CF 3205

Materials and Corrosion

1.0 Properties of Materials

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 Properties of Materials
Motivation

• Chemical engineering problems often involve designing

equipment:
– e.g., determining the size of or flow rate through a vessel, heat
exchanger, distillation column, piping

• It is important to consider the materials used to construct the

equipment, because much of the equipment is subjected to
harsh conditions, e.g.,
– Extreme temperatures, pressures
– Corrosive or chemically reactive environments
– Mechanical forces
– …

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 Properties of Materials
Motivation
• What mechanical properties are required?
– Tensile strength, yield strength, ductility, toughness,
hardness, brittleness, stiffness, creep, and fatigue
• What chemical properties are required?
– What’s the material exposed to? Possibility of corrosion?
• What thermal properties are required?
– Heat capacity, thermal expansion, thermal conductivity,
melting point (range)
• What electrical properties are required?
– Conductor? Insulator?
• What other properties are required?
– Specific gravity, magnetic properties 3
 Properties of Materials
Motivation

• What dimensional properties are required?

• Are there any processing requirements that limit the choice of
material?
• Are there any material treatment requirements?
– Annealing, hardening?
• Special cutting requirements?
– Special cutting tools

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 Properties of Materials
Motivation
• Often there is not a single material that perfectly meets all
performance criteria. The choice of material involves
economic trade offs
• From Perry’s 8th edition, economics to be considered in
material selection include the following:
– Total cost of fabricated equipment and piping
– Total installation cost
– Service life
– Maintenance costs (amount and timing)
– Time/cost requirements to replace/repair at end of life
– Cost of downtime to replace/repair
– Cost of inhibitors, controls, etc. to achieve predicted service life
– Time value of money
– Depreciation, tax and inflation rates
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 Properties of Materials
Motivation

• E.g. Stainless steel vs. Carbon steel in a corrosive

environment (e.g., an amine sweetening unit)
– Stainless steel will last much longer than carbon steel before it needs
to be replaced, but stainless steel is much more expensive than
carbon steel
• How often will each material fail?
• How is the run length of the unit impacted? What is the downtime
to repair or replace?
• Is product quality impacted?

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 Properties of Materials
Motivation

Manufacturing Engineering & Technology 6th ed; Kalpakjian &

Schmidt 7
 Recap
• Elements on the periodic table can be classified as metals
(left), non-metals (right), and metalloids (around bolded
staircase).

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 Alloys
• Alloys are mixture of two or more pure metals

• Alloys tend to have better strength properties than pure metals and are
generally resistive to corrosion

• Alloys and pure metals often have special properties. This affects how
alloys can be used

• For example:
– zinc, magnesium and copper are added to aluminium to create an
alloy that is light but very strong. This is used in building aircraft
– chromium and nickel are added to iron to make stainless steel, which
is resistant to corrosion
– tin and lead are mixed together to create solder, which has a low
melting point and is used to join other metals together
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 Properties of Materials
Motivation – Metals
• E.g., steel, copper, aluminum
– Chemistry: Metallic Bonding

• Features/Advantages
– Of all materials, we have the most experience with metals
– Malleable and ductile – able to easily fabricate into process equipment
– High mechanical strength – able to withstand large forces & pressures
– Good conductors of heat and electricity

• Features/Disadvantages
– Subject to corrosion

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 METALS
Ferrous Non-Ferrous Alloys
Containing iron & Do not contain iron. A mixture of
almost all are e.g. aluminium, metals, or a
magnetic. copper, silver, gold, metal & small
e.g. mild-steel, lid, tin etc. amount of
cast-iron, tool- other substance
Steel etc.

