Materials and Metallurgy (ME-209)

Week 5 – Imperfections in Solids

Course Instructor:
Shehzaib Yousuf Khan
B.Engg, M.Engg in Mechanical Engineering from NEDUET.
M.P.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Sydney University.
Ph.D. (In Progress)
www.digiomnibus.pk
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Chapter 4 : Imperfections in Solids
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to do the following:
1. Describe both vacancy and self-interstitial crystalline defects.
2. Calculate the equilibrium number of vacancies in a material at some specified
temperature, given the relevant constants.
3. Name the two types of solid solutions and provide a brief written definition and/or
schematic sketch of each.
4. Given the masses and atomic weights of two or more elements in a metal alloy,
calculate the weight percent and atom percent for each element.
5. For each of edge, screw, and mixed dislocations:
(a) describe and make a drawing of the dislocation, (b) note the location of the
dislocation line, and (c) indicate the direction along which the dislocation line extends.
6. Describe the atomic structure within the vicinity of a
(a) grain boundary (b) twin boundary.
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Issues to Address
• What are the solidification mechanisms?
• What types of defects arise in solids?
• Can the number and type of defects be varied and controlled?
• How do defects affect material properties?
• Are defects undesirable?

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Imperfections in Solids

nuclei crystals growing grain structure

Solidification liquid Adapted from Fig. 4.14(b), Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

• The result of casting of molten material

– 2 steps
• Nuclei form
• Nuclei grow to form crystals – grain structure
• Start with a molten material – all liquid
• Crystals grow until they meet each other
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Polycrystalline Materials
Grain Boundaries
• regions between crystals
• transition from lattice of one region
to that of the other
• slightly disordered
• low density in grain boundaries
– high mobility
– high diffusivity
– high chemical reactivity

Adapted from Fig. 4.7,

Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

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Solidification Grains can be - equiaxed (roughly same size in all directions)
- columnar (elongated grains)

~ 8 cm

heat
flow

Shell of equiaxed grains

Columnar in area with due to rapid cooling
less undercooling (greater T) near wall

Adapted from Fig. 5.17,

Callister & Rethwisch 3e.

Grain Refiner - added to make smaller, more uniform, equiaxed grains. 6

Imperfections in Solids There is no such thing as a perfect crystal.
• What are these imperfections?
• Why are they important?

Many of the important properties of materials are due to the presence of imperfections.
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Point Defects in Metals
Vacancies: Vacant atomic sites in a structure.

Vacancy
distortion
of planes

Self-Interstitials: “Extra" atoms positioned between atomic sites.

self-
interstitial
distortion
of planes

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Equilibrium Vacancy Concentration
The presence of vacancies increases the entropy (i.e., the randomness) of the crystal.
Equilibrium concentration (equilibrium number of vacancies) varies with temperature.

No. of defects Activation energy

Nv  −Q v 
= exp  
Total number of atomic sites N  kT 
Temperature
Boltzmann's constant
(1.38 x 10 -23 J/atom-K)
-5
(8.62 x 10 eV/atom-K)

Each lattice site is a potential vacancy site. 9

Activation Energy (𝑸𝒗 )  −Q v 
Nv
= exp  
• We can get Qv from an experiment. N  kT 

• Measure this... • Replot it...

Nv Nv slope
ln
N N
-Q v /k
exponential
dependence!

T 1/T
defect concentration

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Equilibrium Vacancy Concentration
Find the equilibrium number of vacancies in 1 m3 of Cu at 1000C.
0.9 eV/atom
Given:
 −Q 
exp 
Nv = v r = 8.4 g /cm 3
 = 2.7 x 10-4
N  kT 
Qv = 0.9 eV/atom
1273 K
A Cu = 63.5 g/mol
8.62 x 10-5 eV/atom-K
NA = 6.02 x 1023 atoms/mol
NA
For 1 m3 , N= r x x 1 m3
A Cu Answer:
= 8.0 x 1028 sites Nv = (2.7 x 10-4)(8.0 x 1028) sites
= 2.2 x 1025 vacancies 11
Equilibrium Vacancy Concentration
• Low energy electron microscope (LEEM) view of a
(110) surface of NiAl.
• Increasing temperature causes surface island of
atoms to grow.

• Why?
The equilibrium vacancy concentration increases
via atom motion from the crystal to the surface,
Reprinted with permission from Nature (K.F. McCarty, J.A.
Nobel, and N.C. Bartelt, "Vacancies in Solids and the Stability
of Surface Morphology", Nature, Vol. 412, pp. 622-625 (2001).
Image is 5.75 mm by 5.75 mm.) Copyright (2001) Macmillan
Publishers, Ltd.

where they join the island.

Island grows/shrinks to maintain
equilibrium vacancy concentration in the bulk.

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Equilibrium Vacancy Concentration

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