Physical Metallurgy of Non-Ferrous Metals and

Alloys

Course Code: MM411/MM311

Credits: 3
 Al, Cu, Zn, Mg, Ti, Ni, Co, W, V …
and their alloys – all except of Fe and ferrous alloys (steels and
cast irons)
❑ Non-ferrous metals are those which do not contain significant quantity of iron
or iron as base metal. These metals possess low strength at high
temperatures, generally suffer from hot shortness and have more shrinkage
than ferrous metals. They are utilized in industry due to following advantages:

High corrosion resistance

Easy to fabricate, i.e., machining, casting, welding, forging and
rolling
Possess very good thermal and electrical conductivity
Attractive colour and low density

The various non-metals used in industry are: Copper,

Aluminium, tin, lead, zinc, Titanium and Nickel, etc., and their
alloys
 Classification of non-ferrous materials
❑ Density based ❑ Melting temperature based
Light metals and alloys ( ρ < 5000 kg/m3 ) Low melting point Tm < TmPb = 327 °C
Exp: Mg, Al, Ti Exp: Sn, Pb, Bi
Medium metals and alloys (ρ = 5000...10000 Medium melting point = 327 to 1539 °C
kg/m3 )
Exp: Al, Mg, Mn, Cu, Ni, Co, Ag, Au
Exp: Sn, Zn, Sb, Cr, Ni, Mn, Fe, Cu Refractory Tm > TmFe = 1539 °C
Heavy metals and alloys (ρ >10000 kg/m3 ) Exp: Nb, Mo, W
Exp: Pb, Ag, Au, Ta, W, Mo

Element Ti Cr V Nb Mo Ta W
Tm, °C 1660 1875 1900 2415 2610 2996 3410
 Classification of non-ferrous materials

❑ Manufacturing Based ❑ Heat treatment based

Wrought Alloy Heat-treatable
Cast Alloy Non heat-treatable
Classification of non-ferrous materials
Cast Alloy
Wrought Alloy
 Al and its Alloys

Reference Book : Light alloys by I. J. Polmear

Application of Al and its Alloys
Application of Al and its Alloys
 Properties of Al
High specific modulus (ratio of modulus to density) and high specific
strength, (ratio of strength to density)
High electrical and thermal conductivity (in annealed condition),
Non-magnetic material,
Good resistance to corrosion and oxidation by Al2O3 film on its
surface,
Low endurance limit,
Low service temperature; Density Al: 2.7 g/cc
low strength at elevated temperatures,
Low hardness and poor wear resistance.
Alloying elements
Solid solubility of alloying elements in aluminium
Alloying elements
CLASSIFICATION OF WROUGHT ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
Aluminum Association Numbering System Wrought aluminium alloys in each family, designated using
the standard four-digit system.
Classification of wrought aluminium alloys The first digit indicates the major alloy element group.
The second digit will be zero normally. It indicates the
original alloy. Modification of the original alloy is
mentioned as nonzero numbers. Integers 1 to 9, which are
assigned consecutively, indicate alloy modifications.
Exmp:7075 and 7475 differ only slightly in composition.
The final two digits simply represent the particular alloy
within the family.
The third and fourth digits are significant in the 1xxx series
but not in other alloys. In the 1xxx series, the minimum
purity of the aluminium is denoted by these digits.

Example-1: 1145 has a minimum purity of 99.45% and

1200 has a minimum purity of 99.00%.

Example-2: 3003, 3004 and 3005 are distinctly different

Al–Mn alloys in same family
 CLASSIFICATION OF CAST ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
Classification of cast aluminium alloys Cast aluminium alloys designated as 4 digit
number including a decimal point system
The first digit shows the alloy group where
the second and third digits indicate the
particular alloy or aluminium purity
The final digit is distinguished by a decimal
point, which distinguish the product form
(e.g., casting or ingot).
A change of the original alloy is represented
by a letter before the numerical designation.

Aluminum Association Numbering System

 Al cast alloy (383.0/383)
Al alloy Ingot (383.1)
• Example-1: 160.0 represents a casting of 99.60% minimum aluminum, relatively high purity.
Example of Eutectic alloy (Al-Cu) system and peritectic alloy (Al-Zr)
Wrought Al Alloys
 Non-heat treatable alloys
Wrought compositions that do not respond to strengthening by
heat treatment
Three major criteria for selecting and developing NHT products are:
(i) structural – based on strength and durability
(ii) formability – based on complexity and productivity in making the final part
(iii) surface quality – based on finishing characteristics, reflectivity or general
appearance.
Non-heat treatable alloys are:
1. 1xxx
2. 3xxx
 Temper Designation System
Non-heat treatable alloys
❑ The second number following the “H” indicates the degree of
strain hardening:
H1 – Strain hardened only
H2 – Strain hardened and partially annealed
H3 – Strain hardened and stabilized
HX2 – Quarter Hard
HX4 – Half Hard
HX6 – Three-Quarter Hard
HX8 – Full Hard
HX9 – Extra Hard
 1000 Series Aluminum
99% pure aluminum.
No major alloying additions.
It is soft and very ductile, having excellent workability.
Well suited for applications involving severe forming as it work
hardens more slowly during forming.
It is the most weldable of all aluminum alloys.
It can not be heat treated.
It has the best resistance to corrosion of any aluminum alloy and
widely seen in the food and chemical processing industry.
 Applications:
• Drawn tube, chemical equipment
• Sheet, plate, foil
• Electrical conductors
• Aerospace

Self-Adhesive Aluminium Foil Billets (extrusions and forgings)

Wire rods
 3000 Series Aluminum Alloys
Can be chem film treated and anodized easily.
Commonly used as the top or Alclad layer in other Al alloys
needing extra corrosion resistance.
Poor machine-ability due to soft nature.
3003 is the most widely used among all Al alloys when measured in
1000 of tons per year.
It is essentially commercially pure Al with the addition of Mn which
increases its strength about 20% over the 1100 series Al.
Normally not heat treatable.
 3000 Series Aluminum Alloys
Normally not heat treatable.
A popular alloy in this group is 3003, which is used as a
general purpose alloy for moderate strength applications
requiring good formability.
Applications include home, recreational, commercial and
light industrial.
Not normally seen for aircraft and aerospace uses.
 • Cooking Utensils
• Food processing
• Food handing components
• Chemical processing
• Chemical handing components
• Automotive Trim

Body of the can, 3004 or

3104 Al alloy is used
3003 Al Motor Housing
 Al–Mn and Al–Mn–Mg alloys (3xxx series)
Phase diagram of Al-Mn alloy
 Al–Mn and Al–Mn–Mg alloys (3xxx series)

The eutectic between aluminium

and Al6Mn is 1.3% manganese
and 660 °C
▪ Commercial Al–Mn alloys contain up to 1.25% manganese
although the maximum solid solubility of this element in
aluminium is as high as 1.82%
▪ The only widely used binary Al–Mn alloy is 3003 which is
supplied as sheet.
▪ The presence of finer manganese-containing intermetallic
compounds confers some dispersion-hardening
▪ The addition of Mg provides solid solution strengthening
and the dilute alloy 3105 (Al–0.55Mn-0.5Mg), which is
readily fabricated, is widely used in a variety of
strain-hardened tempers.
 5000 Series Aluminum Alloys
Magnesium is the principal alloy addition.
A higher strength, non heat treatable family of alloys.
5005 is an improved version of 3003, better suited for
anodizing with less tendency to streak or discolor.
Similar applications to 3003.
5052 is the highest strength.
Has good resistance to marine atmosphere and salt water
corrosion.
Excellent formability.
Good fatigue properties in higher temper
conditions.
Good weldability by all methods.
Large number of different alloys are exist in this
5000 series group. Other popular alloys include
5056, 5083, & 5086.
Used in a variety of applications including home,
marine, ground transportation and aircraft.
Used for aluminum rivets (bucked and pulled) also.
Aluminium and magnesium form solid solutions over a wide
range of compositions and wrought alloys containing from 0.8%
to slightly more than 5% magnesium are widely used.
Cu and Si are frequently added to Al-Mg alloy
Al-Mg-Si alloys are not as strong as most 2xxx and 7xxx alloys, but
have good formability, corrosion resistance, surface qualities,
welding and machining properties, which satisfy a range of
structural purposes.
For both Al-Mg-Si and Al-Mg-Cu, the precipitates giving strength
are needles, rods or laths, along <100> Al.
 Precipitates in Al-Mg-Cu and Al-Mg-Si alloys
Al-Mg-Cu alloys are used in aircraft structures and for a range
of other structural applications.
The precipitation sequence takes two paths:

In Al-Mg-Si alloys the precipitation sequence is:

This alloy considered as 6xxx Al alloys and follow the 6xxx

nomenclature
 Heat treatable alloys
Wrought compositions that respond to strengthening by heat treatment

Heat treatable alloys are:

1. 2xxx
2. 6xxx
3. 7xxx
 Temper Designation System
T3 Solution treated, cold worked, then naturally aged
T351 Solution treated, stress relieved by stretching then naturally
aged
T4 Solution treated and naturally aged
T42 Solution treated and naturally aged by the user
T5 Artificially aged
T6 Solution treated and artificially aged at an elevated
temperature to highest strength
 Temper Designation System
T651 Solution treated, stress relieved by stretching, then artificially aged to highest
strength
T652 Solution treated, stress relieved by compression, then artificially aged to highest
strength
T62 Solution treated and artificially aged to highest strength by the user
T7 Solution treated and over aged to a point beyond maximum strength (T6)
(Usually 2 step age)
T7xx As above with specific aging - stress relief goals for improved corrosion
properties
T8 Solution treated, cold worked, and artificially aged. (Usually only seen in sheet
and extrusions)
T8xx As above but also cold worked/stress relieved
 2000 Series Aluminum Alloys
This series of aluminum is the original heat treatable alloy
group developed in the 1920's.
Principal alloying element is copper with minor additions of
manganese and magnesium.
The best known, most widely used heat treatable alloy for
aircraft and aerospace is 2024.
Can be spot and friction welded but not fusion welded
(a few exceptions being tank structures in the Titan Missile).
Has good formability in the annealed temper condition
and some formability in the solution treated and aged
condition
Needs intelligent designs in complex application.
Has excellent fatigue properties when compared to other
aluminum alloys, excellent strength to weight ratio.
Good machinability.
Poor resistance to corrosion without alclad layer or
secondary chem film, anodize and/or prime and paint.
 6000 Series Aluminum Alloys
Magnesium and silicon are the major alloy additions, making
these alloys heat treatable.
6061 is the principle alloy.
It is one of the least expensive and most versatile aircraft
aluminum alloys available.
A good range of mechanical fatigue properties and excellent
corrosion resistance for a heat treatable aircraft alloy.
Can be fabricated by virtually all methods.
Excellent spot and fusion weldability for a heat treatable
grade.
Can also be furnace brazed.
Available as a clad alloy for even better corrosion resistance.

Although not as strong as the 2000 or 7000 series of heat treatable

alloys, its corrosion resistance is far greater.
Far ranging applications including aircraft, missiles and space,
ground and marine transportation, screw machine parts and some
industrial commercial uses.
6063 is widely seen in extrusion products for architectural
applications.
Has excellent finishing characteristics it is the best alloy for
anodizing applications, either plain or dyed.
Al-Mg-Si alloys the precipitation sequence is:

Al–Mg–Si alloys are normally aged at Morphology of the Mg2Si precipitates

about 170 °C
 7000 Series Aluminum Alloys
Probably the highest strength series of aluminum alloys for
aircraft applications.
Relies on zinc as the primary alloy addition.
Excellent fatigue properties, but in the T6 temper the
fracture toughness can be inferior to other alloy choices.
Many aircraft applications in the late 1940's and 1950's
used 7075 T6 before some unacceptable properties were
understood.
 7000 Series Aluminum Alloys
Normally formed fabricated in the annealed (0)
condition.
Can be spot welded but not fusion welded.
Poor corrosion resistance if not protected by chem
film, anodize, prime or paint.
In sheet forms almost always used as a clad alloy.
Other popular alloys now include 7049, 7050 in the
over aged temper condition (T7xxx)
 Most widely used
alloy in aerospace
industry

The general precipitation sequence may be written:

 4000 Series Aluminum Alloys
The addition of silicon to aluminum (4xxx) reduces
melting temperature and improves fluidity.
Silicon alone in aluminum produces a nonheat-treatable
alloy; however, in combination with magnesium it
produces a precipitation hardening heat-treatable alloy.
Consequently, there are both heat-treatable and
nonheat-treatable alloys within the 4xxx series.
Silicon additions to aluminum are commonly used for the
manufacturing of castings.
 4000 Series Aluminum Alloys
The most common applications for the 4xxx series
alloys are filler wires for fusion welding and brazing
of aluminum.
After iron, Si is the highest impurity level in
electrolytic commercial aluminum (0.01 to 0.15%).
In wrought alloys, silicon is used with magnesium
at levels up to 1.5% to produce Mg2Si in the 6xxx
series of heat-treatable alloys.
Cast Al alloys
 Properties of aluminum and its alloys favorable for casting applications

Low melting point;

Good fluidity of most of the alloys
Capability to control grain structure
Good surface finish
Low solubility of gases (except Hydrogen)
Ability to be strengthened by heat
treatment (precipitation hardening)
Difficulties in Al alloy casting

High shrinkage (4-8%) and susceptibility to shrinkage

defects (shrinkage porosity)
High hydrogen solubility;
Susceptibility to hot cracking;
Low ductility
Metal castings on the overall metal casting production (weight basis) in
the U.S., in 2011. Source: World Casting Census, 2012.
Aluminum-copper cast alloys (2xx.x series)
Heat-treatable;
High strength;
Low corrosion resistance
(susceptible to stress-corrosion cracking);
Low fluidity;
Low ductility;
Susceptible to hot cracks.
Applications:
Cylinder heads for automotive and aircraft engines, pistons
for diesel engines, exhausting system parts.
Aluminum-silicon-copper/magnesium cast alloys (3xx.x series)
Heat-treatable;
High strength;
Low ductility;
Good wear resistance
Decreased corrosion resistance
(in copper containing alloys);
Good fluidity;
Good machinability (in copper containing alloys).
Lightweight BMW magnesium alloy
automotive engine block containing
Applications: cast aluminium alloy A390 cylinders
Automotive cylinder blocks and head, car wheels,
aircraft fittings, casings and other parts of
compressors and pumps.
Aluminum-silicon cast alloys (4xx.x The most widely used are those based
series) on the Al–Si, Al–Si–Mg and Al–Si–Cu
systems.
Non-heat-treatable;
Moderate strength;
Moderate ductility;
Good wear resistance;
Very good cast properties;
Good corrosion resistance.
Applications:
Pump casings, thin wall castings,
cookware.
Thin-walled cast Al–Si alloy
automotive transmission casing
Aluminum- magnesium cast alloys (5xx.x series)
Non-heat-treatable;
High corrosion resistance;
Good machinability;
Good appearance when anodized;
Moderate cast properties.

Applications:
Sand cast parts.
Aluminum-zinc cast alloys (7xx.x series)
Heat-treatable;
Good dimensional stability;
Good corrosion resistance;
Poor cast properties;
Good machinability (in copper containing alloys).
As-cast (a) Al-20Zn, (b) Al-35Zn, and (c) Al-49Zn alloys
Aluminum-tin cast alloys (8xx.x series)
Non-heat-treatable;
Low strength;
Very good wear resistance;
Good machinability.
Applications:
Monometal (solid) and bi-metal slide
bearings for internal combustion engines and other slide
bearings applications.
 Casting Process of Al alloys
Aluminum alloys are cast from the following types of aluminum
casting processes, with the most common listed first:

• Direct Chill Casting (DC)

• High Pressure Die Casting (HPDC)
• Vertical Low Pressure Die Casting (LPDC)
• Gravity Permanent Mold (PM) and Semi-Permanent Mold (SPM)
• Precision Sand Casting
• Green Sand Casting
• Lost Foam Casting
• Investment Casting
• Semi Solid or Semi Liquid Casting
Strengthening Mechanism of Al and Al alloys
Strengthening Mechanism of Al and Al alloys
Al-Cu alloys
 Figure: 1

(a) (b)

A
300
200
100
Heat treatment normally involves the following stages:

1. Solution treatment at a relatively high temperature within

the single-phase region, e.g. A in Fig.1, to dissolve the
alloying elements.
2. Rapid cooling or quenching, usually to room temperature,
to obtain a supersaturated solid solution (SSSS) of these
elements in aluminium.
3. Controlled decomposition of the SSSS to form a finely
dispersed precipitate, usually by ageing for convenient times
at one and sometimes two intermediate temperatures.
 Water Quenching

SSSS
Fig.2
Precipitation or Age hardening
a. Age hardening involves the rapid cooling of a solid solution from a
high temperature to one where it becomes supersaturated so that
precipitation begins on ageing. Note that it is not just the solute
concentration which is supersaturated but also the vacancy
concentration.

b. Age in a way which avoids precipitate–free zones. The latter form

either due to vacancy or solute depletion in the vicinity of grain
boundaries.

c. Consider the role of metastable precipitates in the development of

precipitation hardening.
 Formation of the precipitates

• Precipitation sequence

Solid Solution
❑ The solubility of solute in the matrix (α) is important. This solubility cannot be defined in
isolation –it depends on the phase with which the α is in equilibrium with, e.g. Fig. 1.