Ferrous Alloys Non-Ferrous Alloys

e.g. e.g. brass (copper + zinc)
stainless steel bronze (copper + tin )
steel + chromium
 Properties of Materials
Motivation – Ceramics
• E.g., materials with alumina (Al2O3), silica (SiO2), …
– Examples/Applications: glass, concrete, brick, mortar, furnace
refractory, catalyst support material, tank or pipe linings, …
– Chemistry: ceramics are combinations of metallic and nonmetallic
elements. Ceramics can feature ionic, covalent or a mix of ionic &
covalent bonding

• Features/Advantages
– High resistance to chemical reaction, even under very harsh
conditions
– Good insulators of heat and electricity

• Features/Disadvantages
– Brittle – i.e., ceramics will fracture under forces of impact
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 Properties of Materials
Motivation – Polymers
• Polymers can be made with a wide variety of properties
– E.g., polyethylene & polypropylene  plastic bags and containers;
polyvinylchloride (PVC)  plastic pipe, vinyl siding
– E.g., Teflon; Kevlar; Nomex; Nylon; …
– Chemistry: long chains of repeating hydrocarbons. Covalent bonding
• Features/Advantages
– Many are non reactive at mild conditions
– Lightweight compared to metals and ceramics
– Many are mechanically flexible and tough
• Features/Disadvantages
– Many are not strong, Many cannot withstand high temperatures or
chemically reactive environments
– Polymers with best material properties are very expensive $$$

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 Properties of Materials
Motivation – Composite Materials
• A wide range of materials are considered composites. Two
or more distinct materials combine to form a composite
material which possesses properties superior to the original
components

• E.g., fiberglass – glass fibers reinforce a plastic

– Fiberglass is lightweight, strong, resistant to heat and chemical
reaction, does not corrode, easy to fabricate

• Other Applications
– High performance sports equipment (hockey sticks, tennis rackets,
mountain bikes)
– Aircraft body parts
– Computer circuit boards
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 Exercise
• What are the 4 general types of engineering materials? For each,
give an example that you might find in a chemical processing work
place.

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 Thought exercises
• For each of the following, indicate whether metal, ceramic or
polymer material should be used. Notes:
– We’ll ignore composite materials for this example
– Remember: ceramics and polymers can be used as linings in a metal vessel

1. A tank must hold an inert gas, Argon, at high pressure

2. A reactor (CSTR) will contain very reactive reactants at high

temperatures

3. A pipeline will carry a corrosive salt solution. The pipeline is

subject to considerable vibration and flexing

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 Types of Material Stresses and Material Properties

• How do I select a material for a specific industrial application?

• What sort of stresses will the material be subject to?

– Extreme temperatures, pressures, reactive chemicals, energies, forces, …
– At this point in the course, it is helpful to have an understanding of common
types of stresses

• What properties should the material have so that it can withstand the
stresses?
– There are hundred and hundreds of material properties that can be measured
– At this point in the course, it is helpful to understand the types of properties
important in engineering materials

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 Material Stresses

• A more formal definition of stress will be given later

• Stresses occur in any material that is subject to a load or
force
– Stress is the internal resistance, or counterforce, of a material to the
distorting effects of a load or force

• Engineering materials are subject to many different stresses,

many can be classified in one of these 6 categories
– Residual Stresses, Structural Stresses, Pressure Stresses, Flow
Stresses, Thermal Stresses, Fatigue Stresses

• In addition, the nature or orientation of the stress can be

thought of as tensile, compressive, or shear
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 Types of Stresses

• Residual Stress
– Due to the manufacturing processes that leave stresses in a material
– E.g., welding leaves stresses in the metals welded

• Structural Stress
– Due to weights that materials supports

• Pressure Stress
– Found in vessels containing pressurized materials
– E.g., due to pressurized vapour, or hydrostatic pressure of a fluid

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 Types of Stresses

• Flow Stress
– Due to a flowing fluid and the associated dynamic pressure
– The force of the fluid striking the pipe wall acts as a load

• Thermal Stress
– Exist wherever there is a temperature gradient present in a material
– E.g., ∆T causes different material expansion  internal stresses in the
material

• Fatigue Stresses
– Due to cyclic application of a load or force
– E.g., due to vibrations, thermal cycling, materials in a wear service

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 Stresses - Examples
Identify the type of stress present.

1. A highly volatile liquid is stored in an enclosed tank.

2. A section of the fuselage of an airplane became slightly

damaged in midair.

