Alloys

Sometimes alloy described as a "mixture of metals", but that's a little bit misleading because
some alloys contain only one metal and it's mixed in with other substances that are nonmetals
(cast iron, for example, is an alloy made of just one metal, iron, mixed with one nonmetal,
carbon).

Definition of Alloy

An alloy is a uniform mixture. A material that's made up of at least two different chemical
elements, one of which is a metal. An alloy has properties different from the metals it is made of.

Main metal

The most important metallic component of an alloy (often representing 90 percent or more of
the material) is called the main metal, the parent metal, or the base metal.

Alloying agents

The other components of an alloy (which are called alloying agents) can be either metals or
nonmetals and they're present in much smaller quantities (sometimes less than 1 percent of
the total).

Substitution alloys

If the atoms of the alloying agent replace atoms of the main metal, we get called a substitution
alloy. An alloy like this will form only if the atoms of the base metal and those of the alloying
agent are of roughly similar size. In most substitution alloys, the constituent elements are quite
near one another in the periodic table. Brass, for example, is a substitution alloy based
on copper in which atoms of zinc replace 10–35 percent of the atoms that would normally be in
copper. Brass works as an alloy because copper and zinc are close to one another in the
periodic table and have atoms of roughly similar size.

Interstitial alloys

Alloys can also form if the alloying agent or agents have atoms that are very much smaller than
those of the main metal. In that case, the agent atoms slip in between the main metal atoms (in
the gaps or "interstices"), giving what's called an interstitial alloy. Steel is an example of an
interstitial alloy in which a relatively small number of carbon atoms slip in the gaps between the
huge atoms in a crystalline lattice of iron.

How are alloys made?

The traditional way of making alloys was to heat and melt the components to make liquids, mix
them together, and then allows them to cool into what's called a solid solution (the solid
equivalent of a solution like salt in water). An alternative way of making an alloy is to turn the
components into powders, mix them together, and then fuse them with a combination of high
pressure and high temperature. This technique is called powder metallurgy. A third method of
making alloys is to fire beams of ions (atoms with too few or too many electrons) into the
surface layer of a piece of metal. Ion implantation, as this is known, is a very precise way of
making an alloy. It's probably best known as a way of making the semiconductors used
in electronic circuits and computer chips.

Metallurgy: Making Alloys

The majority of alloys are prepared by mixing metals in the molten state; then the mixture is

poured into metal or sand moulds and allowed to solidify. Generally the major ingredient is
melted first; then the others are added to it and should completely dissolve.

One difficulty in making alloys is that metals have different melting points. Thus copper melts at
1083 ̊C, while zinc melts at 419 ̊ C and boils at 907 ̊ C so, in making brass, if we just put pieces
of copper and zinc in a crucible and heated them above 1,083 ̊ C, both the metals would
certainly melt. But at that high temperature the liquid zinc would also boil away and the vapor
would oxidize in the air. The method adopted in this case is to heat first the metal having the
higher melting point, namely the copper. When this is molten, the solid zinc is added and is
quickly dissolved in the liquid copper before very much zinc has boiled away. Even so, in the
making of brass, allowance has to be made for unavoidable zinc loss which amounts to about
one part in twenty of the zinc. Consequently, in weighing out the metals previous to alloying, an
extra quantity of zinc has to be added.

Sometimes the making of alloys is complicated because the higher melting point metal is in the
smaller proportion. For example, one light alloy contains 92 per cent aluminium (melting point
660 ̊ C) with 8 per cent copper (melting point 1,083 ̊ C). To manufacture this alloy it would be
undesirable to melt the few pounds of copper and add nearly twelve times the weight of
aluminium. The metal would have to be heated so much to persuade the large bulk of
aluminium to dissolve that gases would be absorbed, leading to unsoundness. In this, as in
many other cases, the alloying is done in two stages. First an intermediate 'hardener alloy' is
made, containing 50 per cent copper and 50 per cent aluminium, which alloy has a melting
point considerably lower than that of copper and, in fact, below that of aluminium. Then the
aluminium is melted and the correct amount of the hardener alloy added; thus, to make l00lb
of the aluminium-copper alloy we should require 84lb. of aluminium to be melted first and 16lb
of hardener alloy to be added to it.
Why alloys are made?

Aims of making alloys:

The three aims of making alloy are:


To increase the strength and hardness of a pure metal

To increase the resistance to corrosion of a pure metal

To improve the appearance of a pure metal

To increase the strength and hardness of a pure metal

 During alloying, a small amount of atoms of other element is added to a molten pure metal.
When the alloy becomes solid, the positions of some atom of the pure metal are replaced
by atoms of other element of different sizes.
 The presence of these foreign atoms of different sizes disrupts the orderly arrangement of
the atoms in the pure metal.
 This reduces the layers of atoms from sliding over one another and making alloys harder
and stronger than pure metals.
 For example, when carbon atoms are added to iron to form steel, the carbon atoms which
are smaller size than iron atoms disrupt the orderly arrangement of iron atoms making it
more difficult for the layers of atoms to slide over one another. This makes steel harder
than pure iron.
To increase the resistance to corrosion of a pure metal

 Most metal corrode readily when exposed to air. This is because they react with oxygen and
water vapor in the air.
 Alloying can prevent metals from corrosion. This is because alloying helps to prevent the
formation of oxide layer on the surface of the metal.
 For example, carbon, chromium and nickel are added to iron to make stainless steel. Cutlery
made from stainless steel does not corrode easily.

