CCB 211/ CCB 231

Materials Science for Engineers

Lesson 13:
• Heat Treatment of Steels & Cast Irons
• Nonferrous Alloys
• Ceramics and Polymers

Instructor: Prof K. N. Nwaigwe, PhD

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 Expected Learning Outcomes
 Recognize & explain various designations for different classes of steels.
 Design heat treatments to produce specific microstructures & properties for steels using
time-temperature-transformation & continuous cooling diagrams.
 Differentiate between the classes of steels.
 List common alloying elements of steel & their purposes.
 Explain & recognize various designations for different cast irons.
 Recognize & explain various designations for different alloys of nonferrous metals.
 Identify the uses for common nonferrous metals & alloys.
 Identify the materials properties of common nonferrous metals & alloys.
 Define ceramics & recognize that they encompass nonmetallic inorganic solids, both
crystalline & amorphous.
 Identify applications for ceramic materials.
 Identify common crystal structures for crystalline ceramics.
 Identify common defects in crystalline ceramics.
 Choose the appropriate process/processing parameters for producing ceramic
components.
 Describe the structure, properties & processing of the 3 polymer classes.

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Designations & Classifications of Steels
 Dividing point between ‘steels’ and ‘cast iron’ is 2.11% C.
 Nearly all heat treatments of steel are intended to produce the
mixture of ferrite & cementite which gives the desired properties.

 Designations:
 Table 13-1 lists the AISI and SAE designation systems for steels. The
first 2 numbers identify the major alloying elements present, and the
next 2 or 3 numbers specify the carbon composition.
 ASTM has a different system for classifying steels.
 Classifications:
 Steels can be classified based on composition or processing
 Carbon steels have < 2% C, decarburized steels have < 0.005% C
 Mild steel contains 0.15 – 0.3% C, high carbon steel has > 0.6 % C.
Cast irons have 2-4 % C
 Alloying steels have significant amounts of Mn, Si or Cu
 There are many other kinds of specialty steels such as galvanized
steel, germ-resistant steel, green steel, etc.

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Simple Heat Treatments
 4 simple heat treatments are used for steels to achieve one or more of
the following:
 Eliminating effects of cold work
 Controlling dispersion strengthening
 Improving machinability

 Process Annealing – Eliminating Cold Work:

 Process Anneal is the recrystallization heat treatment used to
eliminate effects of cold working in steels with < 0.25% C
 It is done between 80o - 170o Celsius below the A1 temperature

 Annealing & Normalizing – Dispersion Strengthening:

 Steels can be dispersion-strengthened by controlling pearlite
fineness.
 Steel is initially heated to create homogeneous austenite.
 Annealing is the slow cooling of steel to produce coarse pearlite.
 Normalizing is the faster air cooling of steel to produce fine pearlite.

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Simple Heat Treatments
 Spheroidizing – Improving Machinability:
 Steels with high cementite have poor machinability
 Spheroidizing is heating over several hours at 30o Celsius below A1.
 This changes cementite phase morphology into large, spherical particles.
 The resulting spheroidite microstructure has a matrix of soft, machinable
ferrite.
 After machining, the steel can be given a sophisticated heat treatment to
achieve the desired properties.

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Stainless Steels
 Stainless steels contain at least 11% Cr, which forms a protective chromium oxide
layer on the surface, giving the steel excellent corrosion resistance.

 Ferritic Stainless Steels:

 Have up to 30% Cr and less than 0.12% C
 Good strength, moderate ductility, ferromagnetic
 Not heat treatable, relatively inexpensive

 Martensitic Stainless Steels:

 Contain < 17% Cr, 0.1-1.0% C
 High hardness, strength, corrosion resistance make them useful for knives, ball
bearings, valves, etc.
 Austenitic Stainless Steels:
 Adding Nickel makes it possible to have steels with nearly all austenite/no
ferrite at room temperature
 Excellent formability, ductility, corrosion resistance
 Not ferromagnetic, and may be cold worked
 Expensive, and corrode at high temperatures

 Precipitation-Hardening (PH) Stainless Steels:

 Contain Al, Nb, Ta; derive properties from age & strain hardening, martensitic
reaction and solid-solution strengthening
 High strengths are obtained even with low Carbon

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Stainless Steels
 Duplex Stainless Steels:
 Sometimes mixtures of phases are deliberately introduced in steels to
obtain combinations of properties not found in typical steels
 Duplex stainless steel contains 50/50 ferrite & austenite and can be
produced via controlling composition & heat treatment

 Most stainless steels are recyclable

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Cast Irons

 Cast irons are iron-carbon-silicon alloys that pass through the eutectic reaction during solidification.
 They typically contain 2-4% C and 0.5-3% Si.

 Initially, the eutectic reaction produces white cast iron composed of cementite & pearlite.
 However, this is a metastable phase.
 Under true equilibrium conditions, the graphite eutectic reaction occurs and gray, ductile or compacted graphite cast
iron forms.

 Silicon is added for its graphite stabilizing properties and to reduce the amount of carbon in the eutectic.
 Silicon also encourages the stable eutectoid reaction.
 Annealing of cast iron gives a soft ferrite matrix.
 Normalizing gives a pearlitic matrix.

 Gray Cast Iron

 Most widely used cast iron.
 Contains eutectic cells of interconnected graphite flakes which cause low strength and ductility.
 Has high compressive strength, machinability, thermal conductivity, vibration damping, and resistance to thermal
fatigue and sliding wear.

 White Cast Iron

 Hard, brittle alloy with high amount of cementite.
 Used for hardness and resistance to abrasive wear.

 Malleable Cast Iron

 Formed by heat treatment of white cast iron, produces rounded clumps of graphite.
 Very ductile, machinable.
 Produced by heat treating unalloyed 3% C iron, undergoes 2 stages of graphitization.

 Ductile/Nodular Cast Iron

 Contains spheroidal graphite particles.
 Production requires several steps: desulfurization, nodulizing, and inoculation.
 Has excellent strength & ductility, stronger than malleable irons but not as tough.

 Compacted Graphite Cast Iron:

 Contains rounded but interconnected graphite.
 This permits strengths & ductilities exceeding those of grey cast iron, but still allows good thermal conductivity and
vibration damping properties.

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Cast Irons

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Cast Irons

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Cast Irons

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 Aluminum Alloys
 General properties of aluminum:
 3rd most plentiful element on earth
 1/3 the density of steel, high elastic modulus
 Excellent specific strength (strength/weight ratio)
 High thermal & electrical conductivity
 Easily recyclable and non-toxic
 Non-ferromagnetic behavior, resistant to corrosion
 Prone to eventual fatigue failure
 Does not perform well at elevated temperatures
 Aluminum alloys have low hardness
 General uses of aluminum:
 Transportation industry (car manufacturing, etc.)
 Beverage can & packaging manufacturing
 Construction applications
 Electrical applications

 Designation:
 Aluminum alloys are classified into 2 categories:
 Wrought alloys are shaped by plastic deformation
 Casting alloys
 Within each category, alloys are further classified into heat-treatable & nonheat-
treatable alloys
 Alloys are distinguished by a numbering system (Table 14-3)

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 Aluminum Alloys
 Wrought Alloys:
 1xxx, 3xxx, 5xxx, and most of the 4xxx alloys are not age hardenable
 1xxx and 3xxx are single-phase alloys, while 4xxx and 5xxx are two-
phase alloys
 The above are generally strengthened by strain hardening, grain-size
control & solid-solution strengthening
 2xxx, 6xxx and 7xxx are age hardenable
 Although they have excellent specific strength, they cannot be used
above 175oC
 Alloy 2024 is widely used in aircrafts

 Casting Alloys:
 Many common aluminum casting alloys contain enough silicon to enable
the eutectic reaction
 This gives alloys low melting points and good fluidity and castability
 Properties of aluminum-silicon alloys are controlled by dispersion
strengthening, solid-solution strengthening, and solidification
 Other elements such as boron, titanium, phosphorus, etc. can also be
added to change grain size, eutectic structure, etc.
 Addition of elements like copper or zinc also permits age hardening of
these alloys

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 Magnesium & Beryllium Alloys
 Magnesium:
 Compared to aluminum, it is lighter and has comparable corrosion
resistance and specific strength
 Low elastic modulus and poor fatigue and creep resistance
 Mg alloys are used in aerospace, machining, and transportation
applications
 Mg is less ductile than Al, but alloying Mg increases ductility
 Mg alloys are strengthened by dispersion strengthening or age
hardening
 Corrosion resistance can be increased by increasing amounts of alloying
elements

 Beryllium:
 Lighter than aluminum, but stiffer than steel with high elastic modulus
 Be alloys have high specific strengths & maintain strength and stiffness
at high temperatures
 Applications of Be alloys include inertial guidance systems, aerospace
structural applications, and the manufacturing of X-ray tubes
 Be is transparent to electromagnetic radiation
 Unfortunately, it is very expensive, brittle, reactive and toxic in powder
form

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 Copper Alloys
 Copper occurs in both elemental and ore forms, and can be extracted by various methods

 Properties of copper alloys:

 Higher densities than steel
 Lower specific strengths than Al or Mg alloys
 Better resistant to creep, fatigue & wear than Al or Mg alloys
 Excellent ductility, corrosion resistance, and electrical & thermal conductivities
 Colored alloys can be used for decorative effect
 Can be strengthened using all previously discussed methods
 Solid-Solution Strengthened Alloys:
 Many copper alloys remain single-phase despite the addition of large amounts of alloying
elements
 These include brass (Cu & Zn) and bronzes (Cu and Sn or Mn, etc.)
 Strength and elongation are increased in these alloys

 Age–Hardenable Alloys:
 Many copper alloys display an age-hardening response, e.g. those containing Zr, Cr, and Be.
 Copper beryllium alloys are used for high strength, high stiffness & nonsparking qualities
 Phase Transformations:
 Aluminum bronzes can undergo the eutectoid transformation to produce a brittle, lamellar 2 nd
phase
 Rapid quenching produces strong martensite, which can be subsequently tempered to produce
a material with high strength, ductility & toughness

 Lead-Copper Alloys:
 Nearly all wrought alloys may contain Pb
 Pb improves machining qualities, but due to the environmental impact of lead, lead-free alloys
are preferred

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 Nickel and Cobalt Alloys
 Nickel and Cobalt alloys are used for corrosion protection & high-
temperature resistance
 They have high melting points and strengths

 Nickel and Monel:

 Nickel and its alloys have excellent corrosion resistance and formability
 Monels (approx. 60% Ni & 40% Cu) are alloys used for strength and
corrosion resistance in salt water & at high temperatures
 Monels can be age-hardened, nearly doubling their tensile strength

 Superalloys:
 Nickel, iron-nickel, and cobalt alloys with high strength at elevated
temperatures, corrosion resistance, and creep resistance up to 1000oC
 Typical applications include vanes/blades for turbines and jet engines,
heat exchangers, etc.
 Superalloys contain many alloying elements such as Ti, C, Cr, Nb, Al,
Mo, etc., which produce the strong, stable microstructure needed at
high temperatures

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 Titanium Alloys
 Titanium is produced by the Kroll process. Its properties include:
 Excellent corrosion resistance
 High specific strength
 Good high-temperature properties
 High strengths (1400 MPa) at low density
 Allotropic material: HCP at low temperatures and BCC at high temperatures (above 882 oC)
 Applications include aerospace, chemical processing equipment, biomedical implants, and
superconductors

 Commercially Pure Titanium:

 Unalloyed titanium is used for superior corrosion resistance
 Impurities like oxygen increase strength, but decrease corrosion resistance

 Alpha Titanium Alloys:

 Most common of the HCP alloys, it contains Al & Sn
 Rapid cooling produces a structure with good fatigue resistance
 Furnace cooling produces a more creep-resistant structure

 Beta Titanium Alloys:

 Strengthening in these BCC alloys is obtained from solid-solution strengthening and aging the
metastable beta phase
 Applications include high-strength beams and fittings for aerospace applications

 Alpha-Beta Titanium Alloys:

 2 phase alloys with both HCP and BCC phases
 Heat treatments used to control microstructures and properties
 Annealing provides a combination of high ductility, uniform properties & good strength
 Age hardened alpha-beta alloys are used for airframes, rockets, engines, etc.
 Superplastic and biocompatible alloys also exist

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 Refractory and Precious Metals
 Refractory metals include tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum & niobium
 They have exceptionally high melting temperatures (above 1925oC)
 Also have high density, and thus lower specific strengths
 Applications include lightbulb filaments, rocket nozzles, nuclear power
generators, etc.

 Oxidation:
 Refractory metals begin to oxidize at low temperatures, embrittling
them
 Consequently, they must be protected by coatings or vacuums during
production and service

 Forming Characteristics:
 They have a BCC structure and display a ductile-to-brittle transition
temperature
 Niobium & tantalum can be readily formed as their transition
temperatures are below room temperature
 Annealed molybdenum and tungsten are brittle at room temperature,
but hot working can improve the forming characteristics

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 Refractory and Precious Metals
 Alloys:
 Large increases in both low and high temperature properties can be
obtained by alloying
 Various alloys may be solid-solution or dispersion strengthened

 Precious Metals:
 The include gold, silver, platinum, palladium, etc.
 They are expensive and used for jewelry
 They are also corrosion resistant and excellent electric conductors
 As a result, these materials are often used as electrodes for devices or
catalysts in nanoparticle form

