MME 293:

Lecture-13
NON FERROUS ALLOYS
Department of MME
BUET, Dhaka
MAGNESIUM AND ITS
ALLOYS
 Introduction

 Found 2.8% in sea water and other mineral forms, i.e., dolomite
(CaMg(CO3)2), magnesite (MgCO3) and Carnallite (KMgCl3.6H2O).

 Magnesium with 99.8% purity are readily available, but rarely used
for engineering applications

 Common engineering applications include:

 camera and mobile phone bodies, computer side panels,
 principal application is for cast parts in automotive industry, e.g.,
alloyed wheel and gearbox housing for automobiles, and other
aerospace applications
 Important physical properties:
Crystal structure HCP (a = 0.3202, c =
0.5199 A)
Atomic diameter 0.320 A
Density 1.74 g/cc
Melting point 650 C

 It has relatively high strength but

limited ductility at RT, but can be
hot worked easily beyond 400 C

 Low strength and toughness

 Low corrosion resistance Limit applications of
magnesium alloy
 Easily flammable with oxygen
 Mg density is 1.74 g/cm – compared to 2.67 g/cm for Al and 7.8 g/cm for steel
– on a mass basis, Mg has the greatest stiffness/weight – and steel the least
 Mg has a modulus of elasticity of 45 GPa – compared to 71 GPa for Al
and 200 GPa for steel

 Mg is also “notch sensitive” – so care has to be taken in design to remove

sharp corners – and abrupt changes in section
 Mg has excellent machining properties - but poor machining practice can
introduce severe notch brittle effects

 Mg is relatively difficult to weld – as it must be protected from the atmosphere

by an inert gas – using a tungsten arc or consumable Mg
 It can be welded – like Al – using a gas torch with suitable flux – for temporary
repairs in the field
 Corrosion of magnesium alloys

 High susceptibility to impurities.

 Oxide film of magnesium are not stable in solution with pH < 10.5.
 Corrosion rate of magnesium in rural and industrial areas lies between
aluminium and steels.

 Magnesium and its alloys can be used as sacrificial anode in cathodic

protection for other alloys.

 Mg alloys are still susceptible to corrosion in salt atmospheres

– a problem for “mag” wheels in snow belt regions – and for marine
applications.
 Aircraft are not so critical – but low flying over the ocean – or the use of
reactive de-icing fluids – can create problems
 Engineering design with Mg alloys

 Advantages of magnesium alloys for engineering designs:

1. Ability to die cast at high productivity rate
2. Good creep resistance to 120 C
3. High damping capacity due to ability to absorb energy elastically
4. High thermal conductivity permitting rapid heat dissipation
5. Good machinability
6. Easily gas-shield arc-welded

 Disadvantages of magnesium alloys for engineering designs:

1. High tendency to galvanic corrosion when contact with dissimilar metals
or electrolyte.
2. Difficult to deform by cold working.
3. High cost.
Commercial magnesium alloys

 Mg-Al casting alloys

 Mg-Al-Zn casting alloys
 Mg-Zn and Mg-Zn-Cu casting alloys
 Mg-Zn-Zr and Mg-RE-Zn-Zr casting alloy
 High temperature Mg casting alloys
 Wrought Mg alloys
 Sand cast magnesium alloys

 Mg reacts with SiO2 – causing the skin of the casting to be blackened (oxidized) to
an appreciable depth below the surface
– but Mg alloys can be safely melted in iron or graphite crucibles

 To obtain a bright surface – “inhibitors” – such as sulphur, boric acid or KBF4 – are
mixed with the molding sand.

 The reactive nature of Mg also means that sand cast alloys are subject to
microporosity – caused by evolution of hydrogen (similar to Al alloys castings) –
with a consequent deterioration of its mechanical properties

 Magnesium is normally melt in mild steel crucibles for the alloying, refining or
cleaning stage due to very slow reaction with the steels.
 TITANIUM
AND ITS ALLOYS
 Introduction
 High melting point (1670 C)
 High strength and toughness
 Very high specific strength
 Density – 4.50 g/cc
 High creep resistance
 Very high corrosion resistance
(passivation film of TiO2)
 Nearly perfectly magnetic
 Biocompatible
 Large diversity of materials properties
 Possibility of modifying materials properties by heat treatment
(optimizing formability/strength)
 Typical applications

Industrial
• Petrochemical
• Offshore and marine engineering
Aerospace • Energy production and storage
• Engine • Metal finishing
• Airframe • Pulp and paper
Medical • General engineering
• Orthopedic implants
• Bone screws
• Trauma plates
• Dental fixtures
Specialist
• Surgical instruments • Automotive (Motor racing and bicycle components )
• Ultrasonic welding
• Architectural
• Sports equipment
• Body jewelry
 Corrosion properties
CP (commercially pure) titanium
 Excellent corrosion resistance in most environments, including
• many natural liquid environments including seawater, body fluids and fruit and
vegetables juices
• molten sulfur and many organic compounds (including acids and chlorinated
compounds) and most oxidizing acids
 Poor corrosion resistance in those media that contain fluoride ions.
 Limited oxidation resistance in air at temperatures above ~650oC
 Titanium and its alloys resist H2S and CO2 gases at temperatures up to 260oC

Titanium alloys
 Titanium alloys show less resistance to corrosion than CP titanium
 The main problem with them appears to be crevice corrosion which occurs
in stagnant corroding media
 The excellent corrosion resistance of titanium and its alloys results from
the formation of very stable, continuous, highly adherent, and protective
oxide film of less than 10 nm thick

 The corrosion resistance becomes weak

• in very strong oxidation environments
• presence of fluoride ions
• continuous wear or sliding contact conditions with other metals.

 In such situations, the stability and integrity of the oxide film can be
improved substantially by adding inhibitors to the environment.
 Shape memory alloys

 Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) are metallic materials that show the ability to
recover a specific shape or dimensions previously defined when submitted
to appropriate thermomechanical cycles – SMART MATERIALS
• Thermal shape memory: shape memory by variation of temperature
• Elastic shape memory: shape memory by variation of stress

 These shape memory effects are associated with a thermoelastic reversible

martensitic transformation

 The first SMA alloy, NiTiNOL, was discovered in 1962 by William G. Buhler at the
National Ordinance Laboratory, Germany. This alloy was used industrially for the first
time in the construction of junction sleeves for the F14 Tomcat aircraft.
 Applications of Nitinol

Biomedical
 Bone plates – memory effect pulls bone together to promote healing
 Surgical anchor – as healing progresses, muscles grow around the SMA wire,
which prevents tissue damage that could be caused by staples or screws
 Clot filter – does not interfere with MRI due to nonmagnetic property
 Stents and other tissue spreaders, catheters

Structural
 Flexible wires – in robots to flex the robotic muscles, in actuators for aircraft
 Small incision tweezers
 Eyeglass frames
 Household appliances – a deep fryer that lowers the basket into oil at a certain temperature
 Building and bridges – to prevent structural damage