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 Orientation of Stresses

• The orientation of stresses can be described as tensile,

compressive or shear
– Mathematically, there appears to be 2 types; tensile & compressive
are +ve and –ve. But materials react very differently to tensile &
compressive forces 22
 Types of Properties: the Property Spectrum

• There are hundreds of material properties that can be

measured
– Very challenging and perhaps not very meaningful if we try to
memorize them one by one
– More meaningful to group material properties into major categories &
discuss some common properties

• Categories of Material Properties

– Chemical
– Physical
– Mechanical
– Dimensional

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 Types of Properties: the Property Spectrum

Manufacturing Engineering & Technology 6th ed; Kalpakjian &

Schmidt 24
 The Property Spectrum
Chemical Properties – In General
• Relate to the atomic and/or molecular structure of a material
and its formation from the elements (i.e., from the Periodic
Table)

• Usually cannot be determined by visual observation. It is

usually necessary to change or destroy a material to
measure a chemical property

• Examples:
– Corrosion resistance
– Flammability
– Composition (e.g., mass fractions of carbon and iron in steel)
– Molecular weight
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 The Property Spectrum
Physical Properties – In General
• Relate to the interaction of the material with forms of energy
and forms of matter. (Think of physics classes)

• Usually it is not necessary to change or destroy a material to

measure a physical property

• Examples:
– Density (or specific gravity)
– Thermal conductivity
– Melting point (range)
– Magnetic properties
– Electrical properties
– Color
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 The Property Spectrum
Mechanical Properties – In General
• Characteristics that are displayed when a force is applied to a
material

• Often relate to the elastic or inelastic behaviour of a material

– Elastic/Inelastic behaviour – i.e., when a force is applied how much is
the material distorted? When the force is removed will the material
return to its original shape?

• Destructive testing is often necessary (but not always)

• Examples
– Tensile strength, yield strength
– Ductility, toughness, hardness, brittleness, stiffness, creep, and
fatigue 27
 The Property Spectrum
Dimensional Properties – In General
• Dimensional properties are pseudo-properties
– Often not listed in textbooks
– Not a true property category in the field of material sciences

• Examples:
– Available size, shape
– Surface finish
– Manufacturing tolerances

• These things are important when we think of the practical end use
– Often we must buy equipment “off the shelf”
– E.g., Roughness of a pipe impacts pressure drop & pumping requirements
– Surface finish properties of parts for rotating equipment has a profound impact
on performance

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 The Property Spectrum
• There are far too many measurable properties to cover in any
detail

• We will cover some material properties with a focus on those

that have practical significance in material selection for the
chemical process industry

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 Chemical Properties
• Corrosion resistance
• Flammability
• Composition
• Molecular weight

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 Corrosion Resistance
• There are many forms of corrosion and many ways of measuring it.
A very broad definition: Corrosion is degradation of a material by
reaction with its environment
– Normally associated with metals, immersed in or in contact with a liquid
(e.g., harsh chemicals or simply water)
– However, a broader definition of corrosion would include polymers
becoming brittle due to exposure to sunlight

• Corrosion Resistance: the ability of a material to resist

deterioration by chemical or electrochemical reaction with its
environment
– Much of CF3205 is dedicated to corrosion

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 Flammability
• Flammability - is the ability of a substance to burn or
ignite, causing fire or combustion. The degree of
difficulty required to cause the combustion of a substance
is quantified through fire testing

• Flammable materials are generally not chosen for material

selection for equipment as most liquids and gases
produced in chemical processes are flammable.

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 Composition
• Composition – chemical makeup of a material.
– How much of specific elements are in the material?

• Composition of air – 78% N2, 21% O2, smaller amounts

of Ar and CO2.

• Composition of material chosen for equipment is very

important as chemical elements in material must not react
with liquids, gases inside vessels, piping, etc.
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 Molecular Weight
• Molecular Weight – measured in g/mol, is the mass of
a molecule. It is calculated as the sum of the
atomic weights of each constituent element multiplied by
the number of atoms of that element in the molecular
formula.

