CHAPTER

Mechanical Properties
Of
Metals - II

7-1
 Recovery and Recrystallization

• Cold worked metals

become brittle.
• Reheating, which
increases ductility results
in recovery,
recrystallization and
grain growth.
• This is called annealing
and changes material
properties.

7-2 (Adapted from Z.D. Jastrzebski, “The Nature and Properties of Engineering Materials,” 2d ed., Wiley, 1976, p.228.)
 Structure of Cold Worked Metals
• Strain energy of cold
work is stored as
dislocations.
Structure of 85% TEM of 85%
• Heating to recovery Cold worked metal Cold worked metal
temperature relieves
internal stresses
(Recovery stage).
• Polygonization Polyganization Figure 6.4
(formation of sub-grain Dislocations
structure) takes place. Slip bands Grain Boundaries

• Dislocations are moved

into lower energy
configuration.
Structure of stress
relieved metal TEM of stress
Figure 6.2 and 6.3 relived metal
7-3 (After “Metals Handbook,” vol 7, 8th ed., American Society of Metals, 1972, p.243)
 Recrystallization

• If metal is held at recrystallization temperature long

enough, cold worked structure is completely replaced
with recrystallized grain structure.
• Two mechanisms of recrystallization
 Expansion of nucleus
 Migration of grains.
More deformed
Structure and TEM of
region
Recrystallized metal

Migration
Expansion

Nucleus of
recrystallized grain
Figure 6.5
Figure 6.2 and 6.3
7-4 (After “Metals Handbook,” vol 7, 8th ed., American Society of Metals, 1972, p.243)
 Effects on Mechanical Properties
• Annealing decreases tensile strength, increases
ductility.
• Example:
85% Cu &
15% Zn
50% cold Annealed 1 h
rolled 4000C

Tensile strength Tensile strength

75 KSI 45 KSI
Ductility 3% Ductility 38 %

• Factors affecting recrystalization:

 Amount of prior deformation
 Temperature and time
 Initial grain size
 Composition of metal Figure 6.6

7-5 (After “Metals Handbook,” vol 2, 9th ed., American Society of Metals, 1979, p.320)
 Facts About Recrystallization
• A minimum amount of deformation is needed.
• The smaller the deformation, the higher the recrystallization
temperature.
• The Higher the temperature, the less time required.
• The greater the degree of deformation, the smaller the
recrystallized grains.
• The Larger the original grain
size, the greater the amount of
deformation that is required
to produce equivalent
temperature.
• Recrystallization temperature Figure 6.7b
Continuous annealing
increases with purity of metals.
7-6 (After W.L. Roberts, “Flat Processing of steel,” Marcel Dekker, 1988.)
 Fracture of Metals – Ductile Fracture
• Fracture results in separation of stressed solid into two
or more parts.
• Ductile fracture : High plastic deformation & slow
crack propagation.
• Three steps :
 Specimen forms neck and
cavities within neck.
 Cavities form crack and
crack propagates towards
surface, perpendicular to stress.
 Direction of crack changes to
450 resulting in cup-cone
fracture.

7-7
 Brittle Fracture

• No significant plastic deformation before fracture.

• Common at high strain rates and low temperature.
• Three stages:
 Plastic deformation concentrates
dislocation along slip planes.
 Microcracks nucleate due to shear
stress where dislocations are blocked.
 Crack propagates to fracture. SEM of ductile fracture

• Example: HCP Zinc ingle crystal

under high stress along {0001}
plane undergoes brittle fracture.

SEM of brittle fracture

Figure 6.11 & 6.13
7-8 (From ASM handbook vol 12, page 12 and 14)
 Ductile and Brittle Fractures

Ductile fracture Brittle Fracture

 Brittle Fractures (cont..)

• Brittle fractures are due to defects like

 Folds
 Undesirable grain flow
 Porosity
 Tears and Cracks
 Corrosion damage
 Embrittlement due to atomic hydrogen
• At low operating temperature, ductile to brittle
transition takes place
 Toughness and Impact Testing

• Toughness is a measure of energy absorbed before

failure.
• Impact test measures the
ability of metal to absorb
impact.
Toughness is measured
using impact testing
machine

Figure 6.14

7-9
 Impact testing (Cont…)
• Also used to find the temperature range for ductile to
brittle transition.

