝑐Ԧ

32
 7 Crystal Systems and 14 Bravais Lattices

On the basis of lattice

parameters there are 7
different possible
combinations of a, b, and c,
and angles , , and , each
of which represents a distinct
crystal system.

Triclinic (tam tà) abc 

Monoclinic (đơn tà) abc ==900
Orthorhombic (trực giao) abc ===900
Rhombohedral (mặt thoi) a=b=c ==900
Hexagonal (lục giác) a=b c ==900, =1200
Tetragonal (chính phương) a=b c ===900
Cubic (lập phương) a=b=c ===900 33
 7 Crystal Systems and 14 Bravais Lattices
UNIT CELL TYPES
❖ Primitive (P) unit cells contain only a single lattice point.
❖ Internal (I) unit cell contains an atom in the body center.
❖ Face (F) unit cell contains atoms in the all faces of the planes composing the cell.
❖ Centered (C) unit cell contains atoms centered on the sides of the unit cell.

Primitive Face-
Centered

Body- Side-
Centered Centered

34
7 Crystal Systems and 14 Bravais Lattices

Combining 7 Crystal Classes

(cubic, tetragonal, orthorhombic, hexagonal, monoclinic, triclinic, trigonal)
with 4 unit cell types (P, I, F, C) symmetry
allows for only 14 types of 3-D lattice . 35
7 Crystal Systems and 14 Bravais Lattices

Prismatic shape
Unit cell ~ rectangular shape

➢ Using 2 different Crystallographic Coordinate Systems to

specify the atoms, the crystal directions, planes
36
Crystallographic Indices of Points, Directions and Planes
in rectangular unit cell

=> Crystallographic Coordinate

System: Oxyz
➢ We can define points, directions and
planes with a “triplet” of numbers in
units of a, b, and c unit cell vectors,
calling “ Miller Index”

𝒄
𝒃

37
Crystallographic Indices of Points
• To define a point within a unit cell….
• Express the coordinates of a atom as fractions of unit cell vectors a, b,
and c
• How to write point index: [u,v,w]

Example:
A [1,1,0], B [1,1,1] , C [1/2,1/2,1/2] Show points A, B, C on the Fig.
38
Miller Indices for directions
• A crystallographic direction connects two points in crystal lattice
• Note: crystallographic directions that are parallel to each other, are equivalent.
• Direction [u v w] is line connecting original and the point with
coordinates [u,v,w].

Procedure:
1. The first point is, typically, at the origin (000).
2. Determine the index of the second point [u,v,w].
3. Clear the fraction (if any)
4. Enclose the indices in square brackets: [ ]
5. Designate negative numbers by a bar “-” on the
top of the index (if any)

Family directions: <uvw> contains all directions with the same indices irrespective
of order & sign
Ex: <110> contains all directions as OE [101], OA[110], OC[011], FB[011], BF[01ത 1],
ത
EC[1ത 10], CE[11ത 0],..
39
Miller plane indices
• A crystallographic plane contains lattice points in crystal

• Note: crystallographic planes that are parallel to each other, are

equivalent.
• The Miller indices (hkl) usually refer to the plane that is nearest
to the origin without passing through it.( You must always shift
the origin or move the plane parallel from the origin )

40
Miller plane indices

1. Determine intersections between plane and axes: x, y, z

2. Take the reciprocal of the interceptions: 1/x; 1/y; 1/z
3. Clear fractions, convert all reciprocals to integers (hkl)

42
Miller plane indices
Examples

(110)

(11ത 0)

Family of planes: {h k l} contains all of the planes with the same indices
irrespective of order & sign;
Ex: {110} contains planes CEFH(110), DEAH(011), DCAF(101), DBAO(1ത 10),
...
43
Miller plane indices
Examples

44
 Excercise 1-1: P [1/2 1/2 1]
E [110]
K[1/2 0 1/2]
L[1 1 1/2]
KL[1/2 1 0] => [120]
PE [1/2 1/2 -1] => [1 1 -2]

In the unit cell of a cubic system as showed below:

1, Determine Miller indices of KL and PE directions.
2, Determine Miller indices of APF, KLNX, AEGC planes
3, Draw [221] and [123] directions in the unit cell.
4, Draw (312) and (123) planes in the unit cell
5, Determine the linear density (LD) of BG and BH directions.
6, Determine the Planar density (PD) of ABHE and ABFG planes.
7, Determine the Atomic packing factor APF of the unit cell 4 / a^2
5a. number of atoms = 2 6a. area of atoms in the plane = 2
BG = a sqrt(2) plane area = a^2
=> LD = sqrt(2)/a => 2 / a^2

5b. number of atoms = 1 6b. area of atoms in the plane = 2

BG = a sqrt(2) plane area = sqrt(2) * a^2
=> LD = 1/ sqrt(2)*a => (sqrt(2) / a^2

2. APF [110]
KLNX [002]
AEGC [101]
Crystallographic Indices in Hexagonal Crystals
Using 4-coordinate system: Oa1a2a3c

1. The unit cell is outlined in blue.

2. A fourth axis is introduced (a3) to show
symmetry.
• Symmetry about c axis makes a3
equivalent to a1 and a2.
• Vector addition gives a3 = –( a1 + a2).