• Higher molecular weight materials are heavier in nature.

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 Physical Properties

• Density (or specific gravity)

• Thermal conductivity
• Melting point (range)
• Magnetic properties

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 Density/Specific Gravity
• Density – mass per unit of volume, may be considered
when comparing the capital costs of equipment that is to be
fabricated
– E.g., many engineering plastics are about 5 times more expensive
than steel per pound of material. Steel is cheap but very dense.
Plastics is expensive but not dense. If you need to fabricate a large
volume of material, plastic might be a better option

• Density may also be used to determine porosity (void space)

– Some metals and ceramics are manufactured by compacting small
grains or powders (sintering)
– Porosity: compare Bulk density vs. pure material theoretical density
– Porosity is usually undesired in structural parts
– In rotating equipment or parts subject to wear porosity is often desired
to retain lubrication 36
 Thermal Conductivity, K
• Thermal Conductivity, K: indicates how well (or poorly) a
material conduct heat
– Particularly important for heat transfer applications
– For steady state heat flow:

L×W = A
K  A  ΔT
Q, heat Q
x
Qx
K
Thot Tcold A  ΔT

btu  ft
K
W
or
x, thickness m  K hr  ft 2  F
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 Thermal Conductivity, K
• Thermal Conductivity, K
A  ΔT • Note, bigger K  more heat
QK
x transfer
K (W/m/K)
(at ambient temperature)
A
Copper 400
Q Gold 315
Concrete 1.4
Thot Tcol Air 0.03
d Iron 80
Lead 35
x
Aluminum 240

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 Thermal Expansion
• Thermal Expansion
– Important if dissimilar materials are fastened and heated
– E.g., aluminum expands at twice the rate of steel
– Important when there is localized heating on a piece of equipment
– Expressed as: ∆length per initial length per °C
• Typical Units: cm/cm∙°C or in/in∙°F
– Thermal expansion applies to the volume of a material  i.e., the
value must be applied to the length, width, & height of an object

Linear Coeff of Thermal

Expansion (10-6 in/in∙°F)

Copper 9.2
Gold 7.9
Iron 1.4
Carbon Steel 6 39
 Melting Point
• Melting Point
– Temperature at which a material liquefies on heating (or solidifies on cooling)
– Materials with a crystalline structure (e.g., metals, ceramics) tend to have a
single melting point
– Materials with an amorphous structure (e.g., glass, polymers) tend to have a
melting range
– Many polymers have a Maximum Use Temperature, i.e., a temperature above
which the material loses all useful engineering properties

• Crystalline Structure
– Atoms are arranged in repeating 3D structures  unit cells  lattice

• Amorphous Structure
– “Without form”, i.e., no repeating pattern

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 The Crystal Structure of Metals
Body Centered Cubic (BCC)
Atoms are arranged at the corners of the cube with
another atom at the cube center.

Manufacturing Engineering & Technology 6th ed; Kalpakjian &

Schmidt 41
Body Centered Cubic

Chromium
 The Crystal Structure of Metals
Face Centered Cubic (FCC)
• Atoms are arranged at the corners and center of each cube
face of the cell
• Atoms are assumed to touch along face diagonals

Manufacturing Engineering & Technology 6th ed; Kalpakjian &

Schmidt 43
 Face-Centered Cubic

Gold
 The Crystal Structure of Metals
Hexagonal Close-Packed (HCP)
• Atoms are arranged in a hexagonal fashion.