❑ In the Al–Cu system, the stable precipitate is CuAl2 but because it is difficult to nucleate, metastable GP1
zones form first.
• Free energy curve for GP1 zones is located above that for CuAl2 in Fig. 4. The common tangent
construction shows that this leads to an increase in the solubility of copper in α when it is in equilibrium
with GP1 zones.
• Another interpretation is that a greater undercooling is required before GP1 zones can precipitate.
• The GP zones are copper rich; they are fully coherent with the matrix and hence very low interfacial
energy. They are disk shaped and the disks are aligned along the elastically soft directions of the fcc
matrix in order to reduce the elastic energy associated with the coherency.
• The GP zones are (typically) about 10 nm in diameter, 2 atomic layers thick and are typically
separated by about 10 nm Fig. 3(a).
❑ The θ′′ is tetragonal; it is a distorted fcc structure with alternating copper and almuminium atoms on the
(001) planes. It has a small misfit along the c direction which is accommodated by elastic strain, and hence,
it is also coherent with the matrix (with a habit plane of (001): that is (001)θ″ is parallel to (001)α).
Because of the habit plane, the precipitates are generally platelike. Typical θ″ precipitates are 100 nm
in diamter and 10 nm in thickness.

❑ The θ′ is also tetragonal with an approximate composition of CuAl2. They have the same orientation
relationship as θ′. The misfit in the other two directions are large and hence the interface is either
semi-coherent (with misfit dislocations) and incoherent. The plane face (namely, (001)) is coherent though
as size increases, it starts to lose coherency.
❑ Finally, the equilibrium phase, θ is a complex body-centered tetragonal phase with approximate
composition of CuAl2 with incoherent interfaces.
 Fig 4

Fig 5

The solubility of solute in α is larger when it is Differences in activation energies for the formation of
in equilibrium with GP1 zones compared with metastable phases and the stable phase
when it is in equilibrium with CuAl2.
The schematic free energy versus composition curve in Fig.4 shows the driving force associated with each step; as can be
seen from the free energy versus composition diagram, the decrease in free energy with the formation of the metastable
phase, say, GP zones for example, is lower compared to that of the precipitation of the equilibrium θ phase. However, the
energy barrier for the nucleation of these metastable phases is lower; this is due to the coherency/semi-coherency of the
interfaces which leads to lower interfacial energies in general. This difference in activation energy is shown schematically in
Fig. 5.
• while GP zones are seem to be homogeneously nucleated (or heterogeneously, on excess vacancies), θ″ nuclei are
formed by the transformation of these GP zones; θ′ typically nucleates on dislocations while θ nucleates either on
grain boundaries or at the θ′ -matrix interface.

• The concentration of the dissolved Cu atoms goes down because GP zones are formed. The way they influence
dislocation movement is not much different from that of single solute atoms. At the beginning we only have a few small
ones that are less effective than the remaining dissolved Cu atoms. But as times goes on, more and more GP zones are
nucleated, their density increases, and their influence on hardness is felt. The influence of the GP zones on hardness is
shown by the blue dotted line. After reaching a maximum, the curve goes down again because we now form Θ''
precipitates
Hardening a
Aluminum -
4% Copper
alloy
 Hardening a Aluminum - 4% Copper alloy

• Precipitation hardening is well understood. In essence, dislocations can deal with precipitates in two ways. Small and
coherent precipitates (including Θ'' precipitates) are simply "cut" through.

• However, for big precipitates the second mechanism called "Orowan mechanism" becomes operative as shown below.
The effect of "big" precipitates does not depend on its size, only the average distance between the precipitates is
important.
 A dislocation running through a small precipitate, "cutting" it.

The stress needed for cutting increases with the size of the precipitate. If "cutting" would be the only mechanism, the
hardness would go up about linearly with time since the precipitates get bigger and bigger. This is shown by the dotted
black line in fig (Previous slid).
 The Orowan mechanism.

• A dislocation approaches a bunch of

precipitates.
• The dislocation is arrested at the precipitates In
between the precipitates the dislocation bows
out.
• The arrows show the forces acting on the
dislocation line.
• The bowed out parts are about to touch.
• Dislocation loops are formed around the
precipitates and the dislocation moves.
 Al-Si alloys
Effects of Si on the casting alloys
1. Lower the melting point,
2. Increase the fluidity,
3. Increase the castability.

• Fluidity: The ability of liquid metal to flow and fill the die
cavity without premature solidification.
• Castability: The ease to make good casting, related to
fluidity.
Al-Si alloy Phase Diagram
Al-Si alloys

▪ Hypoeutectic (<12.6 wt% Si)

▪ Eutectic (12.6 wt% Si)
▪ Hypereutectic (>12.6 wt% Si)
 Al-Si alloys
Aluminium-Silicon (Al-Si) casting alloys are the most useful of all common foundry cast alloys in the
fabrication of pistons for automotive engines.
Depending on the Si concentration in weight percentage, the Al-Si alloy systems are divided into three
major categories:
▪ Hypoeutectic(<12.6 wt% Si)
▪ Eutectic (12.6 wt% Si)
▪ Hypereutectic (>12.6 wt% Si)

▪ The eutectic is formed between an aluminium solid solution containing just over 1% silicon
 As solidified Microstructure

Commercial cast aluminum-silicon alloys. (b) Microstructure of hypoeutectic alloy (1.65-12.6 wt% Si). 150. (c)
Microstructure of eutectic alloy (12.6% Si). 400. (d) Microstructure of hypereutectic alloy (>12.6% Si).
As solidified Microstructure

Hypoeutectic Al-Si alloy

Influence the strength
of the alloys
As solidified Microstructure
• The microstructure of the Al-Si cast alloys primarily consists of a primary phase (α-Al) and eutectic
mixture of Al-Si.
• The amount of eutectic mixture in the microstructure depends on the level Si.
• The eutectic mixture contains soft Al as matrix containing Si particles. The morphology of Si-particles is
plate-like which may be altered upon modification treatment.

Effect of addition of intermetallic forming elements:

• The presence of Cu, Mg and Fe in the alloy leads to formation of various intermetallic compounds in the
microstructure of the alloy.
• The most common intermetallic phases are Al2Cu, Mg2Si, α-Al12(Fe,Mn)3Si2 and β-Al5FeSi.
• The cooling rate has a marked effect on the size, morphology, and distribution of all the microstructural
constituents.
Hypo-Eutectic Microstructure
a c

Modification of Eutectic Microstructure with addition of Na and P

 no phosphorus small additions of P Adding a small amount
of phosphorus (P) to
the melt which reacts
with aluminium to
form small, insoluble
particles.
This compound has
lattice spacings similar
to those of silicon, and
the particles serve as
nuclei site on which
the primary particles
can form

Effect of minor additions of phosphorus in refining the size of the primary silicon plates in
the hypereutectic alloy
Effect of Cooling rate

• The cooling rate has a marked effect on the size, morphology, and distribution of all the microstructural constituents.
• Increasing cooling rate refines all microstructural features in size, decreases SDAS, changes the morphology of eutectic Si
from large and elongated plates-like to small and rounder ones and decreases the size of all intermetallic compounds
regardless of their type.
• Although an increased cooling rate refined eutectic Si-particles, the plate-like morphology of them remained unaffected.
• However a Sr treatment may modify the coarse plate-like morphology of Si-particles to fine fibrous.
• Both cooling rate refinement and Sr-modification of eutectic Si particles are important.
 Cooling rate refinement
The cooling rate refinement of eutectic Si-particles has been described based on the surface energy of the Al-Si solid
interface

As the cooling rate increases, the lead of Al over Si increases causing complete encasement of the lagging Si crystal by
the advancing Al as depicted in Figure (b) and(c). This theory accounts for the formation of the modified eutectic
structure at high cooling rates
Eutectic Si Modification

The term “modification” describes the method in which inoculants in the form of master alloys are added to an Al melt in
order to promote the formation of a fine and fibrous eutectic Si structure during the solidification process.

• Modification of the Al–Si eutectic from a flake-like (Figure a) to a fine fibrous Si structure (Figure c) can be achieved in
two different ways;
by addition of certain elements (chemical-modification) or
with a rapid cooling rate (quench-modification).

Several modifiers are known (e.g., strontium, sodium, antimony, barium and calcium), of which strontium is the most
addition that has been employed in the Al alloy industry in recent years as a chemical modifier owing to the following
reasons:
(a) it is easy to handle, (b) it is effective and (c) its fading effect is low.

Addition of a few hundred parts per million Sr modifies the eutectic Si morphology from coarse plate-like into fine
fibrous and has a beneficial effect on both strength and ductility, which is due to changing the fracture mode from
transgranular and brittle to intergranulare and interdendritic.
Fracture toughness of alloy
A357 (Al–7Si–0.5 Mg).
Castings solidified over a
range of cooling rates, with
and without strontium
modification
 Al-Li alloys

Li is the lightest metallic element and each 1% of Li reduces

an alloy density by about 3% and increases modulus by
about 6%
•7-10% Lower density.
•10-15% Higher Modulus.
•Excellent fatigue and cryogenic toughness properties.
•Higher stiffness.
•Superior fatigue crack growth resistance.
•Reduced ductility.
 Al-Li alloys

•Low fracture toughness.

•Ease of fabrication using conventional equipment and methods.
•Some operations that generate molten metal, such as flame
cutting and welding, are hazardous because of the possibility of
explosion if moisture is present.
•These alloys are typically solution-heat-treated and aged in
conventional furnace equipment.
Lithium has a
significant
solubility in
aluminum, with
a maximum of
5.2 weight
percent
The eutectic
temperature of
536°C
• The addition of Lithium to aluminum form coherent, low density
Al3Li (δ‫ )׳‬precipitates. However the binary alloys have poor
mechanical properties which are attributed to strain localization
and shearing of soft Al3Li (δʹ ) precipitates.
• This problem has been solved by development of ternary and
quaternary alloys containing copper and magnesium.
• In all aluminum-lithium alloys, small addition of zirconium or
scandium is done to improve recrystallization.
• The new developed aluminum lithium alloys series Al-Li-Cu-X are
potential candidate to replace existing conventional alloys in terms
of enhanced properties with reduced density.
TERNARY
SYSTEMS
 Mg and its Alloys
Reference Book : Light alloys by I. J. Polmear
 Physical Properties of Mg

Lighter than Al with a density of 1.7 g/cm3

Not as strong as Al, but its strength to weight ratio close to it,
Poor fatigue, creep and wear resistance,
Good corrosion and oxidation resistance by MgO film on its
surface,
Low elasticity modulus,
Low melting point,
Easily burns under O2 atmosphere: Dangerous,
Poor ductility (HCP structure): But may be improved with
alloying,
Difficulty in processing (forming, machining and casting),
Extracted electrolytically from MgCl2 in sea water
❑ Magnesium mixed with other metal elements to improve the
physical properties.
❑ These elements include manganese, aluminium, zinc, silicon,
copper, zirconium, and rare-earth metals
❑ Some of magnesium’s favorable properties include low specific
gravity and a high strength-to-weight ratio.
❑ The material lends itself to a range of automotive, aerospace,
industrial, electronic, biomedical, and commercial applications.
Applications
• Aerospace industry,
• High speed machinery,
• Transportation and materials handling equipment
 Types and designation

Magnesium alloys can be categorized into two groups:

Cast alloys and Wrought alloys.
❑ Cast alloys

Made by pouring the molten liquid metal into a mould, within

which it solidifies into the required shape.
Common cast alloys of magnesium consist of different amounts –
but not exceeding 10% – of aluminium, manganese and zinc as
principal alloying elements.
Other alloying elements have been recently used, as well, mostly
to enhance creep resistance, such as zirconium and rare-earth
metals.
Besides, mechanical properties of cast alloys are augmented by
heat treatments.
❑ Wrought alloys
This alloys subjected to mechanical working, such as
forging, extrusion, and rolling operations, to reach the
desired shape.
Aluminium, manganese and zinc are also the main alloying
elements.
Wrought alloys of magnesium are sorted into heat
treatable and non-heat treatable alloys.
❑ ASTM designation system, magnesium alloys are named and grouped by
means of their main alloying elements.
The principal alloying elements and their relative designations.

Principal Alloying Element ASTM Designation

Manganese M

Aluminium-Manganese AM

Aluminium-Zinc-Manganese AZ

Zirconium K

Zinc-Zirconium ZK

Zinc-Zirconium-Rare Earth Metal ZE

Rare Earth Metal-Zirconium EZ

Zinc-Copper-Manganese ZC

Aluminium-Silicon-Manganese AS
❑ In order to understand the compositions of the alloys, designation
systems have been created based on the alloying elements and their
relative information.
❑ One of the most widely used designation systems is the ASTM Standard
Alloy Designation System.
It is made of four parts, described in the following example:
Magnesium Alloy: AZ91E-T6

First part (AZ): Designates the two main alloying elements

(aluminium, zinc)
Second part (91): Designates the percentage amount of the main
alloying elements (9% and 1%, respectively)
Third part (E): Differentiates alloys having the same amounts of
the main alloying elements (fifth standardized alloy with the
above percentages)
Fourth part (T6): Designates the condition of the alloy (temper)
Magnesium alloys are the third most popular non-ferrous casting materia l
The physical properties of the alloys change based on their chemical compositions. Adding different
alloying elements would result in different properties at different conditions.

Aluminium improves strength, hardness and ductility, facilitating the alloy’s casting process.
Zinc increases room-temperature strength, fluidity in casting, and corrosion resistance.
Manganese increases the resistance of AM and AZ alloys to saltwater corrosion by forming
intermetallic compounds with iron-like metals, to be removed during melting.
Rare earth metals help increase strength and resistance to high-temperature creep and corrosion,
and decrease porosity and weld cracking.
Zirconium is a strong grain refiner when added to alloys containing zinc and rare earth metals.
Beryllium helps decrease surface oxidation during casting and welding.
Calcium increases grain refinement, which helps in controlling the metallurgy of the alloy .
 Applications
Magnesium alloys cover a wide array of applications, from automotive and aerospace
applications to electronic and biomedical uses.

Structural applications

The advantage of magnesium alloys to be used in such applications is their light weight,
high strength-to-weight ratio, high stiffness-to-weight ratio, castability, machinability, and
great damping.

•Automotive: support brackets for brakes and clutch, housing for transmission
•Aerospace: landing wheels, helicopter rotor fittings, gearbox housings
•Industrial: high-speed operating machinery, such as textile machines
•Commercial: luggage, hand tools, computer housings, ladders
Casting of magnesium alloys

High pressure die casting : Most widely used for magnesium alloy components
▪ hot chamber
▪ cold chamber
Squeeze casting: Vertical arrangement of casting unit and moulding direction
▪ direct squeeze casting
▪ indirect squeeze casting
Thixo-casting: Relatively new method based on the thixotropic properties of the
semi-liquid alloys.
❑ Grain refinement

Grain refinement is not necessary in high-pressure die casting,squeeze die casting or

thixo-casting but for sand casting due to slow solidification rates.
Al containing Mg alloys (Mg-Al, Mg-Al-Zn):
▪ Carbon inoculation with hexachloroethane or hexachlorobenzine compressed
tablets to produce Al4C3 as heterogeneous nuclei.
Non Al containing Mg alloy:
▪ Zr is used as a grain refiner in non Al-containing Mg alloys.
▪ Zr could form heterogeneous nuclei for Mg alloy to solidify on.

Note that:
Superheating Mg-Al alloys to about 250 oC above the melting point just before casting refines
the grain size and improves the strength. This is the only metal that can be grain refined by
superheating – usually it has the opposite effect.
 Wrought Mg-Alloys
Temper designation in similar to Al alloys
❑ Not heat treatable
All solid solution Mg alloys can be hot forged at 300 – 400 oC in hydraulic presses – rather like hammers.
Extrusions can also be made from all alloys – to obtain a fine grain size extrusions are made from very
fine pellets
M 1A, AZ31B and AZ61A – can be rolled into sheet at temperatures ~200 oC

❑ Heat treatable

AZ80A and ZK60A are effectively solution treated after forging – because of the hot working
temperature is close to 400 oC –precipitation hardening during subsequent aging at room temperature
occurs.
AZ80A and ZK60A are used for “high” temperature ~150 oC – applications
ZK60A – T5 –contains no Al – so is more expensive – but has greater strength and ductility than AZ80A
Wrought magnesium alloys

Deformation is limited due to HCP structure, only occur on

1) By slip on the {1000} basal planes in the <1120> direction.
2) Twining on the {1012} pyramidal planes.
At T>250oC slip can occurs on pyramidal and prismatic planes (basal)
More workable at elevated temperatures Pyramidal (300-500oC) rather than at RT.
Prismatic
Magnesium alloys are normally produced in sheets, plates, extruded bars, shapes ,
tubes, and forgings.
Example of Mg alloy systems
 Mg-Al and Mg-Al-Zn casting alloy
Light weight and superior ductility
Solid solution treatment of these alloys however produce
non-coherent, coarse precipitates of equilibrium Mg17Al12
without the formation of the GP zone
Zn addition increases strength by solid solution
strengthening and precipitation hardening

Grain boundary constituent is Mg17Al12 (β phase)

 Mg-Ag-RE alloys
Ag was found to have a positive effect on
precipitation behaviour of Mg-RE alloys.
Development of QE series to improve elevated
temperature strength and creep resistance.
Mg9R compound is produced at GBs of Mg
solids solution embedded with a fine
precipitate of Mg12Nd2Ag precipitates
QE22 (2.5% Ag and 2% RE such as Nd)and other
heavy RE gives
Outstanding age-hardening response.
Ag addition Finer and higher Vf of precipitates

Morphology of precipitates
 Cu and its Alloys

Reference Book :RAYMONDA.HIGGINS

Copper is the oldest metal used by human

❑ Copper and Copper alloys are some of the most versatile engineering materials available.
❑ The combination of physical properties such as strength, conductivity, corrosion resistance, machinability and
ductility make Copper suitable for a wide range of applications.
❑ These properties can be further enhanced with variations in composition and manufacturing methods.

COPPER USAGE:
The building industry is the largest single consumer of Copper alloys. The following list is a breakdown of Copper
consumption by industry on an annual basis:
▪ Building industry
▪ Electronic products
▪ Transportation
▪ Consumer products
▪ Industrial machinery
APPLICATIONS
Copper and Copper alloys can be used in an extraordinary range of applications.
Some of the applications of Copper include:
▪ Power transmission lines
▪ Architectural applications
▪ Cooking utensils
▪ Spark plugs
▪ Electrical wiring, cables and busbars
▪ High conductivity wires
▪ Electrodes
▪ Heat exchangers
▪ Refrigeration tubing
▪ Plumbing
▪ Water-cooled Copper crucibles

Needs to be remember: Cu does not use for structural applications

PROPERTIES OF COPPER ALLOYS
Important Properties of Copper Alloys Copper is a tough, ductile and malleable material. These properties make copper
extremely suitable for tube forming, wire drawing, spinning and deep drawing. The other important properties exhibited
by Copper and its alloys include:
▪ Excellent heat conductivity
▪ Excellent electrical conductivity
▪ Good corrosion resistance
▪ Good biofouling resistance
▪ Good machinability
▪ Retention of mechanical and electrical properties at cryogenic temperatures
▪ Non-magnetic

Other Properties
▪ Copper and Copper alloys have a peculiar smell and disagreeable taste.
▪ Most commercially used metals have a metallic white or silver colour.
▪ Copper and Copper alloys have a range of yellow/gold/red colours.

Melting Point The melting point for pure Copper is 1083 °C.
Copper has a face centered cubic (FCC) crystal structure.
CASTING
The nature of the casting process means that most cast Copper alloys have a greater range of alloying elements than
wrought alloys.

WROUGHT COPPER ALLOYS

Wrought copper alloys are produced using a variety of different production methods. These methods including processes
such as rolling, extrusion, drawing and stamping. Such processes may be followed by annealing (softening), cold working,
hardening by heat treatments or stress relieving to achieve the desired properties.

Copper Designations
Designation systems for Copper are not specifications, but methods for identifying chemical compositions. Property
requirements are covered in EN, ASTM, government and military standards for each composition

The alloy designation system used in the UK and across Europe uses a 6 character alpha-numeric series.
▪ The 1st letter is C for Copper-based material
▪ The second letter indicates the product form:
B = Ingot for re-melting to produce cast products
C = Cast products
F = Filler materials for brazing and welding
M = Master Alloys
R = Refined unwrought Copper
S = Scrap
3 digit number between 001 and 999 with the numbers being in groups as shown in the table
 The method for designating Copper alloys is
an expansion upon the system developed
by the US Copper and Brass industry using Wrought Copper Alloy
five digits preceded by the letter C.
▪ C100xx-C150xx: Commercially Pure Cu
Unified Numbering System (UNS) Alloy ▪ C151xx-C199xx: Age Hardenable Cu (w/ Cd, Be, Cr, Fe)
Designations ▪ C2xxxx : Cu-Zn alloys –Brasses
▪ UNS System begun in 1974 ▪ C3xxxx : Cu-Zn-Pb alloys –Leaded brasses
▪ Originally only 3 numbers for an alloy ▪ C4xxxx : Cu-Zn-Sn alloys –Tin bronzes
▪ Now C plus 5 numbers ▪ C5xxxx : Cu-Sn and Cu-Sn-Pb -Phosphor bronze alloys
▪ Wrought and Cast alloys are included ▪ C6xxxx : Cu-Al and Cu-Si Bronzes
▪ CDA Administers UNS Copper Alloys System
▪ C7xxxx : Cu-Ni- Copper Nickel and Cu-Ni-Zn

Cast Copper Alloy

▪ C800xx-C811xx: Commercially Pure Coppers
▪ C813xx-C828xx : 95-99% Copper
▪ C833xx-C899xx : Cu-Zn alloys containing Sn, Pb, Mn, or Si
▪ C9xxxx: Other alloys, including tin bronze, aluminum bronze, copper nickel
 Copper alloys (addition of Zn)
Brasses
Brasses are the alloys of copper and zinc.
Binary Phase-diagram of Cu-Zn

Brasses are classified as follows

1)α –brasses
2)α-β brasses
3)Red brasses and yellow brasses.

α –brasses contain zinc less than 30% and α-β

brasses
Contain zinc between 30 to 44%.
Below 20% zinc, color of brasses is red and above
20% zinc, the color is yellow.
The addition of zinc to copper results in the formation of a series of
solid solutions which, in accordance with usual practice, are referred
to in order of decreasing copper content as the α, β, γ etc.,
constituents.

The phase formation may be summarized as follows:

1) α – brasses
Composition: Zinc less than 30%
Properties: Ductile, soft, malleable and fairly good corrosion resistance.
Application: Cold rolling, Wire drawing, Press work.
A) Cap copper:
Composition: zinc between 2 to 5%.
If zinc is not added ,copper oxide present in the structure reduces ductility and malleability.
Properties: cap copper is very ductile.
Application: used as cap detonators in ammunition factories.
B) Gilding metal:
Composition: zinc from 5 to 15%.
Application: bullet envelopes, drawn containers, condenser tubes, coins, needles, emblems and dress
jewelry because of color like gold.
Example: C 23000 - Red Brass (85 Cu, 15 Zn)
c) Cartridge brass:
Composition: about 30% zinc.
Properties: maximum ductility and malleability amongst all the brasses.
Application: for forming by deep drawing, stretching, trimming, spinning and press work operations. It is also used for
cartridge cases, radiator fins, lamp fixture, rivets and springs.
Example: C 26000 (70 Cu: 30 Zn)

D) Admiralty brass:
Composition: about 1% tin is added to cartridge brass to improve the corrosion resistance and such a brass is called
as admiralty brass.
22% Zn, 2% Al and about 0.04% As.
Application: condenser tubes and heat exchanger in steam power plant.
Marine application.
This alloy can undergo a range of solidification, the cast material has a dendritic structure. A dendritic structure of the α
solid solution when chill fast. The β constituent does not begin to appear in the cast structure until the zinc exceeds 32%
except in the presence of an additional element like aluminum or tin. If cooled very slowly or annealed, diffusion takes
place, yielding polyhedral grains of uniform composition. The process of diffusion is assisted by mechanical deformation of
the grains by hot- or cold work followed by annealing. After annealing, the alloy consists of homogeneous solid solution,
and it is specially suitable for cold-working. To withstand this treatment, especially drawing, it is necessary that the brass
should be perfectly sound and free from impurities.

Microstructure of wrought cartridge brass, Cu – 30% Zn, cold

Dendritic morphology of as
reduced 50% and annealed at 704°C – 30 min. producing a fully
cast with cored crystals of
recrystallized, and grown, equiaxed FCC grain structure with
a solid solution
annealing twins.
 2. α-β brasses:
Composition: zinc between 32 to 40%
Properties: hard, strong and are fabricated by hot working processes , more ductile and
malleable, cheap, poor corrosion resistance.
A. Muntz metal
Composition: 40% zinc with balance copper.
Properties: this becomes single phase at about 700c.
It can be readily hot worked , extruded or rolled in temp. range of 600 to 800c.
Tensile strength of 35 to 40% kg/mm2.
Hardness of 100 to 120 v.p.n.
Application: utensils, shaft, nuts and bolts, pump parts, condenser tubes .
a) Naval brass:
Composition: 1% tin to Muntz metal increases corrosion resistance to marine environment and brass is
called as naval brass or Tobin bronze.
Application: Marine hardware, propeller shaft, piston rods, nuts and bolts and welding rods.
b) Leaded brass:
composition: lead is added in small amount (1 to 3%) to improve machinability of brasses.
Properties: addition of lead is done to both the muntz metal and naval brass for improvement of
machinability.
This results in slight decrease in ductility and impact strength of the alloys.

c) High tensile brasses:

Composition: Alloying elements such as Al, Fe, Mn, Sn and Ni are added to 60-40 brass(Muntz metal) to
increase its tensile strength.
• Brass containing two or more above element is called as high tensile brasses.
• One of its manganese bronze containing up to 1% Mn, 2% Fe, 39% Zn and balance copper.
• It has good sea water resistance, tensile strength of 40-55 kg/mm2 and elongation of 20 to 30%.
Application: marine engine pumps, ship propellers, gears, valve bodies.
 The molten metal begins to freeze at about 905°C, and dendrites of the b solution are formed. With sufficiently slow
cooling through the range of solidification the alloy consists of homogeneous β constituent when just solid.
on cooling, this solution retains less copper and at 770°C the α constituent separates from the homogeneous β and
increases in amount as the temperature falls.
The structure on reaching atmospheric temperature is therefore a mixture of α and β, the relative proportions of which
may be controlled to some extent by the rate of cooling.
For example, a thin section of 60:40 brass quenched from 800°C consists of homogeneous β. With a larger section it is
impossible to suppress completely the separation of α, but a specimen rapidly cooled from this temperature always
contains more β than a specimen more slowly cooled.
These microstructural characteristics are accompanied by changes in mechanical properties which can be deduced from
the known hardness and brittleness of the β constituent and the softness and ductility of the α constituent.
▪ Hot-rolled 60:40 brass, the rolling of which has been stopped above 700°C, shows a uniform structure in longitudinal and
transverse directions.
▪ Lower temperature of finishing, the smaller will be the grain size.

Microstructure of Cu-40Zn (Muntz metal)

furnace cooled from 825 °C. Coarse α plates
(light) have precipitated at the grain boundaries
and within the original β grains.
B)Brazing brass:
Composition: brass with 50-50 composition is used for brazing purpose.
Property: brittle.
This alloy, if cooled sufficiently slowly through the range of solidification, consists of homogeneous β solution, which,
however, may decompose on cooling if the copper content is less than 50%.
At atmospheric temperature the β solution will retain a maximum of just 50% of zinc if no impurities are present, but
any content of zinc over 50% causes the separation of the γ constituent, which increases in amount as the temperature
falls.
Presence of γ constituent reduces the alloy extremely hard and brittleness.
 Bronze(Alloy of Cu other than Zn)
❑ Bronze are the alloys of copper containing elements other than zinc.
In these alloys , zinc may be present in small amount.
❑ Originally the name bronze was used to denote copper-tin alloys.
❑ Commercially important bronzes are aluminum bronzes, tin bronzes,
beryllium bronzes and silicon bronzes.
 Aluminium Bronze

❑ Composition: copper + aluminum

Commercial aluminium bronzes contain 4 to 11% aluminium.
Other elements such as Fe, Ni, Mn and Si may be added too these bronzes for improvement
of certain properties.
❑ Properties:
Good strength, ductility, toughness.
Good bearing properties.
Good corrosion resistance.
Good fatigue resistance.
❑ Applications: Jewelry, cigarette cases, heat exchangers, chemical plants, pump castings,
valve fittings, propellers, cylinder heads, gears, dies, bearings, spark plug bodies and
electrical contacts.
▪ The copper rich end of the copper-aluminum binary phase diagram is
shown.
▪ The vertical red line shows the composition: Cu-7 wt % Al.
▪ This alloy has the single phase α-structure, that is a substitutional solid
solution of aluminum in the fcc copper matrix.
▪ This composition has a melting temperature of about 1030 C.
▪ This material is known as an aluminum-bronze.
▪ The material has a UTS of about 500 MPa, a yield stress of 240 MPa,
and a % elongation to fracture of about 20 %.

Aluminum bronzes also fall in two categories:

1. Single-phase alpha-aluminum bronzes with less than about 8% aluminum and
2. Dual-phase alpha–beta aluminum bronzes with aluminum 8–12%

Small amounts of iron (0.5–5.0%), silicon (up to 2%), nickel (up to 5%), and manganese are generally added
to improve the properties of the alloy
Both iron and nickel improve strength and hardness and refines the grain but nickel is less effective than
iron.
Silicon imparts machinability while manganese promotes soundness in the casting.
❑ Alpha-aluminum bronzes

Single-phase alpha-aluminum bronzes containing iron up to about 3% are effectively strengthened by

cold working.
The structure consists of iron-rich particles in alpha phase.
Annealing of alpha-bronzes is carried out in the temperature range of 550–870 °C.
Iron containing alloys require annealing temperature at higher end of the range.
Alloys without iron, are annealed in the temperature range of 595–650 °C.
Aluminum bronze castings are annealed at 620–670 °C.
alpha-aluminum bronzes are ductile and therefore are cold workable. Cold working improves strength
and hardness.
Moreover, these bronzes possess good corrosion resistance against atmosphere and water.
❑ Alpha–beta aluminum bronzes
▪ Alpha–beta aluminum bronzes are heat treatable.
▪ Their heat treatment can be explained with reference to copper-rich portion of the Cu–Al phase diagram.
▪ Consider the slow cooling of Cu–10% aluminum.
▪ Slow cooling to ambient temperature yields a dual-phase microconstituent composed of α and γ 2 (Cu9Al4).
▪ Upon reheating the alloy, the eutectoid α+γ2 start transforming to α+β above eutectoid temperature of about 565 °C.
▪ Further heating results in dissolution of α until at about 910 °C where the structure is composed of completely
single-phase β solid solution.
▪ Quenching the alloy from this single-phase region from about 960 °C produces a nonequilibrium phase named βʹ
called martensite;
▪ This martensite is similar to the martensite produced in steel and exhibit similar characteristics.
▪ Tempering of βʹ phase at about 500 °C results in precipitation of a fine aggregate of α and γ 2 phases (Figure 18).

micrograph showing
needle like martensitic
microstructure.
 Tin Bronze
❑ Composition: tin + copper
❑ Classification:
1. Alloy up to 8% tin:
Good ductility, malleability, good corrosion resistance.
They can be easily cold worked and hence are used in the form of sheets, wires and coins.
2. Alloy between 8 to 12 % tin:
Used for pumps, gears, heavy load bearings and marine fittings to resists sea water corrosion.
3. Alloy between 12 to 20% tin:
They are mainly used for bearings.
4. Alloy between 20 to 25% tin:
They are principally used for bells and are called as bell metal. Very hard and brittle, and give ringing sound.
❑ Gun metal:
• It contain about 10 % tin and 2% zinc.
• It is widely used for gun barrels and ordnance parts, marine castings, gears, bearings, valve bodies and
similar applications
 Beryllium bronze
Solubility of beryllium in copper is 2.1 % at 864c and decreases with decreasing temp.
Properties:
Tensile strength 130 to 140 kg/mm2
Hardness 350 BHN
Good corrosion resistance, good fatigue resistance, high resilience and good bearing
properties
Low elastic hysteresis and non sparking characteristics.
Application :
springs, diaphragms, flexible bellows, gears, bearing and certain tool like hammers.
Also used for electrical contacts and moulds for forming of plastics.
 Silicon bronze
The alloy of silicon and copper is called as silicon bronze.
❑ Properties:
High resistance to corrosion,
High tensile strength,
Cold working, hot working, casting, good machinability
High toughness.
❑ Application :
High strength bolts, rivets, springs, propeller shafts and bells.
They are produced in the form of strips, plates, wires, rods, tubes, pipes, and castings.
 Copper nickel alloys
Properties:
Ductile, malleable and can be worked both in cold and hot conditions.
The corrosion resistance increases with increase in nickel.
Tensile strength, fatigue strength increases with nickel.
Application :
It is used as resistor .
Used for thermocouple wires, locomotive fire boxes as stay rods,
Marine condensers, turbine blades, bullet envelopes and coins, resistance wire, valve parts,
pump rod liners, impellers and part in chemical industry, rivets, screws, table flatware,
costume jewelry, name plates, radio dials, camera and optical parts.
Ni and Its alloys
 Properties of Nickel
Nickel base alloys have a fully austenitic face centred cubic (FCC) structure
It is magnetic at room temperature and has a Curie temperature of 253 oC (487oF)
good tensile, rupture and creep properties to much higher temperatures
The principal reason for the use of nickel base superalloys in gas turbines is their
outstanding strength and oxidation resistance over the temperature range encountered

