Engineering

Materials

By- Group 3
 Introduction to Materials
● Material is something that consists of matter. Materials comprise a
wide range of metals and non-metals which must be operated upon
to form the end product.
● Whether this end product is a bridge, a computer, a space vehicle or
an automobile, a technician must have an intimate knowledge of the
properties and behavioral characteristics of the materials he
intends to use.
● The word ‘materials’ however, does not refer to all matters that are
found in universe but refer to that part of inanimate matters or
materials which are required to fulfill the growing needs of mankind
and are used by technologists, engineers and metallurgists.
● Therefore, these are commonly referred to as ‘Engineering
Materials’.
 Classification Of Materials
A. METALS-
Metals are composed of elements, which readily give up electrons to provide a
metallic bond and electrical conductivity. Examples are Iron, Aluminium, Magnesium,
Titanium, Brass, Copper, Nickel, Chromium, Cadmium, Duralumin, Silver, Gold, Zinc,
etc.
Metals generally possess the following characteristics:
(a) Lustre (b) Hardness
(c) Low specific heat (d) Plastic deformability
(e) Strength (f) Relatively high melting point
(g) Ductility (h) Malleability
(j) Opacity (k) Rigidity
(l) Weldability (m) Castability
(n) Stiffness (o) Dimensional stability
(p) Machinability (q) Formability
Metals are further classified as ferrous and non-ferrous.

(a) Ferrous
Metals which contain iron and its alloys are called ferrous metals, e.g.
Cast Iron, Pig Iron, Wrought Iron, Mild Steel, High Carbon Steel,
Stainless Steel, Tungsten Steel, etc.

(b) Non-Ferrous
Metals which do not contain iron are called non-ferrous metals, e.g.
Aluminium, Magnesium, Titanium, Brass, Copper, Nickel, Chromium, etc.
Non-ferrous metals in their pure state are employed to a very limited
extent but in alloyed forms are used extensively for manufacturing
aircraft structures.
B. NON-METALS-
Ceramics -
Ceramics are chemical compounds of metallic and non-metallic elements.
Ceramic materials usually consists of oxides, carbides, borides, nitrides, silicates of
various metals, rock or clay mineral materials.
The important characteristics of ceramics are:

(a) Brittleness (b) Rock like appearance

(c) Hardness (d) Resistance to high temperature
(e) Abrasiveness (f) Corrosion resistance
(g) Insulation (to flow of electric current) (h) Opaque to light
(i) High temperature strength

Examples of Ceramic Materials are: Sand, Brick, Cement / Concrete, Plaster, Glass,
Tungsten Carbide, Silicon Carbide, Abrasives, Refractories etc.
Polymers -

Polymers are very large molecules or chains consisting of repeated subunits. Due
to their broad range of properties polymers play a vital role in everyday life. There
are two types of polymers, natural (e.g. rubber, wood) and synthetic (e.g. synthetic
rubber, plastic, PVC, nylon). The important characteristics of polymers are:
(a) Light in weight
(b) Combustible
(c) Soft
(d) Ductile
(e) Poor conductors of heat & electricity
(f) Poor resistance to temperature

Examples of Polymers are: Rubber, Wood, Textile, Fuels, Plastics, Paper, Lubricants,
Paint and Varnishes, Adhesives, Explosives etc.
Composite Materials-
Composite materials are the most advanced substance for fabrication of
aircraft parts. The term composite is used to describe two or more materials
that are combined to form a much stronger structure than individual
material by itself. Some examples are as follows:
(a) Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastics (GFRP)
(b) Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastics (CFRP)

Some application of Composite Materials are:

(a) Internal ribs of aircraft (b) Landing gear door
(c) Spars and fairing block of aircraft (d) Artificial limbs
 Bending Stress
When a member is being loaded similar to that in figure one bending stress (or
flexure stress) will result. Bending stress is a more specific type of normal
stress. When a beam experiences load like that shown in figure one the top
fibers of the beam undergo a normal compressive stress. The stress at the
horizontal plane of the neutral is zero. The bottom fibers of the beam undergo a
normal tensile stress. It can be concluded therefore that the value of the
bending stress will vary linearly with distance from the neutral axis.
 Shear Stress
Normal stress is a result of load applied perpendicular to a member.
Shear stress however results when a load is applied parallel to an area.
Looking again at figure one, it can be seen that both bending and shear
stresses will develop. Like in bending stress, shear stress will vary across
the cross sectional area.
The formula to calculate average shear stress is force per unit area.
 Fatigue
In materials science, fatigue is the weakening of a material caused by
repeatedly applied loads. It is the progressive and localized structural damage
that occurs when a material is subjected to cyclic loading. The nominal
maximum stress values that cause such damage may be much less than the
strength of the material typically quoted as the ultimate tensile stress limit, or
the yield stress limit. If the loads are above a certain threshold, microscopic
cracks will begin to form at the stress concentrators such as the surface,
interfaces of constituents in the case of composites, and grain interfaces in the
case of metals. Eventually a crack will reach a critical size, the crack will
propagate suddenly, and the structure will fracture. The shape of the structure
will significantly affect the fatigue life; square holes or sharp corners will lead
to elevated local stresses where fatigue cracks can initiate. Round holes and
smooth transitions or fillets will increase the fatigue strength of the structure.
 Tensile Stress
● Tensile stress is a quantity associated with stretching or tensile forces.
● Usually, tensile stress is defined as the force per unit area and denoted
by the symbol σ.
● The tensile stress (σ) that develops when an external stretching force (F)
is applied on an object is given by σ = F/A where A is the cross sectional
area of the object.
● Therefore, the SI unit of measuring tensile stress is Nm-2 or Pa.
● Higher the load or tensile force, higher the tensile stress.
 Compressive Stress
● Compressive stress is the opposite of tensile stress.
● An object experiences a compressive stress when a squeezing force is applied
on the object. So, an object subjected to a compressive stress is shortened.
● Compressive stress is also defined as the force per unit area and denoted by
the symbol σ. The compressive stress (σ) that develops when an external
compressive or squeezing force (F) is applied on an object is given by σ = F/A.
● Higher the compressive force, higher the compressive stress.
 Toughness
● Toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically
deform without fracturing.
● One definition of material toughness is the amount of energy per unit
volume that a material can absorb before rupturing.
● It is also defined as a material's resistance to fracture when stressed.
● Toughness is related to the area under the stress–strain curve.
● In order to be tough, a material must be both strong and ductile.
● For example, brittle materials (like ceramics) that are strong but with
limited ductility are not tough; conversely, very ductile materials with low
strengths are also not tough. To be tough, a material should withstand both
high stresses and high strains. Generally speaking, strength indicates how
much force the material can support, while toughness indicates how much
energy a material can absorb before rupturing.
 Creep
● It is a time- dependent deformation
under a certain applied load.
● Generally occurs at high
temperature(thermal creep), but can
also happen at room temperature in
certain materials (e.g. lead or glass),
albeit much slower
● As a result, the material undergoes a
time dependent increase in length,
which could be dangerous while in
service.
 Creep Stages

■ Primary Creep: starts at a rapid rate

and slows with time.

■ Secondary Creep: has a relatively

uniform rate.

■ Tertiary Creep: has an accelerated

creep rate and terminates when the
material breaks or ruptures. It is
associated with both necking and
formation of grain boundary voids.
 Bauschinger Effect
● The Bauschinger effect refers to a property of materials where the
material's stress/strain characteristics change as a result of the
microscopic stress distribution of the material. For example, an
increase in tensile yield strength occurs at the expense of
compressive yield strength.
● Bauschinger effect is normally associated with conditions where the
yield strength of a metal decreases when the direction of strain is
changed. It is a general phenomenon found in most polycrystalline
metals.
● The Bauschinger effect contributes to work softening of the
workpiece, for example in straightening of drawn bars or rolled
sheets, where rollers subject the workpiece to alternate bending
stresses, thereby reducing the yield strength and enabling greater
cold drawability of the workpiece.
 Castability
Castability is nothing but producing a casting with minimum cost, defects and time.
In simple castability is the ability of the molten metal to flow easily without premature
solidification.This consists of two basic factors.
■ Characteristic of molten metal
■ Characteristic of molten metal
Characteristic of molten metal:-
•Viscosity:-
As the viscosity increases the fluidity decreases since the resistance to flow for the
molten metal increases and the molten metal cannot pass through the mold cavity
successfully.
•Surface Tension:-
High surface tension of the liquid metal reduces the castability. Oxide films
also increase the surface tension.
Inclusions:-Any Insoluble particles, inclusions decreases the castability.