Manufacturing Engineering & Technology 6th ed; Kalpakjian &

Schmidt 45
Hexagonal Close-Packed

Zinc
 Magnetism: Ferromagnetism
• There are many material properties related to magnetism & magnetic
fields
– Primarily related to electrical engineering applications

• Ferromagnetism: will the material be attracted by a magnetic field

– Iron, Cobalt, and Nickel have ferromagnetism
– Other rare earth metals have ferromagnetism (niche industrial use)

• Soft Magnetic Materials

– Can be easily magnetized and demagnetized
– E.g., for use in solenoid valves, electrical power transformer cores

• Hard Magnetic Materials/Permanent Magnets

– Retain magnetism after removal of applied magnetic field
– E.g., for use in loud speakers, telephones
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Mechanical Properties – aka Strength of Materials
• There are a number of terms used to describe the strength of
a material
– Stress & Strain Behaviour
– Modulus of Elasticity (Young’s Modulus)
– Ultimate Tensile Strength
– Yield Strength
• Plus other properties commonly associated with the strength
of a material
– Ductility
– Toughness
– Hardness
– Brittleness
– Stiffness
– Creep
– Fatigue 48
 Strength of Materials
Mechanical Properties
• Many properties used to describe strength are measured by
applying a tensile load (force) on a sample of the material

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 Stress & Strain
• Tensile strength - of a material refers to the resistance to
failure due to extensional forces

• When a material is subject to a load or force, i.e., a stress, it

is distorted or deformed (change in shape) to some extent
– Regardless the size of the load/force
– Regardless the strength of the material
– The distortion is known as strain (no units)

• If, upon removal of the load, the material returns to its original
dimensions  the strain is called elastic strain

• If, upon removal of the load, the material remains distorted 

the strain is called plastic strain or plastic deformation
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 Stress & Strain
• Stress is the internal resistance, or counterforce, of a
material to the distorting effects of a load or force
– Note: we cannot directly measure the internal resistance, but we can
measure the external load. The external load is the sum of internal
counterforces
– Stress – force/load, strength
F
F P
Stress, σ  
A o Ao
F  applied force A
A 0  original cross sectional area
P  pressure exerted

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 Stress & Strain
• When a stress is applied to a material, Strain is the
proportional dimensional change or distortion
– I.e., strain is the fractional increase in length
– I.e., strain × 100% = per cent elongation

δ
Strain, ε 
lo
l o  original length lf δ=lf - lo
lo
δ  elongation ΔL  l f - l o 

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 Stress & Strain
• Yield Strength – stress applied at the point when plastic deformation
begins
• Ultimate tensile strength – maximum stress the material can handle prior
to failure. The point at which necking occurs.
• A Tensile Test is normally conducted to determine the strength of a
material. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67fSwIjYJ-E)
max F
UTS 
A

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 Stress & Strain
Tensile Test
• When specimen is loaded beyond
its ultimate tensile strength, it
begins to neck.
• Engineering stress at fracture is
called breaking or fracture stress

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 F

Stress, σ
L A

• Hooke’s Law Strain, ε

– In the elastic range of a material, strain is proportional to stress
– Stress/strain in the elastic region is referred to as stiffness.
• Modulus of Elasticity/Young’s Modulus, Em
– Applies to the region of elastic strain
– Equals the slope of the Stress vs. Strain curve
δ
Strain, ε  σ
lo Modulus of Elasticity, E m 
ε
F
Stress, σ 
Ao
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 Elastic Modulus: FYI

• Modulus of Elasticity/Young’s Modulus, Em

– Describes elastic stress/strain relationship for tensile and compressive
stresses
– The stiffness of the material

• Shear Modulus
– Describes elastic stress/strain relationship for shear stresses (when a
force is applied parallel to the face or plane)

• Bulk Modulus
– Describes elastic behaviour on a volume of material subject to
hydrostatic pressure, i.e., load acting in all directions

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Mechanical Properties of Materials
 Hook’s Law - Example
A sample of an aluminum alloy has an elastic modulus of 73 GPa.

1. What strain must be applied in order for the sample to yield a stress load
of 1.26 GPa?

2. If the sample was stretched to 50.1 mm, what was the original length?

3. If the original cross sectional area of the sample was 0.0159 in2, what is
the pressure applied to yield a stress of 182000 psi?

