Chapter 11: Applications and Processing

of Metal Alloys
Ferrous Alloys
The widespread use of ferrous alloys is due to the abundance of iron in the earths
crust, the low prices of extracting and refining iron, and to irons versatility as it can
be tailored to have a wide range of mechanical and physical properties. The
principal disadvantage is corrosion.

Steels (<1.0 wt% C)

Plain carbon steels: small amounts of impurities, carbon, and some Manganese.
Alloy steels: more alloying elements are added.

Low-Carbon Steels (<0.25 wt% C) p.360

Martensite cannot be formed. Strengthening is achieved by cold work. Ferrite and
Pearlite microstructure. Soft and weak, yet ductile and tough. Machinable, Weldable
etc. Least expensive to produce. Car body components, structural shapes (I-beams),
sheets for pipelines and tin cans. High-Strength, Low Alloy (HSLA) Steels:
contain alloying elements such as Cu, V, Ni and Mo (as high as 10% total).
Strengthened by heat treatment, ductile, formable, and machinable. Bridges,
towers, support columns etc.)

Medium-Carbon Steels (0.25-0.6 wt% C) p.362

Usually tempered, tempered Martensite microstructure. Low hardenability and can
only be heat treated in thin sections. The heat treated alloys are harder than low-C,
but are less ductile. Wear resistant. Applications: railway wheels, tracks, gears,
crankshafts, machine parts.

High-Carbon Steels (0.6-1.4 wt% C) p.362

The least ductile but strongest and hardest among the steels. They are always used
in hardened and tempered condition and so are wear resistant. Tool and die steels
are high-carbon alloys usually containing Cr, V, W and Mo. Forms very hard and
wear resistant carbide compounds (p.364).

Stainless Steels (>11.0 wt% Chromium) p.364

Highly resistant to corrosion. They can be either Austenitic, Martensitic or Ferritic.
Adding alloying elements drastically change the iron-iron carbide phase diagram.
Austenitic ( -phase, largest production quantity) and Ferritic ( -phase) St-St
are not heat treatable, they are strengthened through cold work. Austenite is
stabilized by addition of Ni, which along with high Chromium content make
austenitic St-St the most corrosion resistant. Ferritic and Martensitic are magnetic,
while Austenitic is not. Ultrahigh-strength stainless steel strengthened by
precipitation hardening.

Cast Irons (>2.14 wt% C) p.366

Lower melting points than steel. Cementite is metastable and can be turned into
graphite under certain conditions. Silicon (>1 wt %) and slow cooling rates promote
graphitization.

Gray Iron (2.5-4.0 wt% C, 1.0-3.0 wt% Si) p.367

Graphite flakes (sharp, high stress-concentration, tips) in ferrite (slow cool) or
pearlite (faster cool, low Si) matrix. Comparatively weak and brittle. High strength
and ductility under compression. Desirable characteristics: damping vibrations,
resistance to wear, high fluidity when molten, least expensive.

Ductile (Nodular) Iron p.371

Addition of small quantities of Mg and Ce. Sphere-like graphite particles in ferrite
(idem) or pearlite (idem) matrix. Stronger and more ductile than gray iron, similar to
steels. Used for automotive and machine components.

White Iron and Malleable Iron (produced in less quantities than other cast
irons) p.371
Low Si, rapid cooling rate, cementite instead of graphite. Thick sections may have
white iron surfaces, but gray iron cores. Low ductility, high hardness and very wear
resistant. Heating white iron to 800-900 degrees Celsius for long time in neutral
atmosphere, decomposed cementite into graphite rosettes or clusters, over ferrite
or pearlite matrix. High strength and appreciable ductility. Used for automotive
parts, valves for marine, railroad and other heavy-duty services.

Compacted Graphite Iron

Vermicular graphite structure with nodules (<20%). Graphite tends to form to sharp
edges that reduce fracture and fatigue resistance. And increase in nodularity implies
an increase in ductility.

Aluminum p.374
Pure aluminum is unaffected by change in temperature. 7075 (5.6 Zn, 2.5 Mg, 1.6
Cu, 0.23 Cr), 6061 (1.0 Mg, 0.6 Si, 0.30 Cu, 0.20 Cr) and 2024 (4.4 Cu, 1.5 Mg, 0.6
Mn) aluminums are heat treatable, can have enhanced mechanical properties and
are lightweight. Aluminum has a relatively low melting point. In 2024 Aluminum, the

-phase in the phase diagram is CuAl2 and normally appears as small grains on
the boundaries of the

-phase. They facilitate the sliding of planes. Heat

treatment enhances properties. First solutionizing (dissolve CuAl 2) at high T=Ts, then
quenching (supersaturated ), and finally aging (intermediate temperature
between room temperature and TS).

precipitates and becomes well distributed

in the microstructure and constitutes and obstacle to sliding planes. Some

aluminum alloys experience natural aging at room temperature. If aluminum is
constantly heated at 150 degrees C it overages and loses mechanical properties.
Higher aging temperature reduces treatment time and yield strength (check graphs
on page 406).

Further Remarks
Martensitic Stainless Steel (high-carbon): Tempered Martensite makes the
Ferrite and Iron Carbide phases reappear in the microstructure. The iron carbide is a
precipitate.
Precipitation Hardenable Stainless Steel (low-carbon): Contains
approximately 17% Cr, 7% Ni with hints of Al and Mn (p.365). Fe, Al and Mn
precipitate and not iron carbide.
Addition of Nickel promotes formation of Austenite, while addition of Chromium
promotes that of Ferrite.
Jominy Test: Relates hardness to distance of section from quenched surface. This
distance reflects the cooling rate (p. 396). The thicker the section, the larger the
gradient. Alloying elements decrease the gap between surface and core (p.397).