Casting properties:-
■ Mould Design:-Design and dimensions of the components such as sprue,
runners and risers influence the castability.
■ Degree of Superheat:-Superheating is the improvement of temperature above
the melt point of the alloy. Superheat improves the fluidity by delaying
solidification.
■ Heat Transfer:- It directly affects the viscosity of liquid metal.
 Weldability
The ease with which welding of a given material can be done without producing
any defect is called Weldability.
Factors Affecting Weldability-
1. Melting point of metal: Materials with a medium melting point can be welded
very easily.
2. Thermal conductivity: Material with high thermal conductivity (K) are treated
as difficult to weld materials.
3. Reactivity: If the material reacts with air, water or surroundings it becomes
difficult to weld.
4. The coefficient of thermal expansion of metals: Material with high thermal
expansion coefficient, it becomes difficult to weld.
5. Electrical resistance: Higher the electrical resistance of the material, it
becomes difficult because it requires a lot of heat energy.
6. Surface condition: The material with the dirty surface it becomes difficult to
weld.
 Best Metals For Welding
1. Low Carbon Mild Steel-
Low carbon steel is so weldable is because it is more ductile than other types of
steel. This is because it has very low amounts of carbon and only trace amounts of
other alloying elements. This prevents the formation of brittle microstructures such
as martensite. All of this eliminates the risks of certain types of weld failures, such
as hydrogen cracking. As the amount of carbon increases, so does the difficulty of
making a satisfactory weld.
2. Aluminum-
Grades in the 1XXX series can be welded without much extra effort needed.
Grades in the 6XXX series can be welded, but proper filler material and welding
operation must be used to aid in crack prevention. Aluminum in the 2XXX series is
typically not weldable at all, although a few grades in this series can be welded with
proper filler material and technique.
3. Stainless Steel- There are three major types of stainless steel: austenitic,
ferritic, and martensitic.
● Many ferritic stainless steels are very weldable.
● Austenitic stainless steels can be welded as well.
● Martensitic stainless steels are generally more difficult to weld due to their
high hardness and their tendency to crack.

4. Other Metals-
● The welding of titanium requires typically extra equipment or shielding to
prevent it from being oxidized.
● High carbon steels generally require preheat and post-weld heat treatment
to avoid cracking.
● Some super alloys can only be welded in a vacuum.
Every metal that is going to be welded should be researched on an individual basis
to ensure that welding methods exist to make a successful weld.
DUCTILITY
❖ It is the property of the material which enables it to drop out into thin
wires.
❖ E.g. Mild Steel is a ductile material.
❖ The percentage elongation and reduction in area in tension is often
used as emperical measures of ductility.
 MALLEABILITY
❖ Malleability of a materials its ability to be flattened into thin sheets
without cracking by hot or cold working.
❖ E.g. Lead can be readily rolled and hammered into thin sheets but
can be readily rolled.
 Iron-Carbon Diagram
It is a graphic representation of the respective microstructure states
depending on temperature (y-axis) and carbon content (x-axis).
Different Microstructures
1. Ferrite: contains hardly any carbon.
2. Ferrite + pearlite: As the carbon concentration increases, cementite
is released. This becomes a new microstructure constituent and
forms a ferrite-perlite microstructure.
3. Pearlite: As the carbon concentration increases further, the ferrite
fraction reduces steadily. From a carbon concentration of 0.8…0.85
%, only perlite is left.
4. Pearlite + cementite: If the carbon concentration continues to
increase, cementite deposits on the grain boundaries of the perlite.
 Iron-Carbon Diagram
● A1: The upper limit of
the ferrite / cementite
phase field (horizontal
line going through the
eutectoid point).
● A2: The temperature
where iron looses its
magnetism (so-called
Curie temperature).
Note that for pure iron
this is still in the
α-phase.
● A3: The boundary
between the γ
austenite and the
austenite/ ferrite field.

● A4: The point in this case where α changes to δ at high temperatures.

● ACM: The boundary between the γ austenite and the austenite / cementite field.
 Composition
CEMENTITE-
PEARLITE-