L37-STRENGTHENING

MECHANISMS OF
MATERIALS STRAIN
AGING

MARTENSITE
GENERATION GRAIN BOUNDARY
STRENGTHENING

STRAIN
HARDENING
SOLID SOLUTION PRECIPITATION
STRENGTHENING HARDENING
 RECOLLECTIONS
HOW DOES A MATERIAL UNDERGO PLASTIC DEFORMATION?
DISLOCATION MOTION EFFECTED THROUGH SLIP SYSTEMS
TWINING INDUCED DEFORMATION.

ALL DEFORMATIONS OCCUR UNDER CERTAIN LOADING CONDITIONS

THE MATERIAL FAILURE CAN BE DUCTILE OR BRITTLE

BRITTLENESS CAN STEP IN DUE TO FATIGUE BECAUSE OF SLIP

BANDS INTERACTING WITH SURFACE AND BRITTLE FAILURE
OCCURS BY CRACK PROPAGATION

CREEP INDUCED DEFORMATION IS COMMON IN MATERIALS AT

HIGH TEMPERATURE
 DISLOCATION NEED TO
BEND TO OVERCOME
PRECIPITATE

ALL FAILURE MODES CAN BE

SUMMARIZED AS BASED ON
1. POINT DEFECT OR DIFFUSIONAL MOBILITY
2. DISLOCATION MOBILITY
3. GRAIN BOUNDARY SLIDING
4. EVENTUALLY CRACK PROPAGATION AND FAILURE

ENTANGLEMENT OF DISLOCATIONS A LOCKED

UP GRAIN
MAIN CAUSE FOR STRAIN HARDENING/ BOUNDARY
WORK HARDENING/ STRAIN AGING/ FOREST
HRDENING
( ALL POINTS TO SAME MECHANISM)
PREVENTION OF UNDESIRABLE DEFORMATION REQUIRES
STRENGTHENING OF MATERIALS AGAINST EACH OF ABOVE
MOBILITIES OF DEFECTS
 Strengthening Mechanisms
• The ability of a metal to deform depends on dislocation mobility

• Restricting dislocation motion makes the material stronger. i.e.,

Strengthening of a metal consist hindering dislocation motion. Dislocation
motion can be hindered in many ways, thus are strengthening mechanisms in
metals

• Mechanisms of strengthening in single-phase metals:

▪ Solid-solution alloying

▪ Strain hardening

▪ Precipitation hardening

▪ Grain-size reduction

Strengthening leads to reduction in ductility

• The relationship between dislocation motion and mechanical behavior of

metals is significant to the understanding of strengthening mechanisms.

• The ability of a metal to plastically deform depends on the ability of

dislocations to move. 4
ILLUSTRATION OF STRENGTHENING MECHANISMS
ROLE OF SUBSTITUTIONAL
IMPURITIES
IMPURITY ATOMS DISTORT THE LATTICE AND GENERATE
STRESS FIELD

THIS IS THE STRESS THAT RESTRICTS DISLOCATION MOTION

BY FORMING A BARRIER

 SERRATIONS

COMPRESSIVE STRESS
TENSILE STRESS IN
IN SMALLER IMPURITY LARGER IMPURITY

DYNAMIC STRAIN AGING (DSA) ALSO KNOWN AS ALSO KNOWN AS PORTEVIN-LE

CHATELLIER EFFECT REFERS TO DISLOCATION SOLUTE INTERACTION LEADING TO
SERRATED YIELDING AND SOLID SOLUTION STRENGTHENING. OBSERVED IN BCC
AND FCC SUBSTITUTIONAL AND INTERSTIAL ALLOYS.
 Solid-Solution Strengthening
Alloys are usually stronger than
pure metals of the solvent.
Interstitial or substitutional
impurities in a solution cause
lattice strain. As a result, these
impurities interact with
dislocation strain fields and
hinder dislocation motion and
increases the strength of parent
material.
Impurities tend to diffuse and
segregate around the dislocation
core to find atomic sites more
suited to their radii. This reduces
the overall strain energy and
“anchor” the dislocation.
Motion of the dislocation core
away from the impurities moves
it to a region of lattice where the E
atomic strains are greater
EA EA- E/A =E strain
STRAIN FIELD OF E/A = strain energy
DISLOCATION of dislocation
STRAIN FIELD
OF SOLUTE coordinate
 THE RELATIVE SIZE FACTOR STRAIN