To improve the appearance of a pure metal

 Metals have lustrous surface. However, the formation of dull metal oxide on the surface of
a metal makes it quickly lose its shine.
 Alloying helps to keep the metal surface shiny as it prevents the formation of metal oxide.
 For example, atoms of antimony and copper are added to tin, making pewter to have more
lustrous surface than tin.

Some important alloys

Following are some important alloys being used in daily life.

1. Steel Alloy:
The steel alloys are, Nickel steel, Chromium steel, Manganese steel, Tungsten steel, Vanadium
steel and Molybdenum steel.

Nickel steel alloy has better elasticity, lesser brittleness and higher tensile strength. It also has
greater ductility and hardness. It is used for making machine parts, shafts, boiler plates etc.
Steel containing 30 per cent nickel is called invar which has a low coefficient of thermal
expansion.

Chromium steel has greater ultimate strength. It is hard and tough. It is used for ball bearings,
crushing machines, permanent magnets, razors, rolls for rolling mills, cutlery etc. This contains
1 to 2.5 percent chromium. If the percentage of chromium is high (12 per cent) the alloy is
called stainless steel which is acid proof, stain proof and rust proof and is used for surgical
instruments, utensils, ornamental fittings etc.

Manganese steel contains 2 per cent manganese and is hard and strong. It has high electrical
resistance and is non-magnetic and has low coefficient of thermal expansion. This is used for
heavy earthmoving equipment, jaws of crushers, railway tracks etc.

Tungsten steel contains 5 to 7 per cent tungsten. This is used for lathe tools, drills, chisels,
cutters, reamers etc.

Vanadium steel has higher tensile and yield strengths. It is used for high speed tools,
locomotive castings, engine frames, chassis, crankshafts, axles, springs etc.

Molybdenum steel contains 0.2 to 0.3 per cent molybdenum (often along with molybdenum,
two more metals viz. chromium and manganese are used). It has high tensile strength at high
temperatures also. It is used for shafts, gears, axles, automobile and aero plane parts.

2. Copper Alloys:
Brass and Bronze are the important alloys of copper. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc
(copper content 70 to 85 per cent). It resists corrosion well and can be rolled into sheets,
turned into tubes, drawn into wires and cast into the desired shape.
Brass added with 70 % copper, 30% zinc. It is harder than copper, shiny surface. It is used in
Musical instruments, kitchenware, door knobs, bullet cases, decorative ornaments, electric
parts.

Bronze is an alloy of mainly copper and tin. It contains 80% copper, 20% tin. It is hard, strong,
does not corrode easily, shiny surface. It is used in medals, statues, monuments, art materials.

3. Aluminum Alloys:
Pure aluminum is soft, resists corrosion, conducts electricity well, so it is great for products like
kitchen foil, but for applications requiring a stronger metal, an aluminum alloy needs to be
created. Aluminum alloys are classified based on the other type of metal in the mix (zinc,
copper, silicon, manganese, lithium or magnesium) and whether the finished product is
wrought, which means it was forged and hammered into shape, or cast, which means it was
melted and poured into a shape before cooling. 

The important aluminium alloys are, Duralumin, Aluminium bronze, Aldural and Y-alloy (see
table-3 below)

4. Nickel Alloys:
Monel Metal and nickel silver are the two nickel alloys. Monel metal contains copper and small
quantity of nickel and other metals. Nickel silver or German silver contains copper (50 to 80 per
cent), Zinc (10 to 35 per cent) and Nickel (5 to 30 per cent). It is very white and offers good
resistance to corrosion. It is used for making scientific instruments and utensils.

5. Magnesium Alloys:

Dow metal and Electron metal are alloys of magnesium. Dow metal contains magnesium (87 to
97 per cent) Aluminium (4 to 12 per cent) and Manganese (0.1 to 0.4 per cent). Electron metal
contains magnesium (95 to 96 per cent), zinc (4 per cent), small quantities of iron, copper and
silicon. These alloys are light. They are easily workable. They are used in the fabrication of aero
plane components, frames for furniture etc.

Gold and Platinum Alloys

In the jewelry industry, gold and platinum are used to create some of the most important
alloys. These metals can be easily shaped into fine pieces, making them perfect for jewelry, and
other metals are added to create stronger pieces that won't wear down as easily or lose their
shape, in addition to giving consumers more affordable options. Yellow gold contains cobalt,
copper, silver, and/or zinc, while white gold contains either nickel or palladium, platinum is
typically mixed with iridium, ruthenium, or cobalt. 

Amalgams 
Amalgams are mercury alloys. The mercury makes the alloy much like a paste. Amalgams may
be used in dental fillings, with the mercury intact, although another use is to spread the
amalgam and then heat it to vaporize the mercury, leaving a coating of another metal.

Electrum

Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver with a small amount of other metals.

The man-made alloy of gold and silver is chemically similar to electrum but usually is
called green gold.

ELECTRUM CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

Electrum consists of gold and silver, often with small amounts of copper, platinum, or other
metals. Copper, iron, bismuth, and palladium commonly occur in natural electrum.

The name may be applied to any gold-silver alloy that is 20-80% gold and 20-80% silver, but
unless it is the natural alloy, the synthesized metal is more correctly termed 'green gold', 'gold',
or 'silver' (depending which metal is present in the higher amount). The ratio of gold to silver in
natural electrum varies according to its source. Natural electrum found today
in Western Anatolia contains 70% to 90% gold. Most examples of ancient electrum are coins,
which contain increasingly lower amounts of gold, so it's believed the raw material was alloyed
further to conserve profit.

The word electrum has also been applied to the alloy called German silver, although this is an
alloy that is silver in color, not elemental composition. German silver typically consists of 60%
copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc.