MATERIAL SCIENCE

Knowledge of materials and material science plays an important role

in an Engineering Industries. Right type of material shall be selected
for a particular service to get required life of the equipment. The
selection and use of proper materials, cost efectiveness, minimum
failure in the designed life are the direct responsibilities of the
Engineers in an Industry.

n engineer must have !nowledge of nature and behavior of
materials, its limitations for manufacturing, chemical compositions,
mechanical properties for fabrication and efects of its alloying
elements for the required service applications.

"aterials are selected on the basis of service requirements and the
ease of its manufacturing#fabrication but simultaneously the
economics is always ta!en into consideration to limit the cost of the
pro$ect. Thus the selected material for a particular service must
stand up to dimensional stability and process of fabrication, service
corrosion, required hardness, strength % toughness, heat resistance,
fatigue % creep, machineability, weldability, heat treatments etc. ll
these properties depends upon the chemical composition,
macrostructure and microstructure of the material.

s per &"E, materials are divided in two ma$or groups called
'errous and (on)ferrous material depending upon their alloying
elements.
*+ 'errous materials are those in which main or base constituent
is Iron.
,+ (on)'errous material may or may not contain iron at all.

FERROUS MATERIALS-
"ore than ./0 of the industrial requirements are ful1lled by ferrous
materials in one form or other. 'errous material, which contains Iron
as principal element, can be in two forms cast or forged. In casting,
molten metal of required composition is poured in the moulds to get
the required shape.
In case of forging, at 1rst the metal is caste as raw wor!ing material
and then it is cold or hot wor!ed to get the actual required shape
with improve mechanical properties.
'errous material can further be divided into following categories.
2ast Iron,
3rought iron,
2arbon &teel,
lloy &teels and
&tainless steel.
4&tainless steel is a special type of lloy &teel which renders special
property of corrosion resistance.+

NON-FERROUS MATERIALS-
ll materials other than ferrous material are !nown as non)ferrous
materials. They are equally important to industries and in many
critical services these materials are used. "any alloys in which iron
is present in form of alloying element only are also covered in non)
ferrous materials because the main category of that alloy belongs to
(on)ferrous materials.
(ic!le alloys, aluminum alloys etc are the e5ample of non)ferrous
materials.

In Industries various type of materials are used in diferent services.
These materials are broadly divided into two main groups.
*+ 6ase metal
e.g. Iron, 2opper, luminium etc.
,+ lloy
e.g. 6rass, &tainless &teel, &teel, 2astIron etc.

6ase "etals- ) 6ase metals are used directly for the applications
where their property ful1lls the requirements. They do contain some
elements in their composition but those are impurities which
remains in their matri5 during manufacturing.
lloy -) n alloy is a homogenous mi5ture of two or more metal
4which are called alloying elements+ which are added in speci1c
proportion to get required physical properties. e.g. in &tainless steel
nic!el, chromium, carbon, manganese, silicon are added in speci1c
proportion to get required properties. Every alloying element has its
own properties and efect on the properties of the lloy. "ost used
alloy in various industries is in forms is &teels.

Steel
&teel is an alloy of mainly Iron and 2arbon, which contains carbon
upto *..0. The percentage of carbon e5erts the most in7uence on
properties of steel. 8epending on the percentage of carbon in steel,
its grades are de1ned as low carbon, medium carbon or carbon
steels. 9ther alloying elements are further added to enhance its
properties in diferent grades.

Classifcation of Steels
&teels can be classi1ed into diferent groups by a variety of diferent
systems depending on-
The composition, such as carbon steels, low)alloy steels or
stainless steels.
The manufacturing methods, such as open hearth, basic
o5ygen process, or electric furnace methods.
The 1nishing method, such as casting, forging, hot rolling or
cold rolling
The product form, such as bar, plate, sheet, strip, tubing or
structural shape
The de)o5idation practice, such as !illed, semi)!illed, capped
or rimmed steel
The microstructure, such as ferritic, pearlitic and martensitic
The required strength level, as speci1ed in &T" standards
6ased on heat treatment, such as annealed, quenched and
tempered etc.
:uality descriptors, such as Industrial and commercial quality.
Carbon steel:
2arbon steel are classi1ed according to variations in carbon which
have the greatest efect on mechanical properties. 3ith increasing
percentage of carbon content hardness and strength of steel tends
to increase. s such, carbon steels are generally categori;ed
according to percentage of carbon content. <enerally spea!ing,
carbon steels contain up to ,0 total alloying elements and can be
subdivided into low)carbon steels, medium)carbon steels, carbon
steels and high)carbon steels.
Low-carbon steels contain up to /.=/0 2. The largest category of
this class of steel is rolled products 4sheet or strip+, usually in the
cold)rolled and annealed condition. The carbon content for these
high)formability steels is very low, less than /.*/0 2, with up to
/.>0 "n. Typical uses are in automobile body panels, tin plate, and
wire products.
Medi!-carbon steels contains carbon from /.=/ to /.?/0 and
the manganese from /.?/ to *.?.0. Increasing the carbon content
to appro5imately /..0 with an accompanying increase in
manganese allows medium carbon steels to be used in the
quenched and tempered condition. The uses of medium carbon)
manganese steels include shafts, a5les, gears, cran!shafts,
couplings and forge pipe 1ttings. &teels in the /.>/ to /.?/0 2
range are also used for rails, railway wheels and rail a5les.
Carbon steels contain carbon from /.?/ to *.//0 2 with
manganese contents ranging from /.=/ to /.@/0. Aigh)carbon
steels are used for ma!ing soft springs, wires for wire ropes etc.
s a group, carbon steels are by far the most frequently used steels.
"ore than B.0 of the steel produced is carbon steel.
"i#$ carbon steels contain carbon more than *.//0 with
manganese contents ranging from /.=/ to *.//0. Aigh)carbon
steels are used as spring materials, shoes of crane crawlers and
high)strength wires
Low-allo% Steels
Cow)alloy steels constitute a category of ferrous materials that
e5hibit mechanical properties superior to plain carbon steels as a
result of additions of alloying elements such as nic!el, chromium,
and molybdenum. Total quantity of alloying elements can range
from ,./D0 up to levels $ust below that of stainless steels, which
contain a minimum of */0 Cr.
'or many low)alloy steels, the primary function of the alloying
elements is to increase hardenability in order to optimi;e
mechanical properties and toughness after heat treatment. In some
cases, however, alloy additions are used to reduce environmental
degradation under certain speci1ed service conditions.
C$ro!i!-!ol%bden! $eat-resistant steels contain /.. to
@0 Cr and /.. to *./0 Mo. The carbon content is usually below
/.,0. The chromium provides improved o5idation and corrosion
resistance, and the molybdenum increases strength at elevated
temperatures.
Stainless Steels
&tainless steels are iron)based alloys containing at least */..0 Cr.
'ew stainless steels contain more than =/0 Cr or less than ./0 Fe.
They achieve their stainless characteristics through the formation of
an invisible and adherent chromium)rich o5ide surface 1lm. This
o5ide forms itself in the presence of o5ygen.
9ther elements which are added to improve properties include
nic!el, molybdenum, copper, titanium, niobium, aluminum, silicon,
nitrogen, and selenium. 2arbon is normally present in amounts
ranging from less than /./=0 to over *./0 in certain martensitic
grades.
The selection of particular grade of stainless steels may be based on
corrosion resistance, fabrication characteristics, availability,
mechanical properties in speci1c service conditions#temperature
ranges and product cost. Aowever, corrosion resistance and
mechanical properties are usually the most important factors in
selecting a grade for a given application.
Classifcation of Stainless Steels
&tainless steels are commonly divided into 1ve groups-
*+ "artensitic stainless steels,
&' 'erritic stainless steels,
(' ustenitic stainless steels,
)' 8uple5 4ferritic)austenitic+ stainless steels, and
*' Erecipitation)hardened stainless steels.
Farious grades of &tainless steels are in general available in the
form of plate, sheet, strip, shapes, foil, bar, wire, , pipes, tubes,
pipe % Tube 1ttings, semi)1nished products in 'orging, 2asting
etc.
E+ect of allo%in# ele!ents on steel

C$ro!i! ,Cr' -) 2hromium is the single alloying element which
renders stainless properties to the steel. minimum of **0 2r is
needed to be added to steels, at which a continuous stable and inert
4passive+ 2hromium o5ide 1lm forms on the surface which is
resistance to both wet and dry corrosion. This increases the high
temperature stability and strength of material.

Carbon ,C' -) Erimary alloying element. It is essential for formation
of martensite during hardening. 2arbon e5erts the most in7uence on
ferrous material. It increases tensile strength and hardness and
decreases ductility and weldabitity. <enerally without carbon no
ferrous material 4e5cept maragin steel+ e5ists. 2arbon has a ma$or
efect on steel properties. 2arbon is the primary hardening element
in steel. Aardness and tensile strength increases as carbon content
increases. 8uctility and weldability decrease with increasing carbon.
Slfr ,S' -) &ulfer contents are considered as impurity. This
reduces the tensile strength at high temperature and improves the
machinability.
-$os.$ors ,-+-) Ii is also considered as impurity. It can cause
brittleness at low temperature.

