Strengthening mechanisms

in
Metals and Alloys
Strength of a material is its resistance against
deformation, especially, against plastic deformation or
yielding. Yielding occurs due to movement of
dislocations in metallic crystals. Movement of dislocation
is stopped if some barrier or discontinuity comes in the
path of dislocations. Certain mechanical properties such
as Hardness and strength are related to the ease with
which plastic deformation can be made to occur.
To manipulate certain mechanical properties such as
strength, ductility and toughness; some ways are
exploited to control the mobility of dislocations within
the lattice structure of metals and alloy’s.
The techniques used for strengthening of metals
and alloys may be given as;
Strengthening mechanism in single phase
metal;
grain boundary strengthening
Strain-hardening
Solid-solution strengthening
In multi-phase materials ;
Precipitation strengthening
Dispersion strengthening
Phase Transformation strengthening
1. Grain Boundary/Hall-Petch
strengthening:
Grain boundaries are regions where atoms are at higher
energy level and also where atomic orientation changes.
Grain boundary is a widely used and inexpensive
method of strengthening materials by changing their
average grain size as the size of the grains determines
the properties of the metal.
 Smaller grain size tends to increase both toughness
and strength of metals.
 Large grains are however preferred for high
temperature creep resistance
In grain boundary strengthening the grain boundaries act
as pinning points thus; impeding further dislocation
propagation. Since the lattice structure of adjacent grains
differ in orientation, the dislocations can not, easily glide
past a grain boundary without outflow of more energy for
a dislocation to change directions and move into the
adjacent grain. Grain boundaries act as an impediment to
dislocation motion for the following two reasons:

Dislocation must change its direction of motion due

to the differing orientation of grains.
Discontinuity of slip planes from grain one to grain
two.
Hence, if there are more grain boundaries, there is more resistance to
the movement of dislocations and hence an increase in strength.
Consequently; grain refinement provides an important means to
improve not only strength, but also ductility and toughness. For
polycrystalline materials, the yield strength σ varies with grain size
according to;
σy = σy,o +
It is worth noting that the above relation does not hold for extremely
fine or extremely large grain materials.
2. Strain/Work Hardening
Apparently cold working of metals increases their
yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and hardness
increases on the expense of ductility. The above
changes during cold working are the result of strain
hardening which occurs due to multiplication of
dislocations according to Frank-Reed source.  During
plastic deformation there is a continuous increase in
dislocation density and the stress necessary to move
the dislocations continuously increases.
This can be described, in the form of an equation as;
Where is is stress necessary to move a dislocation in a matrix
of density ;

𝝉=𝝉 𝒐+ 𝑨√ 𝝆
stress necessary to move the dislocation in the same matrix
with zero dislocation density, and
A = A constant Gb/2 , where G is the shear modulus of the
crystal and b is the burgers vector.
Limitations: This method is applicable only to ductile metals
and also accompany decrement in ductility.
3. Solid-solution strengthening:
Involves alloying with impurity atoms that go into either
substitutional or interstitial solid solution. Accordingly, it is
called solid solution strengthening. Since no two elements have
the same atomic diameter, lattice distortion is produced when
one element is added to the other.
Solid solution strengthening distorts the lattice hence; generate
stress fields. Consequently; the stress field of dislocations
interact with stress field of impurity atoms resulting in increase
in flow stress causing movement of a dislocation. The resistance
to dislocation motion is greater with interstitial elements which
cause asymmetric lattice distortion, e.g., carbon in steel.
Smaller atoms will produce
a local tensile stress field
and larger solute atoms
will produce a local
compressive field in the
Substitutional SS Interstitiall SS
crystal. In both the cases,
the stress field of a moving
dislocation interacts with
the stress field of the solute
atom. This increases the
stress required to move the
dislocation through the
crystal.
Factors affecting S S strengthening:
 Atomic size difference: in atomic size difference the
intensity of stress field around solute atoms thereby
increasing the resistance to mobility of dislocation hence
increased hardness and strength.
 Amount of solute: The more the amount of solution the
greater is the lattice distortion leading to increased strength.
 Nature of distortion: Spherical distortion produced by
substitutional solute atoms is much less effective than non-
spherical distortion produced by interstitial solute atoms
4. Precipitation or Age Hardening:

Some of the alloy systems show increase in hardness with time at

room temperature or after heating to slightly higher temperatures.
This type of hardening is called precipitation or age hardening.
It is observed in alloys such as;
Al = 4.5%, Cu, Al = 6%, Zn = 2.5% Mg, Cu = 2% Be, Ni = 17%, Cu = 8% Sn, Ti = 6%, A1
= 4%, etc.
The conditions for pptn hardening include;
 The solubility of solute in the solvent must decrease with
decrease in temperature.
 The precipitate that separates out from the matrix should be
coherent
These coherent precipitate particles are powerful
obstacles to the motion of dislocations. 
Steps involved:
1. Heating (Solutionizing)
2. Quenching
3. Aeging
5. Dispersion Hardening:
The resistance to motion of dislocations is
produced via incorporation of finely divided
hard particles of second phase into soft matrix.
The increase in hardness and tensile strength is
due to the interaction of the stress field around
the particles with the stress field of a moving
distortion and also due to physical obstruction by
the hard particles to the moving dislocation.
Degree of strengthening depends upon;

I. The amount of second phase particles;

II. The characteristics and properties of second phase;
III. The particle size, shape and distribution.

The optimum properties are usually observed at a

concentration of particles from 2 to 15 percent (by volume),
their size between 0.01 and 0.1 μm, and a spacing of 0.1 to
1.0 μm between particles.
The dispersed particles are normally oxides,
carbides, borides etc. The main advantage of
dispersion hardened materials is their ability to
maintain high strength and creep resistance at
elevated temperatures of the order of 80 percent
of the melting point of the matrix.
The common method of manufacturing
dispersion hardened material is powder
metallurgy.
6. Phase Transformation Hardening:

Phase transformation is a change in the number and/or

character of the phases that constitute the microstructure of an
alloy, e.g., in steel conversion of austenite into martensite.
Due to rapid cooling, austenite (FCC) gets transformed to a
Body Centered Tetragonal (BCT) martensite by a
diffusionless process. Martensite is a supersaturated solid
solution of carbon in BCC iron with BCT structure and is
formed from austenite by shear mechanism.
This FCC to BCT transformation accompanies lattice
distortion and cause intense stress field around the carbon
atoms in martensite that effectively hinders the motion of
dislocations.
Thank you and Jazak Allahu
Khaera