KNS1042

Civil Engineering Materials

Lectures by: Dr. Delsye Teo

TOPICS COVERED (Metals Part 1)
 Metals: Iron & Steel
I. Iron: Cast iron & wrought iron
II. Steel: Steel Products
Definitions
 Alloy - is a mixture of metals melted together to form a
new metal with characteristics distinct from those metals
from which it is made.
 Stress – the force carried by unit area, expressed as
N/mm2 or Pa (or lb/in2).
 Strain – the deformation caused by a force. Tensile and
compressive strains are expressed as a ratio:
increase (decrease) in length
original length
Definitions
 Modulus of elasticity (E) or Young’s modulus
- Within the elastic range, stress is proportional to strain
stress
E
strain

 Elastic limit – the point at which deformation of a stressed

material ceased to be elastic and becomes plastic
Definitions
 Ductility – the ability of a material to undergo plastic
deformation before tensile failure
 Brittleness – the oppposite of ductility, in which fracture
occures with no plastic deformation
 Malleability – ability to be forged into the required shapes

 Toughness – a combination of strength and ductility

which enables a materila to withstand shock loadings.
 Hardness – the resistance to abrasion and penetration. The
expression ‘temper’ is often used to describe hardness, in
which a soft and ductile metal is said to be of ‘low
temper’.
Definitions
 Fatigue – a term used to describe the loss of strength
resulting from repeated applications of a force which is
less than, would cause failure with a single application
 Creep – is slow plastic deformation under a constant
stress which becomes significant in concrete stressing
tendons. It is more rapid at high temperature.
Definitions
 Work hardening (cold working) – is an increase in
strength and hardness of metals when rolled, forged or
otherwise manipulated at normal temperature. Unlike hot
working in which the grain structure during manipulation
is constantly refined, cold working distorts the grain
structure thus increasing strength and hardness. The
advantage of work hardening is that the metal can be
strengthned by cold rolling while retaining sufficient
ductility for subsequent manipulation. The disadvantage
of it is when ductility has been reduced to a certain level,
it will not allow further manipulation without heat
treatment.
Definitions
 Heat treatments – are highly specialised processes for
softening, stress relieving, and hardening. They involve
heating the metal to a critical temperature well below its
melting point and controlling the rate of cooling.
INTRODUCTION
 Metal can be defined as being elements which readily
form positive ions and they have high thermal and
electrical conductivities.
 Metals are divided into ferrous (based on iron) and non-
ferrous (based on metals other than iron).
 In the pure form, metals are often very soft.
 Most metals used are alloys containing controlled
proportion of different metals
 Deformation and heat treatment of metal affect its
hardness, strength, fatigue-strength, ductility and
malleability.
 Metals that contain a substantial proportion of iron (Fe)
are known as ferrous.
INTRODUCTION
 Ferrous alloys
 Iron
 Wrought iron
 Cast iron

 Steel
 Structural steel
 Heat treated steel

 Stainless steel

 Non-ferrous alloys
 Aluminum
 Copper
 Lead
 Zinc
I. IRON: CAST IRON &
WROUGHT IRON
PRODUCTION OF PIG IRON
 All ferrous metals are made from pig iron.
 This is produced in a blast furnace, by heating a mixture
of iron ore and coke, with limestone and other materials
designed to separate iron from the earthy materials at
about 1100°C.
 A blast of hot air injected at the base of the furnace reacts
with the coke to melt the iron.
 Some of the coke combines with oxygen and is given off
as gas.
 Some of it combines with the molten pig iron, which
acquire a high carbon content, some 3 to 4%.
CAST IRON
 Cast iron is produced by re-melting pig iron together with steel
and cast iron scrap, and also by recarbonising steel charges.
 Its high carbon content make it free-running and very suitable
for intricate castings, but not for hot working.
 Cast irons do not possess the good weldability of mild steels
but welds adequate for many purposes can be obtained by using
a suitable welding process and technique.
 Resistance of cast iron to corrosion is decidedly better than that
of mild steel and superior to that of wrought iron.
 Cast iron form an adherent coat of rust and because their
strength properties necessitate thick sections, they rarely suffer
serious corrosion.
 The problem with cast iron is that it is brittle, as opposed to
wrought or malleable iron, and steel, which are ductile
materials.
WROUGHT IRON
 Wrought iron, is a low carbon (about 0.02 to 0.03%)
ferrous metal which contains some slag.
 It is moderately strong in tension and extremely ductile.

 It is also very tough and resistant to impact. Hence it is

usually used for ship chains.
 The metal can be forged, even when cold, and two pieces
heated to white heat can be joined by hammering them
together.
 Its resistance to corrosion is better than that of mild steel.

