Material Science

Len Bin Annuar Rigos

Mechanical Engineering Dept
 Material Science
SYNOPSIS
MATERIAL SCIENCE provides students
with an understanding of material science
and engineering which emphasizes on
atomic and crystal structure, material
properties and behavior including material
classification and its application in the
engineering field.

The topic also covers the processes of

metal work used to produce engineering
components and apply basic principles of
material testing and processing through
practical.
Summary
(30 LECTURE : 30 PRACTICAL)
TOPIC 1 INTRODUCTION TO MATERIAL SCIENCE

TOPIC 2 MATERIAL STRUCTURE AND BONDING

TOPIC 3 MATERIAL PROPERTIES AND BEHAVIOUR

TOPIC 4 SOLID SOLUTION AND EQUILIBRIUM PHASE DIAGRAM

Summary
(30 LECTURE : 30 PRACTICAL)
TOPIC 5 METAL ALLOYS

TOPIC 6 MATERIAL PROCESSING

TOPIC 7 HEAT TREATMENT

TOPIC 8 MATERIAL TESTING

 UNIT 5 METAL ALLOYS
This topic describes the characteristics and application of ferrous
alloys and non ferrous alloys. It also explains the electrochemical
corrosion phenomenon includes the differences between the type of
corrosion and their remedial action to metal alloys.

On successful completion of the unit the student will be able to:

• Differentiate between ferrous and nonferrous alloys.
• List the ferrous alloys metals.
• Describe the characteristics and application of nonferrous alloy
materials.
• Identify the basic principle of corrosion.
METAL ALLOYS
Metals
All metals can be classified as either Ferrous or Non
ferrous.

Ferrous
• These are metals which contain iron.
• They may have small amounts of other metals or other
elements added, to give the required properties.
• All ferrous metals are magnetic and give little
resistance to corrosion.
Non-Ferrous Metals

These are metals which do not contain any iron. They

are not magnetic and are usually more resistant to
corrosion than ferrous metals.

Examples are: aluminium, copper, lead, zinc and tin.

 IRON
Physical properties: Mechanical Others
• metallic chemical properties: characteristic
element with the symbol • Pure single crystals of • cheap
Fe and atomic number iron are soft. (softer • easy to find
26. than aluminum) • Iron has a high
• group 8 and period 4 • malleable and ductile. melting point
element and is therefore (can be beaten and (1535oC)
classified as a transition drawn into a wire)
metal. • Good electrical and
• Alloying iron with thermal conductivity
• lustrous and silvery-grey appropriate small
in color. amounts (up to a few
• but oxidize in air to form per cent) of other
a red or brown coating of metals and carbon
ferrous oxide or rust. produces steel, which
(easy to corrode) can be 1,000 times
harder than pure iron.
Carbon steel

Carbon steel, also called plain-carbon steel, is a metal alloy, a

combination of two elements, iron and carbon, where other
elements are present in quantities too small to affect the properties.

Steels are described as low, medium or high carbon steels

according to the percentage of carbon they contain, although this is
never greater than about 1.5%.
Ferrous alloys metals

Percentage of
Type of steel
carbon
Low Carbon Steel
Up to 0.3% C
(Mild steel)
Medium carbon steel 0.3% to 0.6% C

High carbon steel 0.6% to 1.4% C

 Low Carbon Steel

• Has less than 0.3% carbon. The material is generally used as it

comes from the hot forming or cold forming processes.

Advantages
• Posses good weld ability: best of all metals
• Lowest cost.
• Rated at 55-60% machinability.
• 0.1%-0.2%C: chain, rivets, nails, wire, pipe, and where very soft,
plastic steel is needed.
• 0.2-0.3%C: structural steels, machine parts, soft and tough steels.
 Medium Carbon Steel
• 0.3 to 0.6% carbon.
Special Advantages
• Machinability is 60-70%; therefore cut slightly better than low carbon
steels.
• Good toughness and ductility
• Extremely popular and have numerous applications.
• Responds to heat treatment but is often used in the natural condition.
Typical Uses
• 0.3-0.4%C: lead screws, gears, worms, spindles, shafts, and machine
parts.
• crankshafts, gears, mandrels, set screws, screwdrivers
 High Carbon Steel

• over 0.6% carbon and less than 2% carbon.

Advantages
• Hardness is high.
• Wear resistance is high.
Uses:
• 0.8-0.9%C: punches for metal, rock drills, shear blades, cold
chisels, rivet sets, and many hand tools.
• 0.9-1.0%C: used for hardness and high tensile strength, springs,
cutting tools, drills, milling cutter, knives, saws,files,tools for cutting
wood.
 Alloy steel

• Steel is a metal alloy consisting mostly of iron, in addition to small

amounts of carbon, depending on the grade and quality of the steel.

• Alloy steel is any type of steel to which one or more elements

besides carbon have been intentionally added, to produce a desired
physical property or characteristic.

• Low –alloy steels containing about 1% – 4% of alloying elements

(some reference mention up to 8%)

• High alloy steels contain alloying elements as Ni, Mn, Cr, Mo, Nb,
W, V, Cu. The total percentage of all alloying elements is higher
than 5%.
 Stainless steel

• Defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 11% chromium content

by mass.

• Stainless steel differs from carbon steel by the amount of chromium

present. Unprotected carbon steel rusts readily when exposed to air
and moisture.