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Bonding in Ceramics

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Bonding in Ceramics

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 Bonding in Ceramics
 Ceramics have strong primary bonding
 Predominantly ionic or covalent bonding
 Some mixed bonding, including metallic bonding

 Ceramic properties are influenced by the types

of bonding present
 Due to lack of free electrons, most ceramics are
poor thermal & electrical conductors
 Ceramics have strong, stiff bonds which lead to
high strengths, hardness, and brittleness

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 Structures of Crystalline Ceramics

 Ceramics may be amorphous, crystalline, or

partially crystalline, and exhibit hundreds of
crystal structures

 Alumina:
 One of the most widely used ceramics
 Exists as several crystalline polymorphs
 Often used as polishing compound (due to
hardness), forms basis of many gemstones
 Used in electronic devices and scratch-resistant
covers, and also used as a refractory material
 HCP structure with 6 formula units per unit cell
(30 atoms)

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 Defects and Flaws in Crystalline Ceramics

 All point defects discussed occur in crystalline ceramics

 A guiding principle is that charge balance must be maintained when
defects exist
 Dislocation propagation is hindered due to large Burgers vectors,
and the strength of directional covalent bonds
 These properties lead to high hardnesses, compressive strengths,
and elastic moduli

 Ceramics are susceptible to flaws such as notches, cracks, and pores

 They are stronger in compression, which inhibits crack propagation,
than in tension, which exacerbates cracks
 A popular method for determining the fracture toughness of
ceramics is indentation testing

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 Inorganic Glasses
 Glasses can be made into useful shapes at a high temperature by
controlling viscosity without breaking the glass. The various viscosity
ranges are:
 Liquid range: Sheet & plate glass, mirrors and glass fibers are produced
in this range
 Working range: Shapes such as lightbulbs and containers can be
formed by pressing, drawing, or blowing glass into molds
 Annealing range: Some ceramic parts may be annealed to reduce
residual stresses during forming, or to induce precipitation of a
crystalline phase

 Glass Compositions:
 Most commercial glasses are based on silica modifiers which reduce the
melting temperature and permit economical forming
 The most common commercial glass, soda lime glass, has 75% SiO2,
15% Na2O, and 10 CaO
 Borosilicate glasses (~ 15% B2O3) have excellent dimensional &
chemical stability, and are used to make Pyrex and laboratory
glassware
 Photochromic glass is used to make sunglasses which block out UV rays
 Glass made of virtually pure silica is expensive, but has the best
resistance to high temperatures and chemical attack

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 Glass-Ceramics
 Glass-ceramics are crystalline materials derived
from amorphous glasses
 They have ~70-99% crystallinity
 We can develop CCT and TTT diagrams for
creating glass-ceramics, similar to steels
 Glass-ceramics can provide good mechanical
strength & toughness, with low thermal
expansion coefficient and high-temperature
corrosion resistance
 They are used in making cookware, ceramic stove
tops, and communications, computer, and optical
applications

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 Classification of Polymers
 Polymers are classified in several different ways:
 Method of synthesis
 Molecular structure
 Chemical Family
 Linear or branched

 A better method is to classify by mechanical or thermal properties. There

are 3 categories.

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 Classification of Polymers
 Thermoplastics:
 Composed of long chains formed by joining monomers
 Behave in ductile, plastic manner
 Can be amorphous or crystalline
 Upon heating, soften and melt
 Chains have weak van der Waals bonds
 Easily recycled

 Elastomers:
 Sustain elastic deformations greater than 200%
 May be thermoplastics or thermosets with light cross linking

 Thermosetting Polymers:
 Long chains of molecules strongly cross-linked to form a 3-D network structure
 Stronger, but more brittle than thermoplastics
 Decompose on heating instead of melting
 Not easily recyclable due to cross-linking

 Thermoplastic Elastomers:
 Special group of polymers having the processing ease of thermoplastics and the
elastic behavior of elastomers

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Summary
 Steel properties, determined by dispersion strengthening, depend on the
amount, size, shape & distribution of cementite.

 These factors are controlled by alloying & heat treatment.

 A process anneal recrystallizes cold-worked steels.

 Spheroidizing produces large, spherical Fe3C & good machinability in high-

carbon steels.
 Annealing involves a slow furnace cool after austenitizing & produces a
coarse pearlitic structure.

 Normalizing involves an air cool after austenitizing & produces a fine pearlitic
structure & higher strength compared to annealing.