THE STRAIN FIELDS DUE TO MISFITTING SOLUTE IS GIVEN BY

𝟏 𝝏𝒂 LATTICE PARAMETER
𝝐𝒂 =
𝒂 𝝏𝒄
CONCENTRATION OF SOLUTE

THE STRAIN FILD OWING TO SIZE DIFFERENCE CAN INTERACT WITH

DISLOCATION AND RETARD ITS MOBILITY . THE BREAKAWAY STRESS REQUIRED
TO PULL THIS DISLOCATION LINE FROM THE LINE OF SOLUTE ATOM IS

𝑨 A TERM DEPENDENT ON
𝝈𝑩𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑨𝑾𝑨𝒀 = STRAIN ENERGY DUE TO
𝒃𝟐 𝒓𝟎 𝟐 ELASTIC INTERACTION

Distance between
BURGER S VECTOR dislocation core and solute
atom~2X10-8 cm
 Strain Hardening
Strengthening by increase of dislocation density
(Strain Hardening = Work Hardening = Cold Working)

Strain hardening is the process of making a metal harder and stronger

through plastic deformation.

When a metal is plastically deformed, dislocations move and additional

dislocations are generated. The more dislocations within a material, the
more they will interact and become pinned or tangled. resulting in a
decrease in the mobility of the dislocations and a strengthening of the
material.

Ductile metals become stronger when they are deformed plastically at

temperatures well below the melting point.

The reason for strain hardening is the increase of dislocation density with
plastic deformation. The average distance between dislocations
decreases and dislocations start blocking the motion of each other.

9
 Strain Hardening D
The percent cold work (%CW) is σyi
often used to express the degree of
plastic deformation: σy0

UNLOAD
S
T
R
E
S
where A0 is the original cross- S
section area, Ad is the area after REAPPLY
deformation. ()
LOAD
%CW is just another measure of
the degree of plastic deformation,
in addition to strain.
 (strain)
ELASTIC STRAIN
RECOVERRY
Yield strength and hardness are
increasing as a result of strain New yield strength (σyi) is higher than the
hardening but ductility is
decreasing (material becomes initial yield strength (σy0). The reason for
more brittle).
this effect - strain hardening 10
 Precipitation Strengthening
Small second-phase particles distributed in a ductile matrix can hinder
the dislocation motion and thus increase the strength of a material.
Second-phase particles either can be introduced by mixing and
consolidation (dispersion strengthening) or precipitated in solid state
(precipitation hardening).
Precipitation hardening or age hardening is produced by solution treating
and quenching an alloy
Particle size, shape, volume fraction and distribution are key factors in
improving precipitation hardening (cannot vary independently).
Requisite for precipitation hardening to take place is that second phase
must be soluble at an elevated temperature but precipitates upon
quenching and aging at a lower temperature.
This limits the alloy systems which can be strengthened by precipitation
hardening. For example: Al-alloys, Cu-Be alloys, Mg-Al alloys, Cu-Sn
alloys
.
If the precipitation occurs at normal ambient temperatures, it is called
natural aging. And if at higher temperatures and the process is known as
artificial aging.
11
PRECIPITATION HARDENING
 Precipitation Strengthening-
An Example of Al-Cu Alloy
Precipitation hardening is
accomplished by the following
different heat treatments.

The first is a solution heat treatment

in which all solute atoms are
dissolved to form a single phase
solid solution at a relatively high
temperature (T0).

Rapid cooling or quenching usually

to room temperature (T1) to obtain
supersaturated solid solution Schematic temperature-versus-time plot showing both solution and
(SSSS). Equilibrium structure is α+β, precipitation heat treatments for precipitation hardening.
but limited diffusion does not allow β
to form.

Finally, precipitation heat treatment,

the Specimen is heated to an
intermediate temperature T2 (Fig b)
within the two-phase region, at which
temperature diffusion rates become
appreciable resulting in finely
dispersed particles rich in element B
start forming : aging 13
Al-Cu Alloy –A CASE STUDY-
MECHANISM OF STRENGTHENING
All low melting point materials are precipitation hardened to resist
deformation.
EXAMPLE: Al-Cu and Pb-Sb

Al- Cu alloys have been extensively studied.

Lattice strains are established at precipitate matrix interfaces

Copper atom clustering ( 25 atoms) inside matrix causes local strains

α-phase is rich in Al-contributes to solid solution strengthening

( Atomic sizes of Al= 125 pm/ Cu: 135 pm) Difference causes lattice
strain)

By heat treatment metastable θ// phase forms which passes into θ/

and then settles to equilibrium θ phase. θ// is the hardest metastable
precipitate. It can be preserved by cooling to provide maximum
strengthening
Heat treatment for precipitation hardening
AN EXAMPLE FROM Al ALLOY
GUINIER-PRESTON ZONE-FINE
PRECIPITATES-ORDERED- (3-10
nm)CONTRIBUTE TO AGE HARDENING

Schematic diagram showing strength and

hardness as a function of the logarithm of
aging time at constant temperature during
the precipitation heat treatment.

