Lab Report

Sohrab Randjbar Daemi
MAT 106 – Experimental Programme 3 - Laboratory Report
The relationship between the composition, microstructure, and mechanical

properties of different grades of plain carbon steels
Introduction
In this report, the results of three different experiments will be discussed, to
better clarify the relationship between the composition, microstructure and
mechanical properties of different grades of plain carbon steels.
In these three experiments different samples will be polished and prepared for
microscopical analysis, examined with an optical microscope so that the
microstructure can be determined and finally tested with a manual Hounsfield
machine to determine their mechanical properties.
Methods
 Preparation of materials for microscopical analysis
Before observing a sample with an optical microscope, it must be prepared so
that its microstructure can be clearly observed. At first the sample is fixed in a
cold-set resin formed by a liquid and a powdery part. After the resin has set, the
sample will undergo three different stages of refinishing. The first stage is
consists of grinding the sample with carbide silicon paper mounted on a grinding
wheel. This process is repeated various times, using three different grades of
paper, starting from a rougher one and proceeding to finer ones. Each time the
grade of the paper is changed, the sample must be scratched at right angles so
that the scratches from the previous operation have been removed. Although this
repeated grinding process removes most of the scratches and polishes partially
the sample, when placing it under a microscope it still displays a scratched
surface.
The next step is then the polishing of the sample. This is achieved by using two
grades of diamond paste also mounted on a rotating wheel. These fine diamond
pastes, at 6 and 3 microns, scratch the surface of the metal allowing metal
removal and producing a plastically deformed surface region. The sample must
be rotated in every angle so that the surface is evenly polished in every direction.
The surface of the sample is now shiny and mirror-like but it still is not suitable
for microscopical analysis as the scratches are less than the wavelength of light.
The last step of the preparation is so applied, etching. Etching is obtained by
treating the surface of the sample with a chemical etching reagent, in this case a
dilute acid solution. Before applying this solution though, the surface of the
sample is cleaned with methylated spirits and acetone. This etching process
highlights the grain boundaries as the atoms on the grain boundaries are more
chemically active than the rest of the grains and since these grooves reflect light
at a different angle than the rest of the grains they become clearly visible when
observed through an optical microscope. The sample is now ready for
microscopical analysis.
 Optical microscope observation

Four samples are observed through an optical microscope with four different
carbon contents: 0.1%, 0.4%, 0.75% and 1.1%. These samples are polished using
the method described previously and are observed through two different
magnifications, 15x12.5 and 15x32. Their microstructure is then sketched down
and some estimations on the contents of ferrite and pearlite and on the grain
diameter are made.
 Mechanical testing of materials

The mechanical testing of materials is a process composed by two parts: the
tensile test and the hardness test.
The tensile test is done with a hand driven Hounsfield machine on three different
samples with different composition and carbon content. These samples, A, D, P
have respectively a content of 0.1%, 0.4% and 0.9% of carbon and with the
mechanical properties that can be determined with this test are Young’s
Modulus, the upper yield stress, lower yield stress, ultimate tensile strength and
the fracture stress. All of these characteristics are determined with a graph
plotted directly using the hand driven Hounsfield machine.
The hardness test is instead performed with the Rockwell hardness machine.
The hardness is tested by pushing a shaped indentor into the material under a
given force. The hardness is then calculated from the depth of the impression or
the area of the impression.
Results
 Mechanical testing
Below are the graphs of the stress versus the strain of the three samples and a
table containing the main information obtained in the mechanical testing.
In order to calculate the stiffness of the machine, the slope of the straight line
traced by the machine during the measure of the stiffness itself is calculated. This
is done by selecting to random points on the line and measuring the slope, and
then applying the formula Δls=Δl-f/S, where Δls is the true extension, Δl the
apparent extension, S the machine stiffness and f the force.
S= (10,7-9,1)/(1,62-1,43)=8,42 KN/mm. The force versus extension graphs had
their origins corrected as well, to take in account the errors given by the
straightening out and bedding in of the various linkages of the machine.
 Microscopical Observation
Above are the sketched of the first examined sample. In the first sketch a fairly
big grain size can be noticed. An estimated 0.0206mm grain diameter has been
measured. In the second sketch the pearlite content can be observed, lying
between the grain boundaries.
As the carbon percentage increases, the Pearlite content increases as well but a
reduction in the grain sizes can be observed. An estimated grain diameter of
0.0158mm was measured. Also the impurities increase in this sample.
As the carbon content increases, the ferrite amount decreases but the pearlite
amount increases, as seen in the sketch above. Average estimated grain size here
is 0.014.
In the last sample, the estimated ferrite content is 10%, and the estimated grain
diameter is 0.00113mm.
Discussion
Enough information has been gathered for making several observations on the
microstructure and its relation to the mechanical properties of the samples.
By observing the relevant part of the iron carbon phase diagram, some
observations can be made.
Pearlite is formed when the following reaction, named eutectoid reaction, takes
place γ(0.77%) => α(0.022%C) + Fe3 C(6.67%C) at 727 °C. This product is a very
fine scale mixture between α (ferrite) and Fe3C in which thin plates of Fe3C are
sandwiched between thin plates of ferrite. Through the microscopical analysis
we can determine that the grain sizes of the samples with a major carbon
content, thus a major pearlite composition, is smaller in respect to the grain sizes
of the samples with minor carbon content. Since reducing grain size strengthens
considerably materials, the samples with higher carbon content can be subjected
to a major stress. This is because grain boundaries disrupt the motion of
dislocations through a material and having smaller grain diameters increases the
number of grain boundaries per unit of area.
This relationship between carbon content and toughness can be confirmed by
the tensile tests. An immediate comparison between the ultimate tensile
strengths of the three samples can be made from the stress versus strain graphs:
Sample P can be subjected to a major stress before it starts necking. The other
two samples have respectively lower UTS as their carbon content decreases and
the average grain boundaries increase. These results can also be confirmed by
the hardness testing with the Rockwell testing machine: Sample P has a higher
hardness coefficient.
Conclusion
By carefully preparing a sample for microscopical analysis and observing it with
an optical microscope, its microstructure can be determined. By then subjecting
them to a mechanical test, the various relationships between the microstructure
and the actual mechanical properties of the sample can be determined, with the
aid of an elaboration of the obtained results.
Reference
 W. D Callister, Material Science and Engineering (John Wiley)

Lab Report

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lab Report

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lab Report

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Sohrab Randjbar Daemi

MAT 106 – Experimental Programme 3 - Laboratory Report

The relationship between the composition, microstructure, and mechanical

 Optical microscope observation

 Mechanical testing of materials

You might also like