Applications:
There are large number of applications for nickel as a material and nickel-based alloys:
Defense, especially marine applications
Energy generation
Gas turbines, both flight and land-based, especially for high temperature exhaust
Industrial furnaces and heat exchangers
Food preparation equipment
Medical equipment
In nickel plating, for corrosion resistance
As a catalyst for chemical reactions
Important Physical properties of Ni
▪ Nickel is a versatile element and will alloy with most metals.
▪ Complete solid solubility exists between nickel and copper.
▪ Wide solubility ranges between iron, chromium, and nickel make possible many alloy combinations.
▪ The face-centered cubic structure of the nickel matrix(γ) can be strengthened by solid-solution
hardening, carbide precipitation, or precipitation hardening.

Nickel will alloy readily with many other metals, including chromium, iron, molybdenum and copper.
This allows for a wide variety of alloys that demonstrate outstanding resistance to corrosion and
high-temperature scaling, exceptional high-temperature strength and other unique properties, such as
shape memory and low coefficient of expansion.
 Wrought Nickle alloys
❑ Nickel-Iron Alloys
Nickel-iron alloy function in applications where the desired property is a low rate of thermal
expansion.
These are used as soft magnetic materials, as glass-to-metal seals and as materials with defined
thermal expansion properties.
This high degree of dimensional stability renders nickel-iron alloys useful in applications such as
precision measurement equipment or thermostat rods.
Other nickel-iron alloys with even greater concentrations of nickel are used in applications where
soft magnetic properties are important, such as transformers, inductors, or memory storage devices.
Commercial alloy: Invar 36, Incoloy alloys
❑ Nickel-Copper Alloys
Nickel-copper alloys are characterized by high strength, weldability, excellent corrosion resistance, and toughness
over a wide temperature range.
They have excellent service in sea water or brackish water under high velocity conditions, as in propellers,
propeller shafts, pump shafts, and impellers and condenser tubes, where resistance to the effects of cavitation and
erosion are important.
Commercial alloy: Monel alloy
❑ Nickel-Molybdenum Alloys
These are highly resistant to reducing acids in the absence of oxidizing ions, such as ferric and cupric or
dissolved oxygen.
Commercial alloy: Alloy B-2.

❑ Nickel-Chromium Alloys
These are characterized by their high resistance to corrosion at both normal and high temperatures
(resistance to scaling), good high-temperature strength and high electrical resistance.
There are three main groups of alloys:
▪ Ni-Cr (and also Ni-Cr-Fe) alloys with high electrical resistance for heating elements, such as 70-30
and C-Grade
▪ Ni-Cr alloys (with Fe and other alloying elements) with good corrosion resistance. The best-known
are Alloy 600 and Alloy 601
▪ Ni-Cr alloys with high-temperature strength and creep resistance, mostly age-hardenable, such as
Alloy X-750
Commercial alloy: Inconel alloy:- standard engineering material for use in severely corrosive environments
At elevated temperatures.
❑ Nickel-Chromium-Iron Alloys
There are basically two groups of alloys:
▪ Ni – Cr – Fe alloys with excellent strength at high temperature and the ability to resist oxidation,
carburisation and other types of high-temperature corrosion.
▪ Ni – Cr – Fe (with Mo and Cu) alloys with excellent corrosion resistance in specific applications.
Probably the best-known is alloy 825, which offers exceptional resistance to sulphuric acid. Alloy G-3
offers exceptional corrosion resistance to commercial phosphoric acids as well as many complex
solutions containing highly oxidizing acids.

❑ Nickel-Chromium-Molybdenum Alloys
These are highly corrosion-resistant, They offer exceptional resistance to reducing acids such as
hydrochloric and sulphuric. T
here are a number of variants based on this composition, which have modified the Cr and Mo levels
and, in some cases, added Cu or W in order to extend the corrosion resistance to conditions that are
more oxidising or more reducing.
❑ Nickel-Chromium-Cobalt Alloys
The addition of cobalt and molybdenum imparts solid-solution strengthening and high levels of
creep-rupture strength to alloy 617 .
The addition of cobalt to HR-160 provides outstanding resistance to various forms of
high-temperature corrosion attacks, such as sulphidation and chloride attack in both reducing and
oxidizing atmospheres.

❑ Nickel-Titanium Alloys
55% nickel-titanium alloy (commercially known as Nitinol) has shape-memory properties.
When formed at one temperature and then deformed at a lower one, it regains its original form
when reheated.
The transition temperatures can be adjusted through careful control of the composition.
Medical devices and specialised connectors are two of specific the applications.
The same alloy can also undergo considerable elastic deformation and still return to its original
shape (super-elastic property).
This property has been exploited for applications as diverse as spectacle frames and shock
absorbers that provide earthquake resistance in historic stone buildings.
 Strengthening mechanisms of wrought Nickel alloys
❑ Solid-Solution Hardening:
▪ Cobalt, iron, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, vanadium, titanium, and aluminum are all solid-solution
hardeners in nickel. The elements differ with nickel in atomic diameter from 1 to 13%. Lattice expansion
related to atomic diameter oversize can be related to the hardening observed.
▪ Above 0.6 Tm (melting temperature), which is the range of high-temperature creep, strengthening is
diffusion dependent and large slow diffusing elements such as molybdenum and tungsten are the most effective
hardeners.

❑ Carbide Strengthening.
▪ Nickel is not a carbide former. Carbon reacts with other elements alloyed with nickel to form carbides that can be
either a bane or a blessing to the designer of alloys.
▪ An understanding of the carbide class and its morphology is beneficial to the alloy designer.
▪ The carbides most frequently found in nickel-base alloys are MC,M6C,M7C3, andM23C6 (where M is the
metallic carbide-forming element or elements).
Different carbides in Nickel alloy
MC is usually a large blocky carbide, random in distribution, and generally not desired.
M6C carbides are also blocky; formed in grain boundaries they can be used to control grain size, or
precipitated in a Widmanstätten pattern throughout the grain these carbides can impair ductility and rupture
life.
M7C3 carbides (predominately Cr7C3) form intergranularly and are beneficial if precipitated as discrete
particles. They can cause embrittlement if they agglomerate, forming continuous grain-boundary films. This
condition will occur over an extended period of time at high temperatures.
M23C6 carbides show a propensity for grain-boundary precipitation. This carbides are influential in determining
the mechanical properties of nickel-base alloys. Discrete grain-boundary particles enhance rupture properties.
Long time exposure at 760 to 980 °C (1400 to 1800 °F) will cause precipitation of angular intragranular
carbides as well as particles along twin band sand twin ends

▪ Heat treatment provides the alloy designer with a means of creating desired carbide structures and
morphologies before placing the material in service.
▪ The alloy chemistry, its prior processing history, and the heat treatment given to the material influence
carbide precipitation and ultimately performance of the alloy.
▪ Each new alloy must be thoroughly examined to determine its response to heat treatment or high
temperature.
❑ Precipitation Hardening:
The precipitation of γ', Ni3(Al,Ti) in a high-nickel matrix provides significant strengthening to the material. This
unique intermetallic phase has a face-centered cubic structure similar to that of the matrix and a lattice
constant having 1% or less mismatch in the lattice constant with the γ matrix. This close matching allows low
surface energy and long time stability.

