Assessment Cover Sheet

Faculty of Engineering

Module Details

Module Code MT1011 Module Title Engineering Materials

Program: Electrical and Electronics Course: BSc Eng.
Assessment details

Title Microstructural Examination Group assignment Yes

of Steel If yes, Group No. 7-C
Lecturer/ Instructor Ms. S. Gallage Date of Performance 26.09.2022
Due date 9.10.2022 Date submitted 9.10.2022
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ID Number Name (As per the institute records)
EN22012524 MLPG Lankage

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Sri Lanka Institute of Information
Technology

Engineering Materials

MT1011

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Contents

Objective....................................................................................................................................4
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
....................................................................................................................................................4
Theory........................................................................................................................................5
Materials and Apparatus............................................................................................................6
Procedure....................................................................................................................................7
Observation and Results.............................................................................................................7
....................................................................................................................................................8
Discussion..................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................11

Figure 1-metals...........................................................................................................................4
Figure 2-light reflected across etched sample............................................................................5
Figure 3- photo of microscope...................................................................................................6
Figure 4-grinding and polishing machine photo........................................................................6
Figure 5- scaled specimen observation photo............................................................................7
Figure 6- results from observed data..........................................................................................8

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Objective

Learn how to set up metallurgical samples for analysis via optical microscopic methods.

Introduction

Metals are key materials for creation of objects in the world. The properties may include
good electrical conductivity, good thermal conductivity and more which differs based on the
several types of metals: ferrous and non-ferrous. Ferrous metals include a substantial
proportion of iron meanwhile non-ferrous does not.
The science behind the study of physical and chemical properties along with extraction of
metals from the Earth refers to as Metallurgy meanwhile Metallography refers to the
microscopic analysis of metallic alloys.
Internal structure of metals is crystalline in solid state. Number of crystalline segments
known as grains along with other particles known as phases and contaminations form the
structure of a metal. Different metals may have various grain shapes and sizes based on the
composition of the metallic alloy and the methods used to form the alloy.
To observe the highly magnified microstructure of steel, preferably optical microscopes
are useful. Distinct types of optical microscopes such as light microscopes and electron
microscopes exist for the analysis of metal specimen. Since most metals do not transmit light,
just the surface of the metal is viewed through most optical microscopes. Electron
microscopes offer the most detailed view with a fine structural view, grain orientation, atomic
structure in detail and more features. The methods used to analyze metals through
microscopes can also be applied for the analysis of non-metals.

Figure 1-metals

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Theory

There are certain measures taken to prepare a steel sample before examination of the grains in
the microscopic view: Mounting, Grinding, Polishing and Etching.
Firstly, mounting takes place to fasten the work sample so that the next processes can be
conducted much easily while protecting the sample. There are two types known as hot and
cold mounting. Cold mounting is conducted to obtain fragile work pieces from the mold
meanwhile hot molding allows recovery of high-quality molds of good strength.
Two types of grinding are carried out next, known as course and fine grinding. Course
grinding is done to generate the flat sample on the steel sample so that polishing and fine
grinding can be carried out. Finer grinding is then carried out to using progressively finer
emery paper to generate a smooth surface in which polishing takes place.
Polishing takes place so that the sample will cleanly reflect light that enters metal and
make the surface even. This is done via the use of alumina powder rubbed on the sample and
then placing the sample on the rotating disc of the grinding and polishing machine.
Etching is then carried out to reveal the surface that is to be observed. This involves
placing the sample in a chemical reagent such as dilute acid (2% for steel) so that the grain
boundaries of the sample will be visible when light from the microscope bounces off them.
Finally, this sample is rinsed with water and alcohol to remove any grease spots. Once
this rinsed sample is dried, its ready for microscopic analysis of grains. The grain sizes can
then be calculated using the following equation.

Grain size = Total number of lines X Average length of lines

Total number of intersections

Figure 2-light reflected across etched sample

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 Materials and Apparatus

 Steel specimen to be analyzed

 Grinding and polishing machine
 Alcohol and water
 Optical microscope
 Drying oven

Figure 4-grinding and polishing machine photo Figure 3- photo of microscope

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Procedure

 The steel sample was obtained once grind and polished.

 Sample was then rinsed with alcohol and water then finally dried in an oven.
 With the help of an external light source and a microscope, the cut surface was
observed.
 An enlarged image of the microscopic view was printed to an A4 sheet with a scale.
 Number of straight lines of equal length were drawn on the paper.
 Then, the number of grain intersection per line was recorded on a sheet.
 The addition of all the intersection was done

Observation and Results

Figure 5- scaled specimen observation photo

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Figure 6- results from observed data