Figure 6.15 Figure 6.16

•

7-10 (After J.A.Rinebolt and W.H. Harris, Trans. ASM, 43: 1175(1951))
 Fracture Toughness

• Cracks and flaws cause stress concentration.

K1  Y a
K1 = Stress intensity factor.
σ = Applied stress.
a = edge crack length
Y = geometric constant.
Figure 6.17

KIc = critical value of

stress intensity Example:
Al 2024 T851 26.2MPam1/2
factor.(Fracture toughness) 4340 alloy steel 60.4MPam1/2
 Y f a
7-11
 Measuring Fracture Toughness

• A notch is machined in a specimen of sufficient

thickness B.
• B>>a plain strain condition.
• B = 2.5(KIc/Yield strength)2
• Specimen is tensile tested.
• Higher the KIc value, more
ductile the metal is.
• Used in design to find
allowable flaw size.

Figure 6.18
7-12 Courtesy of White Shell research)
 Fatigue of Metals

• Metals often fail at much lower stress at cyclic loading

compared to static loading.
• Crack nucleates at region of stress concentration and
propagates due to cyclic loading.
• Failure occurs when
cross sectional area
of the metal too small
to withstand applied
Fracture started here
load.
Figure 6.19
Fatigue fractured
surface of keyed
shaft
Final rupture
7-13 (After “Metals Handbook,” vol 9, 8th ed., American Society of Metals, 1974, p.389)
 Fatigues Testing

• Alternating compression and tension load is applied on

metal piece tapered towards center.

Figure 6.21

Figure 6.20

• Stress to cause failure S

and number of cycles
required N are plotted
to form SN curve.
Figure 6.23
7-14 (After H.W. Hayden, W.G. Moffatt, and J.Wulff, “The structure and Properties of Materials,” vol. III, Wiley, 1965, p.15.)
 Cyclic Stresses

• Different types of stress cycles are possible (axial,

torsional and flexural).

Figure 6.24

 max   min  max   min

Stress amplitude =  a 
Mean stress =  m  2
2

Stress range =  r   max   min  min

Stress range = R 
 max
7-15
 Structural Changes in Fatigue Process

• Crack initiation first occurs.

• Reversed directions of crack initiation caused surface
ridges and groves called slipband extrusion and
intrusion.
• This is stage I and is very slow (10-10 m/cycle).
• Crack growth changes
direction to be perpendi-
cular to maximum tensile
stress (rate microns/sec).
• Sample ruptures by ductile Persistent slip bands
In copper crystal
failure when remaining
cross-sectional area is small to withstand the stress.
Figure 6.26
7-16 Courtesy of Windy C. Crone, University of Wisconsin
 Factors Affecting Fatigue Strength

• Stress concentration: Fatigue strength is

reduced by stress concentration.
• Surface roughness: Smoother surface
increases the fatigue strength.
• Surface condition: Surface treatments like
carburizing and nitriding increases fatigue
life.
• Environment: Chemically reactive
environment, which might result in
corrosion, decreases fatigue life.

7-17
 Fatigue Crack Propagation Rate

• Notched specimen used.

• Cyclic fatigue action is generated.
• Crack length is measured by change in potential
produced by crack opening.

Figure 6.27

7-18(After “Metals Handbook,” Vol 8, 9th ed., American Society of Metals, 1985, p.388.)
 Stress & Crack Length Fatigue Crack Propagation.

• When ‘a’ is small, da/dN

is also small.
• da/dN increases with inc-
σ2 σ1 reasing crack length.
Δa • Increase in σ increases
ΔN  da 
Δa   crack growth rate.
ΔN  da   dN 2
 
 dN 1
da = fatigue crack growth
da dN rate.
α f(σ,a)
Figure 6.28
dN ΔK = Kmax-Kmin = stress
 AK m
intensity factor range.

A,m = Constants depending on material, environment, frequency

temperature and stress ratio.
7-19
 Fatigue Crack Growth rate Versus ΔK

 da 
Log    Log ( AK m )
 dN 
 m.Log ( K )  Log ( A)
Straight line with slope m

Limiting value of ΔK below

Which there is no measurable
Crack growth is called stress
intensity factor range
threshold ΔKth

Figure 6.29

7-20 (After P.C. Paris et al. Stress analysis and growth of cracks, STP 513 ASTM, Philadelphia, 1972, PP. 141-176
 Fatigue Life Calculation
da
 AK m
dN
But K  Y a
m m