γ'
γ

Microstructure of MC2 single-crystal nickel-based superalloy observed by TEM (bright field) after a standard heat treatment.
When greater strength is required at lower temperatures (e.g. turbine discs), alloys can be strengthened using
another phase known as γ''. This phase occurs in nickel superalloys with significant additions of niobium
(Inconel 718) or vanadium; the composition of the γ'' is then Ni3Nb or Ni3V.
Precipitates forms in Ni-allloys
 Nickel based Super alloy
Nickel based Super alloys can be strengthened by either Solid solution strengthening
or Precipitation hardening.
Most Ni based alloy contain 10-20% Cr, up to 8% Al and Ti, 5-10% Co, and small
amounts of B , Zr and C
Other common additions are molybdenum, niobium, and tungsten, all of which play
dual roles as strengthening solutes and carbide formers.
Chromium and aluminium improves surface stability through the formation of Cr2O3
and Al2O3
The properties of Ni based super alloys can be tailored to a certain extent through the addition of many
other elements
 Different grades of
nickel-based Composition Properties
superalloys
Precipitation hardenable, high creep-rupture strength at high temperatures to about 700°C and excellent strength.
Ni 54.48, Cr 17.50, Fe 22.3, Nb 4.90, Al
Inconel 718 Precipitates of primary niobium carbide (NbC), titanium carbide (TiC) disk-shaped gamma double prime (γ″)
0.66, Ti 0.96
precipitates (Ni3Nb), and needle-like precipitates of δ (Ni3Nb) present
Ni 60, Cr 10, Co 15, Mo 3, Al 5.5, Ti 4.7, C Precipitation hardenable, high rupture strength through 870°C. The high percentages of titanium, aluminum, and low
Inconel 100
0.18, B 0.014, Zr 0.06 refractory metal increase strength-to-density ratio
Ni 37.1, Fe 32.2, Cr 22.8, Mo 3.24, Cu 2.07, Good resistance to pitting, intergranular corrosion, chloride-ion stress-corrosion cracking, and general corrosion in a
Inconel 825
Ti 0.859, C 0.0155 wide range of oxidizing and reducing environments
Ni 74.2, Cr 12.6, Mo 4.9, Nb 1.96, Al 5.7, Zr Good combination of tensile and creep-rupture properties as a result of gamma-prime strengthening enhanced by
IN-713LC
0.1, Ti 0.63, C 0.047, B 0.007 solid solution and grain-boundary strengthening, and good castability
Solid solution strengthened with tungsten and molybdenum and precipitation-hardened with titanium and aluminum.
Ni 57.4, Cr 16, Co 15, Mo 3, Ti 5, Al 2.5, W1,
Udimet 720LI High strength, excellent impact strength retention at elevated temperatures, good oxidation and corrosion resistance,
C 0.1
and high degree of work hardening
Ni 62.5, Cr 12.98, Co 8.00, Nb, 3.50, Al Precipitation hardened having higher tensile and yield strength at 650°C. A compact structure after hot isostatic
FGH95 3.48, Ti 2.55, W 3.40, Mo 3.40, C 0.060, B pressing (HIP) consisting of coarse gamma prime phase (γʹ) precipitated along previous particle boundaries (PPB)
0.012 appear in the grain
Ni 56.3, Cr 10.4, Co 20.5, Al 3.1, Ti 2.6, W 3, Good strength and creep resistance at high temperatures (600–800°C). Good resistance to fatigue crack initiation at
ME-16
Ta 1.4, Mo 1.3, Nb 1.4 the lower temperatures (300–600°C). Can maintain strength and lower density at elevated temperature
Ni 52.4, Cr 15, Co 18.5, Mo 5, Ti 3.6, Al 3, Solid solution strengthened with chromium, molybdenum, and cobalt. Good strength, good toughness, creep
RR1000
Ta 2, Hf 0.5, C 0.03 resistance, good oxidation, and corrosion resistance at high temperature
Ni 51.0, Cr 20.0, Co 20.0, Mo 5.8, Ti 2.2, Al A readily weldable, age-hardenable superalloy with excellent strength, ductility, and corrosion resistance up to
Nimonic C-263
0.5 around 850°C. Molybdenum for solid-solution strengthening
Ni 54.0, Co 20.0, Cr 15.0, Mo 5.0, Al 4.7, Ti An age-hardenable superalloy within creased aluminum for improved oxidation-resistance and strength, and high
Nimonic 105
1.3 creep-rupture properties up to around 950°C. Strengthened by additions of molybdenum, aluminum, and titanium
Nimonic 75 Ni 80.5, Cr 19.5 Good corrosion and heat resistance, high-temperature strength, and outstanding oxidation-resistance
Nimonic 80 A Ni 76.0, Cr 19.5, Ti 2.4, Al 1.4 An age-hardenable creep-resistant alloy for service at temperatures up to around 815°C
Hastelloy alloy C-2000 Ni 47, Cr 22, Fe 18, Mo 9, Co 1.5, W 0.6 Localized corrosion resistance, good resistance to hot acids, and excellent resistance to stress-corrosion cracking
Ni 57, Cr 20, Co 10, Mo 8.5, Ti 2.1, Al 1.5, γʹ precipitation strengthened nickel-based superalloy along with excellent creep properties, fabricability, and thermal
Haynes 282
Fe 1.5, Mn 0.3, Si 0.15, C 0.06, B 0.005 stability
 Applications of nickel based superalloys
Turbine Blades
A major use of nickel based superalloys is in the manufacture of aeroengine turbine blades. A single-crystal blade
is free from γ/γ grain boundaries. Boundaries are easy diffusion paths and therefore reduce the resistance of the
material to creep deformation. The directionally solidified columnar grain structure has many γ grains, but the
boundaries are mostly parallel to the major stress axis; the performance of such blades is not as good as the
single-crystal blades. However, they are much better than the blade with the equiaxed grain structure which has
the worst creep life.
Titanium alloy
Important properties

Application of Ti alloys
 Titanium and titanium alloys
Pure Ti
Tm – 1660 °C
It has the highest strength to density ratio
Density – 4540 kg/m3 in comparison to other widely used metals
Very active to O, C, N → 2 times hardness increase such as iron, nickel and aluminium based
Ti-alloys, classification alloys.
Ti – Al – alloys (4…6 % Al) – α-alloys
Ti – Al – Cr, V, Cu, Mo - alloys – α + β-alloys In pure titanium, solidification occurs at 1668ºC with
the formation of a body centered cubic crystal
Ti – Al – Mo, Cr, Zr - alloys – β-alloys
structure referred to as β-titanium.
Heat treatment of Tialloys An allotrophic transformation occurs at 882ºC where
the BCC structure transforms to hexagonal
Heating up to β-area (850-950 °C) and cooling → martensitic
close-packed.
transformation. The HCP structure is referred to as α-titanium, and the
Ageing (450-600 °C) – max effect by β-stabilisators temperature above which the microstructure is 100%
β-titanium is known as the β-titanium.
(Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Si)
Additional heat treatment – nitriding (750-900 HV)

179
[A] Typical microstructue of CP Ti: grain boundary α (a), fine accicular
α (b), widmanstätten α (c), serrated α (d). [B] Typical Ti6Al4V
microstructure containing very fine acicular α (e), fine acicular α and β
(f) and prior-β grain boundaries (g).
Ti-Al Alloy System
 Beta stabilizer

Schematic of proposed microstructural evolution in titanium castings. In the presence of soluble elements a
dendritic structure is possible. Insoluble elements allow prior β-dendrite arms to be visualised due to the presence
of intermetallic precipitates. In both cases the morphology of the dendrites will depend on both the thermal
conditions during solidification and the alloy composition.
 Ti- Molybdenum phase diagram (β-stabilizers)
Molybdenum is a strong β-stabilizer and is regarded as the
most suitable β-stabilizer element because it is able to
stabilize β-phase this phase with a low solute concentration.
This is important because it is a refractory metal with a high
melting point.
The addition of this element to Ti increases the melting
point making the processing of the material very difcult,
provides low modulus of elasticity and fexural strength17.
Binary Ti-Mo alloys with up to 20% molybdenum have been
the subject of several studies due to their having good
mechanical properties and corrosion resistance, β phase
predominance and non-cytotoxic behavior.
Moreover, the Ti-Mo binary system is considered suitable
for use as orthopedic implants.

Note: The manufacture of the alloys with stabilize β-phase are such as molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, zirconium,
and manganese (non-cytotoxic elements )
 Crystal structure of β-titanium.
Crystal structure of α-titanium.
• Alpha stabilizers: C, O, N and Al
• Beta Stabilizers: Cr, Fe, Pd, Co, Mn, H, V, Mo, Ta,
Nb
• Alpha alloys: Ti-5Al-2.5Sn, Ti-4al-1Mo
• Beta alloys: Beta 21S (13%Mo),
• Alpha + Beta alloys: Ti-6Al-4V,
• ELI: extra low level Interstitials
Structure approaches equilibrium:
Coarse grain form from
nucleation and growth
Water quenching from 954°C
• Primary α coexists with β and on rapid cooling β transform to
martensite