Schematic depiction of several stages in the formation of the

equilibrium precipitate (θ) phase

15
 Typical applications of Precipitation Strengthening

A transmission electron
Internal wing structure on micrograph showing the
Boeing 767 microstructure of a 7150-T651
aluminum alloy (6.2 Zn, 2.3 Cu,
2.3 Mg, 0.12 Zr, the balance Al)
that has been precipitation
hardened.
The light matrix phase in the
micrograph is an aluminum
Aluminum is strengthened with
solid solution. The majority of
precipitates formed by alloying and
Heat treatment the small plate-shaped dark
precipitate particles are a
transition η’ phase, the
remainder being the
equilibrium η (MgZn2) phase.

16
Strengthening by Grain-Size Reduction/
GRAIN BOUNDARY ENGINEERING
• This strengthening mechanism is
based on the fact that crystallographic
orientation changes abruptly in
passing from one grain to the next
across the grain boundary.

• Thus it is difficult for a dislocation

moving on a common slip plane in one
crystal to pass over to a similar slip
plane in another grain, especially if
the orientation is very misaligned. • Grain boundary barrier to
dislocation motion: slip plane
• In addition, the crystals are separated
discontinues or change
by a thin non-crystalline region, which
is the characteristic structure of a orientation.
large angle grain boundary.
• Small angle grain boundaries are
• Atomic disorder at the boundary not very effective in blocking
causes discontinuity in slip planes. dislocations.
Hence dislocations are stopped by a
grain boundary and pile up against it. • High-angle grain boundaries

• The smaller the grain size, the more block slip and increase strength
frequent is the pile up of dislocations of the material. A stress
concentration at end of a slip
SLIP
SLIP PLANES I plane may trigger new
PLANES 2 17
dislocations in an adjacent grain.
 Strengthening by grain-size reduction
The finer the grains, the larger the area
of grain boundaries that impedes
dislocation motion.
Grain-size reduction usually improves
not only strength, but toughness as
well.
Usually, the yield strength varies with
grain size d according to Hall-Petch
equation:

d is the average grain diameter, and σ0

and ky are constants for a particular
material.
Grain size d can be controlled by the
rate of solidification, by plastic
deformation and by appropriate heat
treatment.
The influence of grain size on the yield strength of
a 70 Cu - 30 Zn brass alloy.

Two important roles of the grain boundary which acts as a barrier to dislocation
motion; Difficulty for a dislocation to pass through two different grain orientations
(need to change direction). The atomic disorder within a grain boundary region
contributes to a discontinuity of slip planes from one grain to another. 18
 INTRODUCTION TO GRAIN BOUNDARY ENGINEERING
Grain boundary engineering (GBE) is the methodology by which the
local grain boundary structure is characterized and material
processing variables adjusted to create an optimized grain boundary
microstructure for improved material performance.

CSL-
COINCIDENT
GRAIN A LATTICE SITE-
BASED ON
ROTATION OF
PLANES TO
MATCH ATOMIC
Low-index planes are always related to (Low energy) REGISTRIES- A
Increasing the Interface connectivity MEASURE OF
Prevention of intergranular degradation ceases. DISREGISTRY
Enhancing the fraction of CSL boundaries
Restrict the intergranular failure in high
temperature creep deformations
Restrict grain boundary-crack interaction
 Recovery, Recrystallization, and Grain Growth
Plastic deformation increases dislocation density (single and polycrystalline
materials) and changes grain size distributions (polycrystalline materials).
This corresponds to stored strain energy in the system (dislocation strain fields
and grain distortions).
When applied external stress is removed - most of the dislocations, grain
distortions and associated strain energy are retained.
Restoration to the state before cold-work can be done by heat-treatment and
involves two processes: recovery and recrystallization. These may be followed by
grain growth.

Annealing of the cold worked metal

Annealing of the cold worked structure at high temperature softens the metal and
reverts to a strain-free condition.
Annealing restores the ductility to a metal that has been severely strain hardened.
Annealing can be divided into three distinct processes;

1) Recovery 2) Recrystallisation
3) Grain growth
20
READ MORE AT HOME GRAIN
BOUNDARY

GRAIN BOUNDARY SLIP PLANES

ENGINEERING

GUINIER-PRESTON ZONES

DYNAMIC STRAIN AGING-

PORTEVIN-
LE CHATELLIER EFFECT GRAIN B
GRAIN A

QUESTIONS

STRENGTHENING MECHANISMS

HALL PETCH FORMALISM

CASE STUDY OF ALUMINIUM ALLOY

CREEP RESISTANT SUPER ALLOYS

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR ATTENTION