 However, the metal cannot be cast, tempered, or gas or arc

welded.
CAST AND WROUGHT IRON
 Both are made of the same basic raw material – pig iron.
 It’s what happens to the iron after the initial forging that
makes them different.
 In the case of wrought iron, the iron is bent, beaten, cut, or
shaped while it’s hot.
 Cast iron is poured into a mold.
II. STEEL: STEEL PRODUCTS
STEEL
 Steel is a combination of iron and carbon.
 Typical steel composition:
 The carbon content may range between about 0.01% and 1%. The
addition of carbon not only hardens the metal but also imparts some
other distinct properties.
 Steel also contain varying amounts of manganese (less than 1.6%),
phosphorous, sulfur and silicon (less than 0.6%), together with some 20
other alloys.
 The alloys are added to molten steel to produce steel of different
characteristics, such as hardness, tensile strength and toughness.
 Up to 0.15% weight phosphorous can harden steels to aid accurate
machining.
 Nickel and chromium improve strength, and in low chromium steels, 3%
molybdenum is often added to improve impact values.
 Nickel, chromium, silicon, copper and aluminum also improve corrosion
resistance.
STEEL
 The term alloy steels in the industry refers to those steels
which have a 5% or more by weight contribution from
other elements.
 Table 7.1 gives some typical steel constituent quantities
 STEEL
 Steels are notable both for their high strength/cost
relationship, and poor performance in fire.
 Ordinary steels have poor resistance to corrosion but a wide
range of special qualities and forms for specific applications
is now produced, including those of high resistance to
corrosion and with high tensile strengths (of more than 1500
N/mm2).
 The design of steel structures is based primarily on the yield
stress or proof stress of the steel but ductility, toughness
(notch ductility) at normal and subzero temperature, and
weldability are often important properties
STEEL PRODUCTS
 There are 2 major categories of steel:
 Structuralsteel
 Non-structural steel

 All steel contains carbon

STRUCTURAL & NON STRUCTURAL STEELS

 Structural steels that carry designed loads are described as

medium carbon steels with typically 0.12-0.24% carbon.
They describe all the basic steels used for engineering,
often rolled steels.
 Non-structural steels fall below and above this category.

 Steels below 0.15% are describe as low carbon steels and

are flexible enough for pressing into sheets for cladding
and being drawn into wire. Because of the flexibility of
these steels, they are relatively weak, and for panels and
sheets to have some minor structural value, the shapes
pressed into them are also designed to improve their
rigidity.
STRUCTURAL & NON STRUCTURAL STEELS

 Steels between 0.5 and 1.5% carbon are described as high

carbon steels and are used for casting and machining.
 The appropriate specification of steel is dependent on
usage.
 The grade of steel numerically relates to the minimum
tensile strength expected for that grade.
 Eg. Grade 40 – 400 N/mm2
Grade 43 – 430 N/mm2
Grade 50 – 500 N/mm2
Grade 55 – 550 N/mm2
 Mechanical properties of structural steel
STRUCTURAL STEEL
 The selection of a steel for a specific application is
determined by several factors. These include:
1) The tensile yield strength required
2) The toughness, ductility and other properties required
3) The availability and cost
4) Arbitrary local conditions as may be imposed by
specifications and codes of practice.
HEAT TREATMENTS FOR STEEL
 The mechanical properties of steels can be modified by
subjecting them to one or more temperature cycles which
alter the shape and size of the grains and the mircro-
constituents of the metal.
 As the carbon content of steel increases they become
more amenable to heat treatment and a wider range of
properties can be obtained.
 The following common forms of heat treatment are
outlined in Figure 1.7
Figure 1.7
HEAT TREATMENTS FOR STEEL
 Hardening – Obtained by heating steel above a critical
temperature and then cooling it rapidly. Within limits, the
higher the temperature and the quicker the cooling, the
harder but less ductile is the result.
 Tempering – Gives hardened steel increased ductility with
only a slight loss of strength. Done by reheating to a
temperature below the hardening temperature followed by
cooling at any rate. The higher the reheating temperature,
the greater is the ductility, and also loss in strength. For
example, high strength friction bolts are tempered after
being hardened in oil or water.
HEAT TREATMENTS FOR STEEL
 Annealing – Steel is heated to a critical temperature above
600°C. It is held at this temperature related to the
thickness of the section, and then cooled slowly and at a
controlled rated, usually in the furnace. Annealing softens
the steel and removes internal stresses caused, for
example, by welding or cold working.
 Normalizing – Like annealing, the steel is heated above a
critical temperature, but more rapid cooling in air refines
the grain size and higher strength results.