Engineering Materials

ENGINEERING MATERIALS
Outline
 General Introduction
 Types / Classifications of Engineering Materials
 Ferrous and Non ferrous Metals
 Main Types of Irons and their Alloys
 Steels
 Advantages and Limitations
 Reference
ENGINEERING MATERIALS ( Conti…)
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
 Materials are probably more deep-seated in our culture than most of us realize.
 Transportation, housing, clothing, communication, recreation, and food production—

virtually every segment of our everyday lives is influenced to one degree or another by
materials. Historically, the development and advancement of societies have been
intimately tied to the members’ ability to produce and manipulate materials to fill their
needs. In fact, early civilizations have been designated by the level of their materials
development (Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age).
 The development of many technologies that make our existence so comfortable has been
intimately associated with the accessibility of suitable materials. An advancement in the
understanding of a material type is often the fore-runner to the stepwise progression of a
technology. For example, automobiles would not have been possible without the
availability of inexpensive steel or some other comparable substitute. In our
contemporary era, sophisticated electronic devices rely on components that are made
from what are called semi conducting materials.
CLASSIFICATION OF ENGINEERING MATERIALS
Ferrous Metallurgy
The Chemistry and Structure of Iron and Steel
 Ferrous metals are iron base metals which include all variety of pig iron, cast iron
wrought iron and steels. The ferrous metals are those which have iron as their main
constituents.
 The ferrous metals commonly used in engineering practice are cast iron, wrought iron,
steel and alloy steels.
 The basic principal raw material for all ferrous metals is pig iron which is obtained by
smelting iron ore, coke and limestone, in the blast furnace.
Pure Iron
 Iron from which the residual carbon left over from smelting has been removed.
 In the pure state it is a very soft grey metal
 Of no commercial use
Wrought Iron
 Has approx. 0.05% carbon
 Used since about 2000 BC
 Is stronger than most other pure metals.
 Made into weapons, armour, cooking pots and vessels
 Main limitation to wider uses due to processing (no way of making large items and no
welding suitability)
Cast Iron
 Between 2% up to 4% carbon content
 Standard grey cast iron very brittle due to carbon rosettes in the structure acting as
stress-raisers
 Possible to use heat treatment to improve the structure, this gives materials such as
ductile iron and malleable iron (black heart)
Steel
0.001% to 1.5% carbon Wide range of properties due to:

 Variation in carbon content
 Cold working
 Heat treatment
 Addition of alloying elements

Microstructure of Steel
Five main constituants:
 Ferrite
 Austenite
 Cementite
 Pearlite
 Martensite
Ferrite
 Has a body-centered cubic (BCC) crystal structure.
 It is soft and ductile and imparts these properties to the steel.
 Very little carbon (less than 0.01% carbon will dissolve in ferrite at room temperature).
Often known as alpha iron.
Austenite
 This is the structure of iron at high temperatures (over 912 deg C).
 Has a face-centere cubic (FCC) crystal structure.
 This material is important in that it is the structure from which other structures are
formed when the material cools from elevated temperatures.
 Often known gamma iron.
 Not present at room temperatures.

Cementite
 A compound of iron and carbon, iron carbide (Fe3C).
 It is hard and brittle
 its presence in steels causes an increase in hardness
 A reduction in ductility and toughness.

Pearlite
 A laminated structure formed of alternate layers of ferrite and cementite.
 It combines the hardness and strength of cementite with the ductility of ferrite and is the
key to the wide range of the properties of steels.
 The laminar structure also acts as a barrier to crack movement as in composites.
 This gives it toughness.

Martensite
 A very hard needle-like structure of iron and carbon.
 Only formed by very rapid cooling from the austenitic structure (i.e. above upper critical
temperature).
 Needs to be modified by tempering before acceptable properties reached.
Stainless Steels
 Stainless steels are iron base alloys that contain a minimum of approximately 12% Cr,
the amount needed to prevent the formation of rust in unpolluted atmosphere.
Alloying elements of stainless steel and their effect on corrosion resistance

 Other than Ni, Cr and C, the following alloying elements may also present in stainless
steel: Mo, N, Si, Mn, Cu, Ti, Nb, Ta and/or W.
 Main alloying elements (Cr, Ni and C):
1. Chromium
 Minimum concentration of Cr in a stainless steel is 12-14wt.%.
 Structure : BCC (ferrite forming element)
 * Note that the affinity of Cr to form Cr-carbides is very high. Chromium carbide
formation along grain boundaries may induce intergranular corrosion.
Stainless Steels ( Conti…)
2. Nickel
 Structure: FCC (austenite forming element/stabilize austenitic structure).
 Added to produce austenitic or duplex stainless steels.
 These materials possess excellent ductility, formability and toughness as well as

Weldability.
 Nickel improves mechanical properties of stainless steels servicing at high
temperatures.
 Nickel increases aqueous corrosion resistance of materials.
3. Carbon
 Very strong austenite forming element (30x more effective than Ni).
 The concentration of carbon is usually limited to ≤ 0.08%C (normal stainless steels) and
≤0.03%C (low carbon stainless steels to avoid sensitization during welding).
Minor alloying elements :
Manganese
 Austenitic forming element. When necessary can be used to substitute Ni. Concentration of Mn
in stainless steel is usually 2-3%.
Molybdenum
 Ferritic forming element. Added to increase pitting corrosion resistance of stainless steel (2-4%).
 Molybdenum addition has to be followed by decreasing chromium concentration and increasing
nickel concentration Improves mechanical properties of stainless steel at high temperature.
Increase aqueous corrosion resistance of material exposed in reducing acid.
Tungsten
 Is added to increase the strength and toughness of martensitic stainless steel.
Nitrogen (up to 0.25%)

 Stabilize austenitic structure. Increases strength and corrosion resistance. Increases Weldability of
duplex SS.
Titanium, Niobium and Tantalum
 To stabilize stainless steel by reducing susceptibility of the material to intergranular
corrosion.
Copper
 Is added to increase corrosion resistance of stainless steel exposed in environment
containing sulfuric acid.
Silicon
 Reduce susceptibility of SS to pitting and crevice corrosion as well as SCC.
Five basic types of stainless steels
Austenitic:
Susceptible to SCC. Can be hardened only by cold working. Good toughness and formability, easily to be welded and high
corrosion resistance.
Nonmagnetic except after excess cold working due to martensitic formation.
Martensitic:
Application: when high mechanical strength and wear resistance combined with some degree of
corrosion resistance are required.
Typical application include steam turbine blades, valves body and seats, bolts and screws, springs,
knives, surgical instruments, and chemical engineering equipment.
Ferritic:
Higher resistance to SCC than austenitic SS. Tend to be notch sensitive and are susceptible to
embrittlement during welding.
Not recommended for service above 3000C because they will loss their room temperature ductility.
Five basic types of stainless steels ( Conti…)
Duplex (austenitic + ferritic):
 has enhanced resistance to SCC with corrosion resistance performance similar to AISI
316 SS.
 Has higher tensile strengths than the austenitic type, are slightly less easy to form and
have weld ability similar to the austenitic stainless steel.
 Can be considered as combining many of the best features of both the austenitic and
ferritic types.
 Suffer a loss impact strength if held for extended periods at high temperatures above
3000C.
Precipitation hardening:
 Have the highest strength but require proper heat-treatment to develop the correct
combination of strength and corrosion resistance.
 To be used for specialized application where high strength together with good corrosion
resistance is required.
Stress Corrosion Cracking of Stainless Steel
 Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is defined as crack nucleation and propagation in
stainless steel caused by synergistic action of tensile stress, either constant or slightly
changing with time, together with crack tip chemical reactions or other environment-
induced crack tip effect.
 SCC failure is a brittle failure at relatively low constant tensile stress of an alloy
exposed in a specific corrosive environment.
 However the final fracture because of overload of remaining load-bearing section is no
longer SCC.
Three conditions must be present simultaneously to produce SCC:

 A critical environment
 A susceptible alloy
 Some component of tensile stress

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ENGINEERING MATERIALS

 Main Types of Irons and their Alloys

 Transportation, housing, clothing, communication, recreation, and food production—

 In the pure state it is a very soft grey metal

 Used since about 2000 BC

 Is stronger than most other pure metals.

 Made into weapons, armour, cooking pots and vessels

0.001% to 1.5% carbon Wide range of properties due to:

 Addition of alloying elements

 It is soft and ductile and imparts these properties to the steel.

 Has a face-centere cubic (FCC) crystal structure.

 Not present at room temperatures.

 It is hard and brittle

 its presence in steels causes an increase in hardness

 A reduction in ductility and toughness.

 This gives it toughness.

Alloying elements of stainless steel and their effect on corrosion resistance

 These materials possess excellent ductility, formability and toughness as well as

Minor alloying elements :

Nitrogen (up to 0.25%)

Nonmagnetic except after excess cold working due to martensitic formation.

corrosion resistance are required.

knives, surgical instruments, and chemical engineering equipment.

embrittlement during welding.

Three conditions must be present simultaneously to produce SCC:

 Some component of tensile stress

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