• Stainless steel does not stain, corrode, or rust as easily as ordinary

steel.
• Stainless steels contain sufficient chromium to form a passive
film of chromium oxide, which prevents further surface corrosion
by blocking oxygen diffusion to the steel surface and blocks
corrosion from spreading into the metal's internal structure.

• Different type of stainless steel:

• Ferritic stainless steel  + 15% - 20%Ni : great strength,

toughness, can be welded, forged, rolled & machined (vats,
pipes in chemical & food plant equipment)

• Martensinic stainless steel  + 11% - 14%Cr (steel valve,

turbine blades, shaft, scissors, knive, gears, ball bearing etc..
 FERRITIC STAINLESS STEELS
• Ferritic stainless steels have a
"body-centred-cubic" (bcc)
crystal structure, which is the
same as pure iron at room
temperature
• The main alloying element is
chromium, with contents
typically between 11 and 17%.
• The ferritics are usually lower
in cost compared to the
austenitic steels due to the
absence of nickel.
MARTENSITIC STAINLESS STEELS
• Martensitic stainless steels are
similar to low alloy or carbon
steels.
• Due to the addition of carbon,
they can be hardened and
strengthened by heat
treatment, in a similar way to
carbon steels.
• The main alloying element is
chromium, with a typical
content of 12-15%.
 Cast Iron
• Cast iron are family of ferrous alloys with a wide range of
properties.

• They are intended to be cast into desired shape instead of being

work in the solid state.

• Normally contain 2% - 4% carbon & other elements: Silicon,

Phosphorus, Manganese, and Sulphur.

• Low melting point (about 1200oC)  easy fills complicated molds

completely.
• Lower density and higher thermal conductivity than steels at
comparable tensile strength levels.

• Excellent machinability, allowing for high speeds and feeds and

reduced energy.

• Variety of casting processes for low, medium or high production.

 Types of Cast Iron

WHITE CAST IRON

NODULAR / DUCTILE
CAST IRON CAST IRON GRAY CAST IRON

MALLEABLE
CAST IRON
Types of Cast Iron:
Gray Cast Iron

• The grey colour is due to fact the carbon is present in the form of
free graphite.
• Content  2.5% – 4%C and 1% – 3% Si
• Properties:
• easily machined
• has a low tensile strength
• high compressive strength
• no ductility!
• Free graphite in their structure act as lubricant
• good wear resistance
• low cost
Types of Cast Iron:
Gray Cast Iron

Application:
• machine tool bodies.
• automobile cylinder block.
• Pipes.
• pipe fittings.
Types of Cast Iron:
Nodular Cast Iron

• Also known as ductile cast iron, spheroidal graphite cast iron, high
strength cast iron
• Its produce by adding magnesium besides C, Si, P and S into the
molten gray cast iron
• Excellent properties are due to spherical nodules of graphite in its
internal structure
• The present of magnesium is to lower the level of oxigen and
sulphur, to forms flake-form graphite to sphere-like nodules.
Types of Cast Iron:
Nodular Cast Iron

Properties:
• Good fluidity
• Good cast ability
• Excellent machinability
• Good wear resistance
• Similar those steel
• High strength
• High toughness
• High ductility
• Hot workability
• High harden ability
Types of Cast Iron:
Nodular Cast Iron

Application:
• Piston

• Hydraulic cylinder head

• Crank shaft

• Rolls for rolling mill

• Pressure-resisting casting
Types of Cast Iron:
White Cast Iron
• Formed when much of carbon in a molten cast iron forms iron
carbide instead or graphite upon solidification.
• The white colour is due to carbon is in the form of carbide.
(cementite)
• Carbide is the hardest constituent of iron.
• The cementite is caused by quick cooling of molten iron.
• To retain the carbon in the form of iron carbide in white cast irons,
the content of carbon & silicon must kept relatively low (2.5% - 3.0%
C and 0.5% - 1.5% Si)
Types of Cast Iron:
White Cast Iron

• It has a high tensile strength and a low compressive strength.

• Since white cast iron is hard, therefore they cannot be machined.
• Often used for their excellent resistant to wear and abrasion.
• Also serves as the raw material for malleable cast irons.
Types of Cast Iron:
Malleable Cast Iron

• Malleable Cast Iron obtain from white cast iron by suitable heat
treatment process (i.e. annealing).

• To produce malleable cast iron:

• White cast iron are heated in malleablizing furnace.

• Iron carbide of white cast iron dissociated to graphite and iron.

• Graphite in malleable cast iron is in the form of irregular nodular

aggregates called temper carbon.
Types of Cast Iron:
Malleable Cast Iron
• Heat Treatment:
• Graphitization
• White cast iron are heated above eutectoid temperature about
940oC
• Held for about 3 to 20 hours depending on the composition,
structure and size of the casting
• In this stage iron carbide of the white cast iron is transformed
to graphite & austenite
• Cooling
• Fast-cooled (7400C) and then slow-cooled  austenite is
transformed to ferrite and graphite (depositing on existing
temper carbon)  ferritic malleable iron
• Slowly-cooled (8700C) and air-cooled  austernite
transformed to pearlite  pearlite malleable iron
• Quenching (8450C), holding 30 min to allow them to
homogenize, quenching again (5900C)  develop martensitic
structure  tempered martensitic malleable iron
TERMS YOU SHOULD REMEMBER:
• ferrous alloys
• Stainless steel
• Cast irons
LEN BIN ANNUAR RIGOS
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT