CHAPTER 3 & 4

NON-FERROUS MATERIALS

3.1 Introduction: The non-ferrous materials may be either non-ferrous metals or non-ferrous
alloys. The term non-ferrous metals refer to the thirty eight metals other than iron that are known
to man. Two of the most important non-ferrous metals are aluminum and copper. They form the
bases of many important alloys.
3.2 Aluminum: Pure aluminum is a weak ductile material with a low density (2.3 g /mm3
compared with 7.9 g/mm3 for iron). Its electrical conducting is second only to copper as is its
thermal conductivity. It is also highly resistant to atmospheric corrosion. Because of its low
strength, it is of little use as a structural material and for such purposes aluminum alloys are
preferred.
High purity aluminum contains less than 0.5 percent impurities. This is used where corrosion
resistance or high electrical or high thermal conductivity is required. Unfortunately aluminum
reacts violently with alkalis to give off hydrogen. It is not suitable for marine environments
.Aluminum is used for lining food processing vessels and also for architectural purposes. It is a
good conductor of electricity.
Commercial purity aluminum contains 1.0 to 0.5 percent impurities and these have
effect of strengthening the metal at the expense of reducing its corrosion resistance and electrical
conductivity. Only a few of the non-ferrous alloys and none of the non –ferrous metals can be
hardened by heat treatment processes. So the modification of mechanical properties by cold
working becomes an important consideration.
3.2.1 Aluminum alloys: Non heat treatable alloys do not respond significantly to heat treatment
processes beyond annealing and stress relief after casting or cold working. Heat treatable alloys
do respond to heat treatment and in particular to the processes known as solution treatment and
precipitation hardening.
The aluminum alloys may be casting alloys or wrought alloys. The non-heat treatable casting
alloys are essentially binary alloys containing aluminum-silicon copper are used for both sand
casting and die casting, whilst aluminum ,magnesium, manganese alloys are of high strength but
only suitable for sand casting. These alloys are extremely corrosion resistant and are widely used
for marine castings.
Typical wrought alloys contain either traces of manganese or traces of magnesium. A typical
non-heat treatable wrought alloy contains approximately 1.0 percent to 1.5 percent manganese
.This increases the tensile strength without materially affecting the excellent ductility of pure
aluminum. This alloy is corrosion resistant and widely used for kitchen utensils and corrugated
sheeting and for drawn aluminum tubing. Another important non-heat treatable wrought
aluminum alloy containing magnesium is highly corrosion resistant and is widely used in ship
building. Fig 6.11 shows the relationship between tensile strength and magnesium content. It can
be seen that the strength increases significantly as the magnesium is increase to a practical limit
of 7%.
Fig 3.2.1 Effect of magnesium content on the tensile strength of annealed aluminum
magnesium alloy.

3.2.2 Solution treatment: Fig 3.22 shows part of the aluminum-copper phase equilibrium
diagram. If an aluminum alloy containing 4% copper is cooled from the molten condition to
5000C (T1), the alloy consists of crystals of α-phase solid solution of copper in aluminum. The
solid solution does not become saturated until the solvus is reached at temperature T2. If the
cooling continues slowly ( equilibrium conditions)the crystals of solid solution will remain
saturated but some precipitation will occur. At room temperature (T3) the structure of the alloy
will consist of the α-phase solid solution containing a coarse precipitate of the copper-aluminum
intermetallic compound Cu.Al2. In this condition the alloy will be soft and relatively weak.
 Fig 3.2.2 The solution treatment of aluminum – copper alloys

If on the other hand, the alloy is quenched from the temperature T1 so that it cools quickly;
there is no time for equilibrium condition to be achieved. This is because it requires the grouping
together of atoms by diffusion for precipitation to occur and this is a relatively slow process. The
result of quenching from temperature T1 is to prevent precipitation so that the grains consist of a
supersaturated solid solution of α-phase alloy at room temperature. This is referred to as solution
treatment and is the way in which such aluminum alloy may be annealed or softened ready for
cold working. In this condition , the alloy will have a fine grain structure and will be somewhat
harder, stronger and tougher than when cooled under equilibrium conditions, but still very
ductile.

3.2.3 Precipitation hardening: The solution treated alloy can retain its supersaturated solid
solution of α-phase grains at room temperature .However this is not a stable condition and
precipitation of the copper–aluminum inter-metallic compound Cu.Al2 will occur with elapse of
time. The precipitate will be in the form of fine particles evenly distributed through the mass of
the metal to give greater strength and hardness than that resulting from the coarse precipitation
attained by cooling under equilibrium conditions. When precipitation hardening occurs
materially over a period of about 4 days it is referred as natural aging. When precipitation
process is speeded up by reheating the alloy to about 1650C for 10 hours, it is referred to as
‘artificial ageing’. Both these hardening processes are referred to as ‘precipitation age
hardening.’ The precipitation process chosen has an appreciable effect on the strength and
hardness of the alloy as can be seen from Fig 5.23

Fig 3.2.3 Effects of time and temperature on the precipitation hardening of aluminum
alloys

Since solid solutions tend to be soft and ductile (the alloy is softened by solution
treatment) and inter -metallic compounds tend to be hard and brittle, it is the presence of the fine
particles of Cu.Al2 precipitate which increases the strength and hardness of the precipitation age-
hardened alloy. The greater the amount of the inter- metallic precipitate present, the harder and
stronger will be the alloy.

3.2.4 Uses of aluminum: Light weight, high specific strength, ability to be joined readily by
riveting and welding and good atmospheric corrosion make aluminum ideal for train, truck and
aircraft construction.
Aluminum is used in the food processing industry, in the manufacture of tooth paste
tubes, in the architectural wall panels and window frames because of corrosion resistance and
excellent appearance. It is used for lighting reflectors, industrial and home insulation. The high
electrical conductivity of aluminum has resulted in its use in transmission lines and electric
motors. Good machinability accounts for many applications, including its use in automatic screw
machines.
4.3 Copper: Very pure copper has a density of 8.93 g/mm3.It is very ductile and can be readily
drawn into rods, wires and tubes. It has excellent electrical and thermal conductivity .And it has
good corrosion resistance.
High conductivity copper has a purity better that 99.9 percent. The high conductivity
copper is insufficiently strong because of its high degree of purity. To increase its strength,
impurities in the form of copper oxides are allowed to form in the metal. Such coppers are
referred to as ‘tough pitch’ are used for general purpose sheets, rods and tubes. Pure copper is a
difficult material to machine to a good surface finish. However the addition of traces of the metal
tellurium or the non-metal sulphur produces a free-cutting copper with only slightly imposed
ductility and conductivity.

