Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
MS2082 Laboratory
Formal Report
For
EB5
Microstructure of Materials
Matric: U1640068L
2
1. Objectives
The objectives of this experiment is to:
2. Theory
Metals are metallic elements bonded by metallic bonds, which result in sea of
electrons. As a result, metals are typically good thermal and electrical conductor
due to this delocalization of electrons.
2.1. Metallography
Metallography is the preparation of materials surface such that microstructure
can be observed by using optical or electron microscopy. Metallography consists of
three steps: Mounting, Grinding & Polishing, and Etching.
3
Mounting involves trimming the sample to smaller size to fit the mold of the
mount. The sample is then implanted to a mold and casted in a polymer. Mounting
is done to enable easier holding of sample during the grinding and polishing step.
After the sample is mounted, the next step is grinding and polishing. The
objective of grinding and polishing is to produce flat and defect-free surface to
produce clearer image in microscopy.
Grinding is done by rubbing the mounted sample with progressively finer grit
sandpapers. The sandpapers will abrade the surface and remove defects and
unevenness.
The final step after grinding and polishing is etching, which is done chemically
by a reactive reagent. In this process, the surface of a polished metal will react with
the ragent to reveal the microstructure underneath the surface.
4
There are five basic controls of microscope:
2. Focus, controlled by turning the large and small knobs located at the side
of the microscope
5
2.3. Microstructure of Metals
2.4. Polycrystalline single-phase structure
In single phase metals, the revealed microstructure is the grains and the grain
boundaries. The grain boundaries will be shown as sharp dark lines in brightfield
mode. By using image analysis, we can quantitatively measure the grain size
distribution and the number of sides per grain (grain shape).
Figure 4 - Eutectoid steel structure, lamellar structure of cementite and ferrite (Bhadeshia,
2008)
6
Figure 5 - SEM micrograph of hypoeutectoid steel, pearlite in ferrite matrix (McGill University,
2009)
On the other hand, in hypereutectoid alloys, the solute concentration is above the
eutectoid composition. Similar to hypoeutectoid alloys, another phase is also
formed before the inception of the lamellar structure. In Fe-C alloys, proeutectoid
cementite is formed before the remainder of austenite transforms into lamellar
ferrite and cementite structure.
7
Due to its brittleness, martensite can not be utilized and needs to be tempered
first before used. Tempering is done by putting the metal in an elevated temperature
for a certain amount of time, so that diffusion takes place, forming the equilibrium
phases of ferrite and cementite.
3. Experimental Procedures
3.1. Sample Preparation
There are two types of samples used in this experiment: 0.4%C steel and 0.8%C
steel. Both samples have been grinded beforehands, so only regrinding by using
P1200 and P2500 grit sandpapers is needed. The P1200 grit sandpaper will remove
the oxides layer, while the P2500 grit sandpaper will remove microscratches
To carry out the regrinding: first, mount the P1200 grit sandpaper into the
grinding machine. Then, turn on the machine and hold the sample on the spinning
sand paper to abrade the surface. During this process, periodically spray with water
to lubricate and rinse the sample. After 3 – 5 minutes, turn off the machine and
repeat the process, but instead of using P1200 grit sandpaper, use P2500 grit
sandpaper instead.
After regrinding, next is polishing the sample. Polishing is done to remove the
surface damage from regrinding process. The polishing procedure is the same as the
regrinding procedure. However, instead of using sandpapers, polishing paper with
diamond paste is used. Polishing is done for 5-8 minutes.
After polishing, the sample needs to be etched so that the microstructure can be
revealed. To etch, the sample is exposed to 2% nital solution for 30 seconds.
Afterwards, rinse the sample off using a suitable solvent. After etching, the sample
needs to be observed under the microscope immediately, because the sample would
get oxidized easily.
8
3.2. Sample Preparation
After the sample preparation, the sample needs to be put under a optical
microscopy in order to see the microstructure. To do so, the first step is to use the
5x magnification objective lens, and then putting the sample on the stage of
microscopy. Use the knobs to focus the image, and see the overall features of the
sample. After finding areas that are of interest, increase the magnification by
changing the objective lens. Refocus the image, and capture the final image by
using the camera.
Proeutectoid ferrite
Pearlite
From the optical microscopy image (shown in Figure 8), the brighter area
corresponds to proeuctectoid ferrite, while the darker area corresponds to pearlite
(Laminar structure of eutectoid ferrite and eutectoid cementite).
Figure 9 - 0.4%C Hypoeutectoid steel with brightness and contrast processed using ImageJ
9
Figure 10 - ImageJ quantitative data analysis for sample 1
The data shown in figure 10 reveals that the pearlite takes up to 85.082% of the
area of the image. Therefore, the proeutectoid ferrite takes up 100% - 85.082% =
14.918% of the area.
From figure 11, we observe that in room temperature, the weight percentage of
carbon that Cementite phase is approximately 6.70wt%, while the weight
percentage of carbon in Ferrite phase is approximately 0.02wt%.
Therefore, by applying the lever rule, the total fraction of ferrite in the system is
(6.7-0.4) / (6.7-0.02) = 0.943 = 94.3%. The total fraction of cementite in the system
is then 5.7%. Since, the proeutectoid ferrite takes up 14.918% of the system, the
fraction of eutectoid ferrite in the system is then 94.3% - 14.918% = 79.382%.
10
4.2. Sample 2 (Hypereutectoid Steel 0.8%C)
Proeutectoid Cementite
Pearlite
From the optical microscopy image (shown in Figure 8), the brighter area
corresponds to proeuctectoid cementite, while the darker area corresponds to
pearlite (Laminar structure of eutectoid ferrite and eutectoid cementite).
Figure 13 - 0.8%C Hypereutectoid steel with brightness and contrast processed using ImageJ
11
The data shown in figure 14 reveals that the pearlite takes up to 84.236% of the
area of the image. Therefore, the proeutectoid ferrite takes up 100% - 84.236% =
15.764% of the area.
Applying the lever rule, the total fraction of ferrite in the system is (6.7-0.8) /
(6.7-0.02) = 0.883 = 88.3%. The total fraction of cementite in the system is then
11.7%. Since, the proeutectoid ferrite takes up 15.764% of the system, the fraction
of eutectoid ferrite in the system is then 88.3% - 15.764% = 72.536%.
5. Conclusion
To prepare for microscopy, metallography is an important step to prepare the
sample so that the microstructure can be revealed by using microscopy.
Metallography includes three steps: mounting, grinding and polishing, and etching.
From the optical microscopy, we observe that hypoeutectoid steel has brighter
proeutectoid ferrite phase and darker pearlite phase. On the other hand, for
hypereutectoid steel, there are brighter proeutectoid cementite phase and darker
pearlite phase.
6. References
Anonymous. (2007). 0.35%C Steel, water quenched from 870°C Taken during
my engineering course at Nanyang Technological University.
12