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Discussion

Key characteristics of all materials depend on the atomic structure and internal bonds
that forms the structure. Engineering materials are commonly under the groups of either:
metals, ceramics, or composites. The atomic arrangement is based on the periodic properties
classifying them as lattice or crystalline according to the regular array of material. Significant
collection of atoms forms a microstructure and often this structure is observed to determine
the material properties. The study of examined grain sizes, shapes, distribution of grains and
more, material can be clearly identified and utilized.
Grains are crystals of polycrystalline materials when viewed through a microscope.
They form during the process of heating and melting metals. The slow cooling after heat
treatment leads to the formation of these large crystals known as grains. The basic crystal
structure depicts that atoms are order in a regular array within a grain. In the observed
microstructure of steel, there were two common phases, which were grains and grain
boundaries. This structure details the material appearance meanwhile the crystalline structure
depicts the atomic positions within a unit cell. The differences in grain sizes between various
metals is due to the heat treatment and others processing carried out to metal specimen. On
average, a steel specimen could be of the length in multiples of 10 micrometers.
The figure 5 shows that the grains are separated by intersections known as grain
boundaries. These boundaries are defects when viewed in two dimensions. They differ based
on the disorientation between one grain and its neighbor, thereby breaking them down to two
categories known as low angle and high angle.
In metallography, before observing the microstructure, the specimen needs to be
prepared properly. The processes of sampling a good specimen, grinding and polishing needs
to be taken well to make sure the specimen can be analyzed well. In the sampling step of
choosing the steel specimen, it is necessary to be sure that the sample will do justice as a
representative of a specific metal composition so that it can be manipulated as needed in the
industrial world. To do so, the sample type, form, particle distribution and many other factors
must be taken into consideration. For example, when considering steel type, it could be either
carbon steel, stainless steel, tool steel and others which depends on the composition of
elements such as carbon, nickel, and copper. Engineering materials used today are often
alloys of different composition. In fact, steel and cast iron are based on iron and carbon
combinations which offers the strength for the ferrous materials. The microstructural analysis
allows the determination of properties of alloys such as ductility and hardness.
During the processes such as mounting it is important to maintain the right conditions
of temperature and pressure so that the workpiece is not damaged. Generally cold mounting
should be carried out when working with steel so that there would be no physical changes
such as melting risks. This should be carried out at around 100 o C temperature and 100KPa
pressure so that the sample can be handled with ease.
For a mirror finish to be obtained for microscopic analysis of the steel sample grinding
needs to be given clear thought. It is essential to use a Differential inference contrast to
validate that the sample is at a good quality to proceed with etching. In industrial state metal

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analysis, samples need to grind in the shortest span of time to improve efficiency so that
money is not spent unnecessarily so that profits are maximized.
In the polishing state, it is better to use tough and smooth clothes to obtain a near
perfect sample without scratches or dents and the use of small forces when fastening the
sample on the polishing machine may further improve the surface quality.
During this experiment certain issues may arise. Few of those include faults in the
polishing process due to the use of unsuitable reagents. This may lead to unexpected
observation under the microscope leading to wrong conclusions regarding the structure of the
steel. This could be avoided by careful attention to detail of reagents with right concentration.
In an industrial scale, old samples maybe reused to experiment with, with the intention
to save material and cut down costs in the short term but this may lead to invalid results as
the sample might get damaged or rust may form on it, thereby leading to major waste of
material due to wrong judgements based on tests carried out on a weak old sample. To avoid
this, it is essential to always use a fresh new material specimen to conduct a microscopic
experiment.
The average grain size calculated may not be a representative sample. There may have
been biased choice of lines in a particular segment of the chosen region of the sheet of paper,
leading to invalid conclusions based on calculations carried out. To validate these obtained
results, the intercept method of grain calculation could be repeated several times to obtain a
representative sample for the total intersection, thereby leading to a fairly accurate grain size.

In the modern day, metallography has not only aided the manufacture of alloys but also now
it has moved past just metals to detail analysis of non-metals on account of technological
advancements hence metallography shall eventually be renamed as "materialography".

Conclusion

Microstructural analysis exists in a vast variety of fields for quality assurance, to

determine internal defects due to side effects from metal cut in a deforming manner. This
may help determine if a certain material is under right suitability to make a product. It could
even aid to comprehend why a particular construction might have collapsed unexpectedly
although initially expected the infrastructure to withstand the natural disaster it had to
undergo.
Overall, microstructural analysis is essential to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses
after thorough metallography. In fact, this experiment aided the identification of constituent
parts under a microscopic view which benefits anyone who plan to use steel for manufacture
something given that its strengths list down, thereby minimizing any dangers or failures due
to unsuitable use.

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 In the modern day, metallography has not only aided the manufacture of alloys but also now
it has moved past just metals to detail analysis of non-metals on account of technological
advancements hence metallography shall eventually rename as materialography.

References

Struers.com. 2022. Metallic grain structures and microscopic analysis insight | Struers.com.
[online] Available at: <https://www.struers.com/en/Knowledge/Materials/Metallic-grain-
structures#main> [Accessed 8 October 2022].

Microstructure Examination of Steel. [online]. Available at: <https://gradesfixer.com/free-

essay-examples/title-microstructure-examination-of-steel/> [Accessed 8 Oct. 2022].

2022. Non Destructive Physics [image] Available at: <https://www.google.com/search?

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BDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDI
FCAAQgAQ6BAgjECc6BwgjEOoCECc6BQgAELEDOggIABCABBCxAzoECAAQQ1C8
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q=metals&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwj7-9Cck9D6AhWbjtgFHebkDq0Q2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=metals&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCA
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DeRose, J. and Dionis, D., 2020. Metallography – an Introduction. [online] Leica

Microsystems. Available at:
<https://www.leica-microsystems.com/science-lab/metallography-an-introduction/
#:~:text=Metallography%20is%20the%20study%20of,or%20phases%20in%20metallic
%20alloys.> [Accessed 8 October 2022].

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Struers.com. 2022. Metallic grain structures and microscopic analysis insight | Struers.com.
[online] Available at: <https://www.struers.com/en/Knowledge/Materials/Metallic-grain-
structures#main> [Accessed 8 October 2022].

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