 In isothermal annealing, austenite is transformed at a uniform temperature

into pearlite with uniform interlamellar spacing.

 Austempering produces bainite (containing rounded Fe3C) by an isothermal

transformation.
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Summary
 Quench & temper heat treatments require the formation & decomposition of
martensite, giving exceptionally fine dispersions of round Fe3C.

 Heat treatments can be better understood by TTT diagrams, CTT diagrams,

and hardenability curves.

 TTT diagrams show how austenite isothermally transforms into pearlite &
bainite.

 CTT diagrams show how austenite transforms during continuous cooling.

They give the cooling rates needed to obtain martensite via quenching.

 Hardenability curves compare ease with which different steels transform to

martensite.

 Alloying elements
 Increase required transformation times in TTT diagrams.
 Reduce required cooling rates to produce martensite in CTT diagrams.
 Improve hardenability of steel.

 Specialty steels and heat treatments provide unique properties or

combinations of properties.
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Summary
 Particularly important are surface-hardening
treatments (e.g. carburizing) which increase
fatigue & impact resistance.

 Stainless steels, containing > 11% Cr, have

excellent corrosion resistance.

 Cast irons, by definition, undergo eutectic reaction

during solidification. Depending on the composition
& treatment, either  and Fe3C, or  and graphite
form during freezing.

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 Summary
 “Light metals” include low-density alloys of
Aluminum, Magnesium & Beryllium.

 Aluminum alloys have high specific strength due

to low density and are used in aerospace
applications. Excellent corrosion resistance &
electrical conductivity of aluminum also find
applications.

 Aluminum and Magnesium are limited to low

temperature use because of the degradation of
their mechanical properties from overaging or
recrystallization.

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 Summary
 Copper alloys (brasses & bronzes) are used in many
structural and other applications.

 Titanium alloys have intermediate densities & temperature

resistance, along with excellent corrosion resistance.

 Titanium alloys have applications in aerospace, chemical

processing, and biomedical devices.
 Nickel & Cobalt alloys, including superalloys, provide good
properties at even higher temperatures.

 Combined with their good corrosion resistance, these alloys

find applications in aircraft engines and chemical processing
equipment.

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 Summary
 Ceramics are nonmetallic inorganic materials with
high hardnesses and melting points.
 These include single crystal & polycrystalline
ceramics, glasses, and glass-ceramics.
 Typical ceramics are good electrical & thermal
insulators with good chemical stability & strength in
compression.

 Ceramics play a critical role in many electronic,

magnetic, optical, and energy-related
technologies.

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 Summary

 Many advanced ceramics are used in thermal

insulation and high-temperature properties. Other
applications include credit cards, housing for silicon
chips, communication optical fibers, and glasses.

 Traditional ceramics serve as refractories for metals

processing & consumer applications.

 Crystalline ceramics contain dislocations, but most

polycrystalline ceramics don’t plastically deform.
 Flaws like cracks & pores determine mechanical
performance for ceramic materials.
 Porosity & cracks limit the ability to withstand tensile
loads.

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 Summary
 Tape casting, slip casting, extrusion & injection
molding are techniques used to form glass
ceramics into different shapes.

 These processes are followed by a burnout step in

which binders & plasticizers are burnt off, and
resultant ceramic is sintered.

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 Summary
 Silicon dioxide (silica) and silicates (silica-based
compounds) have important industrial applications in
both crystalline & amorphous forms.
 The structural building block of these materials is SiO4.

 Many silicates & other ceramics form glasses easily,

since crystallization kinetics are sluggish.
 Glasses can be formed as sheets using float-glass, or as
fibers or other shapes.
 Silicate glasses are used in many applications such as
window glass, fiberglass, windshields & fiber optics.

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 Summary
 Glass-ceramics are formed using controlled
crystallization of inorganic glasses to produce a
desirable combination of strength & toughness.
 These materials are used for kitchenware and other
applications.

 Clay products use hydrous sheet aluminum silicates

with crystalline structures and water as a binder for
ceramic particles.
 Clay products include pottery, china & porcelain.
 Refractories are materials used in high-
temperature applications and must be chosen
based on their composition so they don’t react
& degrade in the environment.

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 Summary
 Polymers are made from large macromolecules
produced by joining smaller molecules
(monomers) using addition or condensation
polymerization reactions.

 Plastics are materials based on polymeric

compounds, often with additives to improve their
properties. Plastics are used in diverse
technologies. Compared to metals and ceramics,
 Plastics have low strength, stiffness, melting points
 Plastics have low density & good chemical
resistance

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