48
 Miller-Bravais direction indices in hexagonal lattice
• Using 4-coordinate system: Oa1a2a3c
• The direction index become [u v t w]

u = (1/3)(2u’ – v’)
v = (1/3)(2v’ – u’)
t = - (u + v)
w = w’
Procedure:
• Firstly, determine the Miller indices: [u’ v’
w’] where u’ on a1; v’ on a2; w’ on z.
(familiar with cubic lattice)
• Calculate the Miller-Bravais indices: [u v t w]
from above equations
• Clear fractions if any
49
Miller-Bravais plane indices in hexagonal lattice
Procedure:
• Firstly, determine the Miller plane indices:
(hkl).
• Calculate the Miller-Bravais indices: (hkil) via
relation: i= - (h+k)
In detail

1. Find the intercepts, r, s and t of the plane with

a1, a2, (or a1,a3; or a2,a3) and c axes.
2. Get reciprocals 1/r, 1/s, and 1/t.
3. Clear fractions.
4. Get h, k, i , l via relation i = - (h+k), where h is
associated with a1, k with a2, i with a3, and l
with c.
5. Enclose 4-indices in parenthesis: (h k i l)

50
 Atomic density
Linear densities (LD)
• Linear density (LD) is defined as the number of atoms per unit length whose
centers lie on the direction vector for a specific crystallographic direction .
number of atoms centered on direction vector [nm-1]; [ m-1]
LD=
length of direction vector
• Equivalent directions have identical linear densities (LD)
Planar Density ( PD )
• Planar density (PD) is defined as the number of atoms per unit area that
are centered on a particular crystallographic plane

number of atoms centered on a plane [nm-2]; [ m-2]

PD=
area of plane

• Equivalent planes have identical planar densities (PD)

51
Coordination number (CN)
• CN for a given atom: The number of nearest-neighbor or
touching atoms
• Higher CN: denser packing of crystal lattice

Simple cubic: CN = 6 BBC: CN = 8

52
BBC: CN = 12
Interstices
• Space between atoms
• Evaluated by diameter of sphere suited for this
space

53
Atomic packing factor (APF)
volume of atoms in a unit cell
𝐴𝑃𝐹 =
total unit cell volume

54
 Ex 1-2
1- Prove that theoretical density of metallic solid is computed as:
ρ = nA/VCNA
where
n: number of atoms associated in each unit cell;
A: atomic weight;
VC: volume of the unit cell;
NA: Avogadro‟s number (6.023 x 1023 atoms/mol)

2- Copper has an atomic radius of 0.128 nm, an FCC crystal

structure & an atomic weight of 63.5 g/mol. Compute its
theoretical density and compare the calculated with its measured
(8.94g/cm3) density

55
 Metallic crytal structures
Three relatively Crystal
Atomic
Crystal
Atomic
Metal Radius Metal Radius
simple crystal Structure
(nm)
Structure
(nm)
structures are found
Aluminum FCC 0.1431 Molybdenum BCC 0.1363
for most of the
common metals: Cadmium HCP 0.1490 Nickel FCC 0.1246

+ face-centered Chromium BCC 0.1249 Platinum FCC 0.1387

cubic ( FCC ) Cobalt HCP 0.1253 Silver FCC 0.1445

+ body-centered Copper FCC 0.1278 Tantalum BCC 0.1430

cubic ( BCC ) Gold FCC 0.1442 Titanium (γ) HCP 0.1445

+ hexagonal close- Iron () BCC 0.1241 Tungsten BCC 0.1371

packed ( HCP )
Lead FCC 0.1750 Zinc HCP 0.1332

The properties depend on crystals’ characteristics?

➢ So, we need to learn the crystals’ characteristics as below:
# Unit cell parameters; number of atoms per unit cell
# Density of directions, planes & volume;
# Coordination Number 56
The face-center cubic crystal structure (FCC – A1)
Unit cell
• Crystal system: Cubic
• Lattice parameters:
Lengths a=b=c; Angles == = 90o
• Atoms located at each of the corners a hard sphere unit cell a reduced-sphere unit cell
and in the centers of the all cube faces

• Number of atoms in the unit cell: 4 atoms

• Coordination # : 12
• PD max in {111}
• LD max in <110>
• APF = 0.74

an aggregate of many atoms.

𝑎 2
𝑅=
4
a =2 2R

58
The face-center cubic crystal structure (FCC – A1)
CLOSE-PACKED DIRECTIONS AND PLANES

• Close-packed directions of FCC are belong to <110> family: LD[110] = ??

• Close-packed planes of FCC are belong to {111} family: PD(111) = ???
• Atomic packing factor, APF:

59
The face-center cubic crystal structure (FCC – A1)

Interstices

• Octahedral interstices (4 sites): in

the centers of cubic and of edges:
di =0.414 dat

Octahedral interstices

• Tetrahedral interstices (8 sites): ¼

part on line connecting opposite
points of the cubic:
di =0.225 dat

Tetrahedral interstices
60
The face-center cubic crystal structure (FCC – A1)

Observation in Feγ, Au, Ag, Al, Cu, Ni,…

61
 The body-center cubic crystal structure (BCC – A2)
Unit cell
• Crystal system: Cubic
• Lattice parameters:
a=b=c
== = 90o
• Atoms located at each of the corners
and in the body center of the unit cell (110)

• Number of atoms in the unit cell: 2

𝑎 3
• Coordination # : 8
• PD max in {110}
• LD max in <111>
• APF = 0.68
𝑎 3
𝑅=
4
4𝑅
a=
3 62
 The body-center cubic crystal structure (BCC – A2)
CLOSE-PACKED DIRECTIONS AND PLANES
Close-packed directions of FCC are
belong to <111> family: LD[111]=??
Close-packed planes of FCC are
belong to {110} family: PD(110)=??

Atomic Packing Factor for BCC, APF=?

63
The body-center cubic crystal structure (BCC – A2)
Interstices
• Octahedral interstices (6 sites): in
the centers of cubic faces and of
edges:
di =0.154 dat

Octahedral interstices

• Tetrahedral interstices (12 sites): ¼

part on line connecting opposite
edges of the cubic:
di =0.291 dat

Tetrahedral interstices64
The body-center cubic crystal structure (BCC – A2)
Observation in : Fe, Cr, Tiβ, Mo, W, V……

65
 The hexagonal close-packed crystal structure (HCP – A3)
Unit cell
Crystal system: Hexagonal:
Lattice parameters:
a = b, c = 1.633a
α = β = 90°, γ = 120°
Atoms located at each of the
cornersc of the hexagon; at
center of the top and bottom
a= 2R
planes; 3 additional atoms at
the middle of athe top and
bottom planes
• Number of atoms in the unit cell: 6 atoms
• Coordination # : 12
• PD max in {0001}
• LD max in <1120>
• APF = 0.74
• a=2R 66
The hexagonal close-packed crystal structure (HCP – A3)

(0001)

ത
[1120]

[21ത 1ത 0]

• Close-packing direction: along a1, a2 and a3, and

belong to : <1120> family: LD [=?
ത =?
• Close-packing plane : (0001); PD[1120]

• Atomic packing of fraction of hcp, APF =?

67
The hexagonal close-packed crystal structure (HCP – A3)
Observation in Tiα Zn, Mg, Mg, Be, Cd, Zr,…

68
1.2 Crystal Structures and microstructures
Part B: Imperfections in Crystals
• Point defects
• Linear defects
• Interfacial defects

69
Point defects
Vacancy, self-interstitial and impurity
A self-interstitial is an atom from the
crystal that is crowded into an
interstitial site

The simplest of the point defects is a

vacancy: an atom is missing

70
Point defects
Impurity atoms
Subsitutional impurity
atoms: Impurity atoms are
at the lattice sites

Interstitial Impurity atoms:

Impurity atoms are at the
interstitial sites

74
Point defects Localized lattice distortion surrounding the defect

Vacancy, self-interstitial
Tension Compression

Impurity atoms

Interstitial impurity atom Subsitutional impurity atom

75
Point defects
Material properties may be altered by defects:
1) Mechanical properties

material σts, MPa σy, MPa

Al 99,95% 50 10
AA7075 228 103
AA7075: 6%Zn, 2,4%Mg, 1,6%Cu, 0,3%Mn

2) Electrical properties

Conductivity of pure copper: 6.107 [Ωm]-1

Conductivity of Cu + 1,12%Ag: 3,5.107 [Ωm]-1

Conductivity of pure Si : 4.10-4 [Ωm]-1

N type (V): P doping
P type (III): B, Al doping
Adding 1,4. 10-5 %P: 150 [Ωm]-1 76
Linear defects : dislocation
Edge dislocation: linear defect that centers around a line that is
defined along the end of an extra plane of atoms

77
Linear defects : dislocation
Edge dislocation
Localized lattice distortion around the dislocation line

Atoms are squeezed

Edge
dislocation
line

Atoms are pulled

78
 Linear defects : dislocation
Screw dislocation
Atoms is traced around the dislocation line in a spiral path

Dislocation
line Burgers
vector

79
Linear defects : dislocation Mixed dislocation

Schematic representation of a dislocation

that has edge, screw, and mixed character 80
Linear defects : dislocation
Burgers vector
Burgers vector (denoted by b): expressed the magnitude and direction of the
lattice distortion of a dislocation

b ∟ dis. line b neither ∟ nor // dis. line

b // dis. line
For metallic materials,
• The Burgers vector for a dislocation will point in a close-packed
crystallographic direction
• The magnitude of Burgers vector equal to the interatomic
spacing 81
Homework: Ex. 1-4

Calculate the absolute value (modulus) of vector

Burger laying on directions [110] and [111] in fcc Al
(rAl = 0.143nm). Make a comment.

