Strengthening mechanisms
• Metals are weaker than they should dislocations and the ease be
theoretically because of with which these move under applied shear
stress. The primary principle for strengthening to retard the
movement of dislocations.
• Single crystals without dislocations i.e., whiskers though have the
highest strength, are very small in size, difficult to produce and too
expensive for any engineering use.
Some of the Strengthening Mechanisms are:
1) Solid Solution hardening
(2) Age hardening or Precipitation hardening
(3) Dispersion hardening
(4) Particulate strengthening
(5) Phase transformation hardening
(6) Strain hardening
(7) Strain Aging
• SOLID SOLUTION HARDENING
• A common way to increase the hardness and yield strength of a metal
and particularly its strain hardening rate is by solid-solution
mechanism
• Solid solution hardening distorts the lattice, offers resistance to
dislocation movement which is greater with interstitial elements
which cause asymmetric lattice distortion, e.g., carbon in steel.
Mechanism
• Every element has got a distinct atomic diameter, different from other
elements. When forming a solid solution, the solute atom will be either
larger or smaller in diameter as compared to the solvent atom.
• For example, steel contains iron as solvent and carbon as solute atoms,
having large difference in their diameters.
• Since, solvent and solute atoms have different sizes, when solute is added
to solvent, distortion in lattice takes place.
• If the solute atom is larger than the solvent atoms, compressive strain
fields are set up, and if it is smaller, tensile fields.
• In both the cases, the stress field of a moving dislocation interacts with the
stress field of the solute atom, thereby increasing the stress required to
move the dislocation through the crystal. This impedes dislocation motion.
Factors Affecting Solid Solution Hardening
1. The more the difference between atomic sizes of solvent and solute
atoms, the higher is the stress field around solute atoms. This
provides more resistance to the motion of dislocations and hence
increases the tensile strength and hardness of the material.
2. If the amount of solute or the number of solute atoms is more,
greater will be the local distortion in the lattice and hence more will
be the resistance to the moving dislocations. This will increase the
hardness and strength of the material.
1. Solute atoms (such as carbon and nitrogen) forming interstitial solid
solutions with iron produce tetragonal distortion in the lattice and
effectively increase the yield strength of iron.
2. Moreover, disordered solid solutions are less harder and stronger
than ordered solid solutions.
AGE HARDENING OR PRECIPITATION
HARDENING
• Age-hardening: The strengthening of an alloy resulting from the
precipitation of a finely dispersed second phase from a
supersaturated“ solid solution. The finely dispersed second phase
precipitates with age, i.e., with the passage of time.
• Certain alloys such as Al-4.5% Cu, AI-6% Zn-2.5%, Mg etc. show
increase in hardness with age (time) at room temperature after
heating to slightly higher temperatures. This type of hardening is
known as age or precipitation hardening.
Requirements for an Age-hardening Alloy
• The prime requirement for an alloy which is to be age hardened that
solubility decreases with decreasing temperature so that a
Supersaturated solid solution may be obtained.
• With time the precipitate that separates out from the matrix should
be coherent otherwise the material will not be hardened.coherent
precipitation implies that the solute atoms concentrate to a degree
sufficient to give the composition of secondphase, for example, in a
Al-4.5% Cu, the second phase (whichprecipitates) with time is Cu Al,.
Age hardening mechanism
• Essential requirement for precipitation to occur in solid solution is the
decreasing solubility of a solute with decreasing temperature.
• This result in supersaturated solid solution which is unstable and
decompose into stable saturated solid solution plus ꓐ precipitation
Dispersion hardening
Particulate strengthening systems
Phase transformation