Therefore K m  y m m 2 a 2
m m
da
Therefore  A( y m m 2 a 2 )
dN
Integrating from initial crack size a0 to final crack size af
at number of fatigue cycles Nf
af m m Nf

     dN
m m 2 2
da A y a m m
( ) 1 ( ) 1
a0 0 af 2  a0 2
Integrating and solving for Nf Nf  m
m
(Assuming Y is independent of crack length) Ay   ( 
m m 2
 1)
2
7-21
 Creep in Metals
• Creep is progressive deformation under constant
stress.
• Important in high temperature applications.
• Primary creep: creep rate
• decreases with time due
to strain hardening.
• Secondary creep: Creep
rate is constant due to
simultaneous strain hard-
ening and recovery process.
• Tertiary creep: Creep rate
increases with time leading
to necking and fracture.
Figure 6.30

7-22
 Creep Test

• Creep test determines the effect of temperature and

stress on creep rate.
• Metals are tested at constant stress at different
temperature & constant temperature with different
stress.
High temperature
or stress

Medium temperature Figure 6.33

or stress
Low temperature Creep strength: Stress to produce
or stress Minimum creep rate of 10-5%/h
At a given temperature.
Figure 6.32
7-23
 Creep Test (Cont..)

• Creep rupture test is same as creep test but aimed at

failing the specimen.
• Plotted as log stress
versus log rupture time.
• Time for stress rupture
decreases with increased
stress and temperature. Figure 6.35

Figure 6.34
7-24 (After H.E. McGannon [ed]. “ The making, shaping and Treating of Steel,” 9 th ed., United States Steel, 1971, p. 1256
 Larsen Miller Parameter
• Larsen Miller parameter is used to represent creep-
stress rupture data.
P(Larsen-Miller) = T[log tr + C]
T = temperature(K), tr = stress-rupture time h
C = Constant (order of 20)

Also, P(Larsen-Miller) = [T(0C) + 273(20+log tr)

or P(Larsen-Miller) = [T(0F) + 460(20+log tr)

• At a given stress level, the log time to stress rupture

plus constant multiplied by temperature remains
constant for a given material.

7-25
 Larsen Miller Parameter

If two variables of time to

rupture, temperature and
stress are known, 3rd parameter
that fits L.M. parameter can be
determined.
Example:
For alloy CM, at 207 MPa,
LM parameter is 27.8 x 103 K
Then if temperature is known,
time to rupture can be found.

Figure 6.36

7-26 (After “Metals Handbook,” vol 1, 10th ed., ASM International, 1990, p.998.)
 L.M. Diagram of several alloys

Figure 6.37

Example: Calculate time to cause 0.2% creep strain in gamma

Titanium aluminide at 40 KSI and 12000F
From fig, p = 38000

38000 = (1200 + 460) (log t0.2% + 20) t=776 h

7-27After N.R. Osborne et. al., SAMPE Quart, (4)22;26(1992)
 Case Study – Analysis of Failed Fan Shaft

• Requirements
 Function – Fan drive support
 Material 1045 cold drawn steel
 Yield strength – 586 Mpa
 Expected life – 6440 km (failed at 3600 km)
• Visual examination (avoid additional damage)
 Failure initiated at two points near fillet
 Characteristic of reverse bending fracture
 Failed Shaft – Further Analysis

• Tensile test proved yield strength to be 369

MPa (lower than specified 586 MPa).
• Metallographic examination revealed grain
structure to be equiaxed ( cold drawn metal has
elongated grains).
• Conclusion: Material is not cold drawn – it is
hot rolled !.
 Lower fatigue strength and stress raiser
caused the failure of the shaft.
 Recent Advances: Strength + Ductility

• Coarse grained – low strength, high ductility

• Nanocrystalline – High strength, low ductility (because
of failure due to shear bands).
• Ductile nanocrystalline copper : Can be produced by
 Cold rolling at liquid nitrogen temperature
 Additional cooling after each pass
 Controlled annealing

• Cold rolling creates dislocations

and cooling stops recovery
• 25 % microcrystalline grains
in a matrix of nanograins.
 Fatigue Behavior of Nanomaterials

• Nanomaterials and Ultrafine Ni are found

to have higher endurance limit than
microcrystalline Ni.
• Fatigue crack growth is increased in the
intermediate regime with decreasing grain
size.
• Lower fatigue crack growth threshold Kth
observed for nanocrystalline metal.