82
Interfacial defects
• Two dimensional defects , normally separate regions of the materials
that have different crystal structures and/or crystallographic orientations.
• Includes:
• External surfaces: outer surfaces along which crystal structure
terminates

• Grain boundaries: boundary separating two small grains or crystals

having different crystallographic orientations in polycrystalline
materials

• Phase boundaries: exist in multiphase materials, in which a

different phase exists on each side of the boundary

• Twin boundaries: planes at that the crystal shears to change

material shape

• Stacking faults: errors in stacking

83
Grain boundary The grain boundary as the
boundary separating two small
grains or crystals having different
crystallographic orientations in
polycrystalline materials

θ θ >10o

θ ≤ 10o

Various degrees of
crystallographic
θ
misalignment between
adjacent grains are
possible.

85
Grain boundary

87
1.2 Crystal Structures and microstructures
• A. Crystal Structure;
• B. Imperfections;
• C. Polycrystal Structure;
• D. Structure of ceramic, polymer and composite

88
1.2 Crystal Structures and microstructures
Part C: Polycrystal structure (Microstructure)
We have to answer:
•What is Microstructure? (μm!)
•Why to study Microstructure? (-Technological controllable!)
* The issues:
- Mono- & poly-crystals;
- Grain Boundary;
- Grain Size and grain Shape

89
Part C: Polycrystal structure (Microstructure)
Monocrystal (single crystal)
• 1 crystal structure, 1 orientation in the
whole solid part.
• Anisotropic characteristics
• One grain: No grain boundary
Polycrystal
• 1 crystal structure, many
orientations in the whole solid
part
• Isotropic charateristics
• Many grain: many grain
boundaries
• Polycrystal = many monocrystals
bond together = many grains
boundary
90
Part C: Polycrystal structure (Microstructure)
Single crystal: Polycrystal:
Electrical, electronic materials Structural materials
Semiconductors: Si, Ge, GaAs,… Metals, ceramics

91
Part C: Polycrystal structure (Microstructure)
Unit cells stack together -> nuclei

Metal
(liquid)

Solidification
Nuclei grows, becomes grain One nuclei -> one grain

Grain boundary: darker

Grain: brighter

Under optical microscope 92

Part C: Polycrystal structure (Microstructure)
Grain size
• Mechanical properties of structure with fine grains are better.

• Yield strength can be calculated by Hall-Petch equation:

𝑘
𝜎𝑦 = 𝜎𝑜 +
𝑑
d- average size of grains; σo & k – material constants

• But coarse grains are more stable than fine ones ► so some
measurements must be applied to keep grains fine!

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Part C: Polycrystal structure (Microstructure)
Grain size determination
Using ASTM standard (American Society for Testing and Materials).
Grain size number N of material is defined by expression:
Z – average number of grains in
Z= 2N-1 1 inch2 ~ 6.45cm2 at a magnification of 100x
Grain Average number of Actual number of grains Actual average diameter of
size # grains for 1 inch2 at in 1mm2 equivalent spherical grain,
N 100x (Z) mm2
1 1 16 0,0645
2 2 32 0,0323
3 4 64 0,0161
4 8 128 0,00807
5 16 256 0,00403
6 32 512 0,00202
7 64 1024 0,001008
8 128 2048 0,000504
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Grain shape & stability of grains
➢ Grains grow during the heating
8s, 580 0C 15min, 580 0C 10min, 700 0C
➢ What conditions make
grain stable:
• Surface energy must be
balanced
• Grain boundary must
be straightened

Tetradecahedron is the most stable shape of grains

(hexagonal in 2-D) 96
Grain shape & stability of grains
But in fact grains usually do not satisfy those conditions and are not
in equilibrium, so they grow by „eating‟ each others.

Ex: during heating, the big grain “eats” the smaller grain.

Smaller
grain
bigger
bigger
grain
grain

Smaller
grain

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 Ex. 1-5
Computations of ASTM Grain Size Number and Number of Grains
Per Unit Area
(a) Determine the ASTM grain size number of a metal specimen if
45 grains per square inch are measured at a magnification of 100x
(b) For this same specimen, how many grains per square inch will
there be at a magnification of 85x

98