MMAT 201-01

Materials Science and Engineering I

Spring 2001

Final Exam
May 12, 2001

Name: KEY

1. Calculate the atomic packing factor of a BCC crystal structure. (10%)

The atomic packing factor is defined as the ratio of sphere volume to the total unit cell volume, or
V
S
APF = V
C
Since there are two spheres associated with each unit cell for BCC
4πR3 8πR3
V = 2(sphere volume) = 2 3  = 3
S  
3
Also, the unit cell has cubic symmetry, that is V = a . But a depends on R through a=4⋅3 ⋅R.
1/2
C

3
4R 3 64R
V =  =
C  3 3 3
Thus,

3
8πR /3
APF = = 0.68
3
64R /3 3

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2. You are given the engineering stress-strain curves of three materials A, B, and C obtained from a
tensile test. Which of the materials:

a. has the highest elastic modulus?

(2%)
b. is the most ductile? (2%)
c. is the most brittle? (2%)
d. has the highest tensile strength? (2%)
e. has the highest toughness? (2%)
f. would you choose for a spring
application? (3%)
g. would you choose for an application
that calls for maximum load carrying
capability without permanent
deformation? (2%)

Explain why.

a. Material A because it has the highest slope in the elastic region.

b. Material C because it has maximum %EL, a measure of the extent of plastic deformation.
c. Material A because %EL=0.
d. Tensile strength is the maximum stress on the engineering stress-strain curve. Therefore,
material B has the highest tensile strength.
e. Toughness is the optimum combination of strength and ductility. It is measured by the area
under the engineering stress-strain curve. Materials B or C have much better toughness than
material A since their areas under the engineering stress-strain curve are very close.
f. The design criteria for spring applications is the resilience, UR. Resilient materials have a high
capacity to absorb energy when they are deformed elastically and release it upon unloading.
They have high yield strengths and low elastic moduli. It is measured by the are under the
elastic portion of the engineering stress-strain curve. Therefore, material B would have higher
resilience and would thus be more suited for spring applications.
g. Maximum load carrying capability without permanent deformation requires the usage of the
yield strength as the design criteria. Material B has the highest yield strength (0.002 off-set) and
thus would be the most suitable for this application.

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3. A plain carbon steel with 1.15 wt% C is cooled from the austenite region to just below 727oC.
• What is the proeutectoid phase? (3%)
• What is the weight fraction of the proeutectiod phase? (3%)
• What are the compositions and weight fractions of cementite and ferrite? (3%)
• What is the weight fraction of pearlite? (3%)
• Schematically sketch and label the microstructure. (3%)

• The proeutectoid phase is Fe3C, cementite.

• Wproeutectoid=(1.15−0.76)/(6.70−0.76)=0.065
• Composition of Cementite= 6.70 wt% C
Wcementite=(1.15−0.022)/(6.7−0.022)=0.169
Composition of Ferrite= 0.022 wt% C
Wferrite=(6.70−1.15)/(6.70−0.022)=1−Wcementite=0.831
• Wpearlite=(6.70−1.15)/(6.70−0.76)=1−Wproeutectoid=0.935
• Microstructure:

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4. Construct the hypothetical phase diagram for metals A and B between temperatures of 600oC and
1000oC given the following information: (15%)
• The melting point of metal A is 940oC.
• The solubility of B in A is negligible at all temperatures.
• The melting point of metal B is 830oC.
• The maximum solubility of A in B is 12 % A, which occurs at 700oC
• At 600oC, the solubility of A in B is 8 % A.
• One eutectic occurs at 700oC and 75 % B.
• A second eutectic occurs at 730oC and 60 % B.
• A third eutectic occurs at 755oC and 40 % B.
• One congruent melting point occurs at 780oC and 51 % B.
• A second congruent melting point occurs at 755oC and 67 % B.
• There exist two intermetallic compounds: AB at 51 % B and AB2 at 67 % B.
Note: All compositions are in weight percent.

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5. Using the TTT and CCT diagrams and the Fe-Fe3C phase diagram in Question 3, briefly describe the
simplest heat treatment than would be used to convert a 0.76 wt% C steel from one microstructure to
the other, as follows:

• Pearlite to spheroidite. (3%)

• Martensite to tempered martensite. (3%)
• Spheroidite to tempered martensite. (3%)
• Tempered martensite to fine pearlite. (3%)
• Pearlite to bainite. (3%)

• Heat steel to ~700oC for between 18-24 h. Cool slowly to room temperature.
• Heat martensitic steel to a temperature between 250-650oC, keep it there for some time and cool to
room temperature. The tempering time depends on the temperature at which the process is carried
out. Keeping the steel close to A1 and/or for a long time may result in spheroidite structure which
is soft and ductile.
• Anneal the steel at a temperature 14-40oC above 727oC such that the steel consists of austenite
grains only. Quench rapidly as to avoid the “nose” of the CCT curve above (cooling rate
~400oC/s). This will produce the martensite phase. Then temper it according to the procedure
described in the previous part.
• Anneal the steel at a temperature 14-40oC above 727oC such that the steel consists of austenite
grains only. Then cool at a rate 200oC/104s=0.02 oC/s.
• Anneal the steel at a temperature 14-40oC above 727oC such that the steel consists of austenite
grains only. Bainite cannot be obtained in plain carbon steels via continuous cooling. Therefore, an
isothermal route has to be devised. Cool rapidly with such a rate that avoids the “nose” of the TTT
curve to between 300-400oC (cooling rate ~600oC/s). Keep it at that temperature for 104 s. Cool to
room temperature.

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6. (a) Using a phase diagram, describe the two heat treatments that are involved in the precipitation
hardening of a binary alloy. Explain why each heat treatment is carried out. (b) Describe changes in the
microstructures that occur during each heat treatment. (c) Schematically plot how the room temperature
hardness depends on the logarithm of time for a precipitation heat treatment at different temperatures.
(15%)

See your text book (Chapter 11.7, 11.8) for explanations.

a)

b)

c)

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7. Fill in the blanks. (15%)
a. FCC and HCP are two close-packed crystal lattices.
b. The crytal structure of martensite is Body Centered Tetragonal (BCT).
c. {111} planes and <110> directions are slip systems of the FCC crystal structure. The number of
slip systems in FCC is 12.
d. Two opposite edge dislocations on the same slip plane will attract (and cancel) each other
(repel/attract).
e. These phenomena may occur if a cold-worked metal is annealed at elevated temperatures:
Recovery, Recrystallization, and Grain Growth.
f. Failure in structures due to dynamic and fluctuating stresses is called Fatigue.
g. Plastic deformation and eventual failure at elevated temperatures under static mechanical
stresses is called Creep.
h. The degrees of freedom at the eutectic point of a binary alloy is 0.
i. The reaction in which upon heating a solid phase transforms into a liquid phase and another
solid phase is called Peritectic.
j. Fe-C alloys with less than 0.76 % C are called Hypoeutectoid steels.

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