4.3.1 Beryllium copper: It is used where mechanical rather than electrical properties are
required. Beryllium copper can be softened by heating it to 8000C and quenching. In this
condition the material can be extensively cold worked and machined.
Beryllium copper is used widely for instrument springs, flexible bellows, corrugated
diaphragms and the bourdon tubes of pressure gauges. Hand tools made of beryllium copper are
almost as strong and hardwearing as those made from steel but since they will not strike spikes
from other metals or from flint stones, such tools are used widely in hazardous locations where
there is a high risk of fire or explosions, for examples mines, oil refineries, oil rigs, chemical
plants.
4.4 The brass alloys: These are alloys of copper and zinc. They tend to give poor quality porous
casting. A popular alloy for cold working operations is ‘cartridge brass’ containing 30 percent
zinc and 70 percent copper. It is the most ductile of all the copper – zinc alloys. Widely it is used
in sheet metal processing for severe deep drawing operations. Originally it was developed for
making cartridge cases, hence its name.
The ductility of alloy decreases as the zinc percent increases. Beyond
40 percent, it decreases very rapidly. Muntz metal is an alloy containing 40 percent zinc and 60
percent copper. It is not suitable for cold working but hot works well .It is relatively cheap due to
its high zinc content. It is widely used for extrusion and hot stamping processes.
The brass alloy containing 58% copper, 39% zinc and 3% lead is excellent for
hot working and high speed machining of low strength components ,but not suitable for cold
working. Naval brass is virtually Muntz metal plus a little tin to prevent corrosion in the presence
of salt water. ( i.e 62% Cu,37% Zn,1% Sn ). And admiralty brass is virtually cartridge brass plus
a little tin to prevent corrosion in the presence of salt water ( i.e 70% Cu,29% Zn and 1% Sn ).
4.5The tin bronze alloys: These are alloys of copper and tin together with a deoxidizer. The
deoxidizer is essential to prevent the tin content oxidizing during casting or hot working.
Oxidation of the tin would result in a weak, ’scratchy’ bronze. Two oxidizers are commonly used
:(a) phosphorous in the phosphorous –bronze alloys.(b) Zinc in the gun-metal alloys.
Most bronze components are in the form of castings. These alloys are more expensive than brass
alloys, but they are stronger, more corrosion resistant and give sound, pressure tight castings
which are widely used for steam and hydraulic valve bodies and mechanisms. Admiralty gun
metal is suitable for sand casting where fine –grained, pressure tight components such as pump
and valve bodies are required. The composition is 88% Cu, 2%Zn and 10%Sn.
4.6 Uses of copper: Pure copper is used principally as a conductor of electricity. It is used in
heat exchangers and as a corrosion resistant metal for the chemical industry. Since copper ions
are poisonous, copper is not recommended for most food processing equipment.
4.7 Magnesium: It is the lightest of all engineering metals with a density of only 1.7 gm/mm 3.Its
electrical and thermal conductivity is 60 percent that of high conductivity copper. It has a high
affinity for oxygen and burns in air with a fierce white flame. Because of the fire risk and
because of its low tensile strength, magnesium is used only as an alloying element.
Magnesium alloys contain aluminum, zinc, zirconium and manganese together
with rare-earth’ metallic elements in some instances. Magnesium has poor creep strength. Wear
resistance of magnesium alloy is also poor. The fatigue strength and corrosion resistances are
also poor. Magnesium is used in aircraft engine parts, housings for automotive accessories,
wheels, gas tanks, textile mill spools, portable tools and machinery where lightness is important.
5.8 Zinc: The pure metal is relatively weak. Its boiling point is so low that it is the only
commercial metal which can be refined by distillation. It has a density of 7.1 g/mm3 and a
melting point of only 4200C.
It is widely used as a coating on steel to prevent corrosion by atmospheric attack and
zinc –coated low carbon steel sheet is known as ‘galvanized iron’. They are widely used for such
components as car door handles, carburetor and fuel pump bodies and other lightly stressed
components. A typical zinc based alloy marketed under the trade name of ‘Mazak’ contains
aluminum 4%, copper 2.7% and zinc remainder, the aluminum acting as hardener. Zinc based
alloys are used almost entirely for pressure die casting.
Zinc coatings are also applies by directing a stream of fine atomized molten zinc at the
surface of objects too large to be coated by other methods. This is used for bridge protection and
though initial coat is said to be high, the method is competitive with painting. Sheardizing is the
name given to the process, in which objects to be coated are packed in powdered zinc and
heated.

