Metals and alloys

I. Metal
Is a material (an element, compound, or alloy) that is typically hard,
opaque, shiny, and has good electrical and thermal conductivity. Atoms
in metals and their alloys are arranged in a very orderly manner and in
comparison to the ceramics and polymers, are relatively dense.
Metals are;
1. malleable— can be hammered or pressed permanently out of shape
without breaking or cracking
2. fusible- able to be fused or melted.
3. ductile- able to be drawn out into a thin wire.

1. Types of metals :-

1- noble metals - generally un-reactive , e.g. silver, platinum , gold and

palladium .
2- alkali metals - very reactive with low melting points and soft , e.g.
potassium and sodium .
3- alkaline earth metals – less reactive, higher melting points and
harder than alkali metals, e.g. calcium, magnesium and barium .
4- transition metals - hard, shiny, strong, and easy to shape, e.g. iron,
chromium, nickel, and copper .
5-other metals – diverse properties, e.g. aluminum , gallium
indium, tin, thallium, lead and bismuth

2. Structure and Bonding of Metals

 The atoms of metallic substances are typically arranged in one of
three common crystal structures;
1. Body-centered cubic (bcc)- each atom is positioned at the center of
a cube of eight others.
2. Face-centered cubic (fcc)- each atom is surrounded by twelve
others, but the stacking of the layers differs.
3. Hexagonal close-packed (hcp)- each atom is surrounded by twelve
others, but the stacking of the layers differs.
 Metals adopt different structures depending on the temperature.
 3. Metal Classification
All metals may be classified as ferrous or nonferrous.
 Ferrous metals
Ferrous metals include cast iron, steel, and the various steel alloys,
The only difference between iron and steel is the carbon content.
Cast iron contains more than 2-percent carbon, while steel contains less
than 2 percent.
 Non-Ferrous Metals
Nonferrous metals are metals that do not contain iron.
Examples include aluminum, zinc, copper and brass.
In general nonferrous metals do not corrode as quickly as ferrous metals
due to the rapid formation of a thin protective oxide layer on their surface
although they are still susceptible to corrosion when exposed to
atmospheric conditions.
Due to the presence of the surface oxides, non-ferrous metals have
different requirement for surface preparation and priming than ferrous
metals.

4. Properties of Metals
Chemical
1. Metals are usually inclined to form cations through electron loss,
reacting with oxygen in the air to form oxides over various
timescales;
2. Metals such as iron, copper, zinc, and nickel- slower to oxidize
because they form a passivating layer of oxide that protects the
interior .
 3. Palladium, platinum and gold- do not react with the atmosphere at
all.
4. Some metals form a barrier layer of oxide on their surface which
cannot be penetrated by further oxygen molecules and thus retain
their shiny appearance and good conductivity for many decades
(like aluminium, magnesium, some steels, and titanium).
Physical
1. high electrical conductivity
2. high thermal conductivity
3. high density
4. Typically metals are malleable and ductile, deforming under stress
without cleaving.
5. In terms of optical properties, metals are shiny and lustrous.
6. Sheets of metal beyond a few micrometres in thickness appear opaque,
but gold leaf transmits green light.
7. The high density of most metals is due to the tightly packed crystal
lattice of the metallic structure

Mechanical

1. Mechanical properties of metals include ductility, i.e. their capacity

for plastic deformation.
2. Reversible elastic deformation in metals can be described by
Hooke's Law for restoring forces, where the stress is linearly
proportional to the strain.
3. Forces larger than the elastic limit, or heat, may cause a permanent
(irreversible) deformation of the object, known as plastic
deformation or plasticity .
4. This irreversible change in atomic arrangement may occur as a
result of:

1. The action of an applied force- may be tensile (pulling) force,

compressive (pushing) force, shear, bending or torsion (twisting)forces.
2. A change in temperature (heat)- may affect the mobility of the
structural defects such as grain boundaries, point vacancies, line and
screw dislocations, stacking faults and twins in both crystalline and non-
crystalline solids.

II. Alloys :

Is a homogeneous combination of two or more elements at least one of

which is a metal has metallic properties.
Based on iron called ( ferrous alloy )
Based on other metals (Al, Cu, Mg, Ti, Ni) called (nonferrous alloy)
Application of Major metallic alloys:-all with distinctive properties,
include:
1- Steel alloy – low cost , high strength. , Very wide used in ships,
buildings, railway lines, reinforced concrete.
2- aluminum alloys – high specific strength, corrosion resistance,
specific conductivity, used in Aerospace, packaging, sports
equipment, energy, construction Aircraft, food containers, power
cables.
3- titanium alloys – higher specific strength and higher temperature
application, used as Biomedical, body implants & medical,
aerospace .
4- copper alloy – high electrical & thermal conductivity, easy to
form/cast, corrosion resistance, used in electronics, coins, wiring,
circuit boards , electronic components.
5- nickel alloy – high temperature strength and creep resistance
(super alloys) , used in Aerospace, Aircraft engines .

References:

1-Dewi Suriyani Che Halin, METAL ALLOY, chapter, July 2018, DOI:
10.13140/RG.2.2.20821.52961
2- William D. Callister, Jr ,David G. Rethwisch,The University of Iowa, Materials
science and engineering an introduction, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.2009
3. Prof. Satish V. Kailas , Chapter 1. Introduction,Dept. of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore – 560012 ,India
4.English for Materials science and engineering, www. Iran-mavad.com