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 Ductility
• Ductility is the ability of a material to deform easily upon the
application of a tensile force
– Bendability
– Ability to be stretched (into a wire)
– Ductile materials show large plastic deformation without rupture
– Lack of ductility is brittleness

• Ductility is quantified by elongation and reduction in area at

the neck

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 Ductility
• Metals can be highly ductile, due to metallic bonds
– Atoms can slip past each other, free electrons can move to maintain
bonds
• Amorphous solids, e.g., plastics, can exhibit ductile behaviour
– Due to void spaces  individual polymer chains can slip past each
other
• Temperature influences ductility in many metals
– An increase in temperature increases ductility
– ∆T can change a material behaviour from ductile to brittle
• Malleability is analogous to ductility, but for compressive
forces
– Ability of a material to deform easily under compressive forces
– E.g., Hammered or rolled into a sheet

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 Brittleness
• Occurs when no plastic deformation occurs prior to
ultimate failure
• Associated with fractures
• Increased by low temperatures and fast deformation
• Associated with tensile and compressional forces
• Cast Iron vs. lead. If a material is brittle it is usually
not malleable or ductile
 Toughness
• Toughness describes how a material reacts under sudden impacts
– How much energy can a material absorb before fracturing?

• Standard toughness tests are known as the Charpy and Izod test
– A standard sized sample is placed in the apparatus
– A pendulum of a known weight is dropped from a known height, so that
sample fractures (and the pendulum swings through)
– If the pendulum upswing is small, i.e., post fracture the material absorbed
much of the energy of the falling pendulum  high toughness
– If the pendulum upswing is large  the material did not absorb much of the
energy  low toughness

– Results of toughness tests are relative. The size and shape of the sample, as
well as material composition, influence the results
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 Toughness
Toughness Test Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpGhqQvftAo

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 Hardness
• Hardness is the ability of a material to resist permanent, i.e.,
plastic deformation via indentation & scratching
• Good hardness generally means material is resistant to
scratching and wear

• Hardness is a resistance to wear

– E.g., via friction or erosion

• Several empirical tests for hardness exist

– A ball, pyramid, or cone is used to indent a sample of the material
being tested
– Hardness: measure the load applied by the indenter material vs. the
size of deformation in the sample
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Hardness Tests: General Principle
1. A small indenter is forced into the surface
of a material to be tested
2. Under controlled conditions of load and rate
of application.
3. The depth or size of the resulting
indentation is measured, which in turn is
related to a hardness number;
• the softer the material, the larger and deeper is the
indentation.
 Hardness

Brinell Hardness Test:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJXJpeH78iU
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 Brinell Calculation
Load divided into indentation area = Brinell
Hardness Number (HB)

2𝑃
𝐻𝐵 =
(𝜋𝐷 𝐷 − 𝐷2 − 𝑑2 )
2P
HB 
D(D  D 2  d 2 )

where
HB = Brinell Hardness Number (BHN),
F= indentation load, kg;
D = diameter of ball, mm,
d= diameter of indentation, mm
 Test Type: Brinell Calculation
• A 10 mm diameter Brinell hardness indenter produced an
indentation 2.50mm in diameter is a steel alloy when a
load of 1000 kg was used. Compute the HB of this
material.

• What will be the diameter of an indentation to yield a

hardness of 300 HB when a 500-kg load is used?
 Fatigue and Creep
• In materials science, fatigue is the weakening of a material caused by
repeatedly applied loads.

• It is the progressive and localized structural damage that occurs when

a material is subjected to cyclic loading.

• Creep is the permanent elongation of a material under a static load

maintained for a period of time

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 Metal versus Non Metals
• Metals are generally ductile, conductive, have a high
melting point, high density, most are magnetic, are solids
at room temperature (except Mercury), strong.

• Nonmetals are generally not conductive, brittle, not

ductile, low density, low melting point, are gases at room
temperature, but can be strong.

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 Review Questions
1. Differentiate between residual and structural stresses.

2. It is usually necessary to change or destroy a material to measure a

_______ property.

3. Why do materials with a crystalline structure have a single melting point

and materials with an amorphous structure have a melting range?

4. Differentiate between elastic and plastic strain.

5. Lack of ductility is referred to as ________.

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