4.9 Nickel: Nickel is similar to iron in some respects. For instance, tensile strength, yield
strength, modulus of elasticity and elongation are of the same order of magnitude in both metals.
Nickel also has magnetic properties, though not pronounced as in iron. It is more corrosion
resistant to water and atmosphere. For this reason a layer of pure nickel is hot rolled onto steel.
Pure nickel is resistant to oxidation at room temperature and at elevated temperatures up to
8200C.The casting characteristics of nickel are improved by the presence of silicon (1.5%) as an
alloying element. Silicon is added as a deoxidizer and to improve the fluidity of the molten
metal. Addition of aluminum about 4.5 % is made in some nickel alloys.
Nickel is used as an alloying element in steel and iron, in nickel rich alloys known for their
food corrosion resistance .Nickel rich alloy, by trade name, MONEL contains 65%
nickel,30%copper and the balance miscellaneous metals. This is high strength, corrosion
resistant nickel rich alloy.
Another class of nickel is known for high electric resistance. Some of these are nickel
chromium (Nichrome) or nickel-iron-chromium alloys. Some nickel-box alloys are useful
because of their magnetic properties. Permalloy is a nickel–base alloy containing iron and
sometimes chromium and molybdenum. They have high values for magnetic permeability and
low values for magnetic saturation. They are therefore used in transformers and other alternating
equipment. Resistance to high temperature oxidation is afforded by Inconel, an alloy of nickel,
chromium and iron. Good creep strength is afforded by Inconel and also by the Monels.
Nickel is sometimes used as the bonding agent in cemented carbides. These useful cutting
tools are made by compressing a mixture of carbide and pure nickel powder.
4.10 Cobalt: It has the same mechanical properties as iron. With respect to corrosion resistance,
the behavior of cobalt is more nearly like nickel, being superior to iron. Cobalt is used in high
speed steels where it contributes to red hardness by solid solution hardening of ferrite. It is also
used in magnet steels and the Alnico magnet alloys. The stellites are cobalt-base metals,
containing chromium and tungsten. It is the principal cementing ingredient in cemented carbide
tools produced by powder metallurgy.
4.11 Tungsten: It melts at about 34300C.It has a higher melting point than any other known
metal. Tungsten is also very stiff, having a modulus of elasticity of 50x106 psi.
Because of its high melting point and high atomic number, tungsten is used as a target material in
X- ray tubes. Filament wire for incandescent light bulbs is also made of tungsten. Cemented
carbide tools consist of hard carbides of tungsten (often with carbides of titanium and tantalum)
cemented together by a cobalt or nickel. Tungsten is an important alloying element in steel,
where its hard stable carbide is effective in resisting wear and softening at high temperature.
4.12 Tantalum: It melts at about 29800C.It has a mechanical property similar to those of iron.
At room temperature, its corrosion resistance resembles that of glass, except that it is attacked by
fuming sulphuric acid. At temperatures above 260-3150C, it reacts with all but insert gases. It is
used in surgical applications as suture wire and to repair and hold damaged bones. It is used in
electronic tubes. It is also used as a constituent of cemented carbide tools.
4.13 Molybdenum: It melts at about 26500C.Unfortunately molybdenum like tungsten forms a
volatile oxide at elevated temperatures. It has good high temperature strength, but must be
protected from oxidation. Molybdenum also possesses fairly good electric conductivity. It is also
used to make anode cups for electronic tubes, to support the filaments of incandescent lamps and
for electric contact points. Molybdenum is an important alloying element in steel because of its
strong influence on hardenability. It is also strong carbide former.
4.13 Chromium: It is used principally as an alloying agent in steel and to a lesser extent in non-
ferrous alloys .It imparts corrosion resistance to steel if present in amounts over 10 percent, has a
beneficial effect on hardenability and is relatively strong carbide former. Because of chromium’s
good corrosion resistance, its hardness and appearance, it is widely used for plating of hardware.
Chromium is used in massive form as a target in X-ray tubes.
4.14 Manganese: It is used exclusively as an alloy addition to steel and non-ferrous metals. In
steel it exerts a moderately strong effect on hardenability.
4.15 Vanadium: It has mechanical property similar to those of steel. Its most common use is as
an alloying element in steel, in which it is the most effective of the elements commonly used for
promoting hardenability. In addition it is very strong carbide former. In pure form, it has high
electric resistance and a constant temperature coefficient of resistance.
4.16 Germanium: It has received much attention recently as a transistor material. Transistors are
able to perform some of the tasks done by vacuum tubes. In effect they act as ‘valves’, actuated
by a weak signal to control the flow of a larger current i.e. they are capable of supplying an
amplification of the signal received.
4.17 Zirconium: It has good affinity for all excepting the inert gases. It is therefore useful as a
‘getter’ in vacuum tubes for removing the last traces of gases. It has a low neutron absorption
coefficient and this properly combined with its strength (comparable to low carbon steel) has
resulted in its use for structural parts in atomic energy installations.

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