Nic/el ,Ni' -) (ic!el is added to increase tensile strength, yield
strength, heat resistance % creep resistance. ddition of (ic!le has
efect on 2o)oGcient of thermal e5pansion also.
Mol%bden! ,Mo0' -) It increases strength at elevated
temperature, hardness at good strain. "olybdenum, when added to
stainless steels, it enhances the properties 4passivity+ of the passive
1lm and thereby increases the resistance to corrosion at high
temperature.
Al!in! ,Al'-) luminum helps in controlling the grain si;e and it
wor!s as deo5idi;er.
Titani!,Ti' -)Titanium is an high temperature stabilising alloying
elements i.e. it is a strong carbide former which forms titanium
carbide. It helps in reducing chromium depletion at higher
temperature. Titanium is used to retard grain growth and thus improve
toughness. Titanium is also used to achieve improvements in inclusion
characteristics. Titanium causes sulfide inclusions to be globular rather than
elongated thus improving toughness and ductility in transverse bending.

Tn#sten ,1' -)It increases hardness by re1ning the grain structure
and forming tungsten carbide in the matri5.
Niobi!,Nb0' 42olumbium+ -)(iobium is also a high temperature
stabilising elements. It helps in ma!ing sound forging of the
stabilised grade of stainless steels. (iobium increases the yield
strength and, to a lesser degree, the tensile strength of carbon
steel. The addition of small amounts of (iobium can signi1cantly
increase the yield strength of steels. (iobium can also have a
moderate precipitation strengthening efect. Its main contributions
are to form precipitates above the transformation temperature, and
to retard the recrystalli;ation of austenite, thus promoting a 1ne)
grain microstructure having improved strength and toughness
Fanadium increases the yield strength and the tensile strength of
carbon steel. The addition of small amounts of Fanadium can
signi1cantly increase the strength of steels. Fanadium is one of the
primary contributors to precipitation strengthening in microalloyed
steels. 3hen thermomechanical processing is properly controlled
the ferrite grain si;e is re1ned and there is a corresponding increase
in toughness. The impact transition temperature also increases
when vanadium is added.
Nic/el and c$ro!i!
(ic!el steels are noted for their strength, ductility and toughness,
while chromium steels are characteri;ed by their, corrosion
resistance, hardness and resistance to wear. The combination of
nic!el and chromium produces steels having all these properties,
some intensi1ed, without the disadvantages associated with the
simple alloys. The depth of hardening is increased, and with >..0
nic!el, *.,.0 chromium and /.=.0 carbon the steel can be
hardened simply by cooling in air.
Ni-Cr-Mo steels are widely used for ordinance, turbine rotors and
other large equipments and articles, since molybdenum tends to
minimi;e temper brittleness and reduces mass efect. "olybdenum
is also a constituent in some high)speed steels, magnet alloys, heat)
resisting and corrosion)resisting steels.
Man#anese ,Mn' :- ddition of "anganese improves the ductility
and hardness of the &teels. ll commercial steels contain /.= ) /.B0
of manganese, to reduce o5ides and to counter act the harmful
in7uence of iron sul1de. ny manganese in e5cess of these
requirements partially dissolves in the iron and partly form "n
=
2
which occurs with the 'e
=
2. There is a tendency now a days to
increase the manganese content and reduce the carbon content in
order to get a steel with improved ductility having all other physical
properties same.
The manganese content is also increased in certain alloy steels,
with reduction or elimination of e5pensive nic!el, in order to reduce
costs. &teels with /.=)/.>0 carbon, *.=)*.?0 manganese and /.=0
molybdenum have replaced =0 nic!el steel for some purposes.
Silicon ,Si' -)It increased elasticity and strength and decreases
weldabilty and forgeability, &ilicon is added to casting to improve
the 7uidity of molten metal.

&ilicon and "anganise are introduced to de)o5idi;e the steel. These
elements combine with 95ygen of ferrous o5ide and form their
o5ides in preference and go over the slag in the form of o5ides. This
improves the properties of steel. It is called !illing and the steel thus
produced is called !illed steel. luminum is also used as good de)
o5idiser 495ygen !iller+ agent and to control the grain si;e. ddition
of silicon in castings, minimi;es the possibility of porosities 46low
Aoles+.
Titani! and 2ierconi! are strong de)o5idiser and they can
only be used in fully !illed steels. (iobium is one of the strong
carbide formers and stabili;ers of ferrite in the matri5. It is also
wor!s as a grain re1ner. t high temperature where creep is a
problem coarser grain materials have advantages but at normal
temp 1ne grain provides improved strength.
Cast Iron :-
The term cast iron, li!e steel, identi1es a large family of ferrous
alloys. lloys of carbon in iron, in which carbon content e5ceed
,.*>0 are called 2ast iron. 2ast irons are multi component ferrous
alloys. They contain ma$or 4iron, carbon, silicon+and alloying
4H/./*0+ elements. 9ther alloying elements are added for getting
the improved properties for speci1c services.
2ast Iron is generally wea! in tensile load and cannot be used for
ma!ing items li!e fasteners, shaft, rotor etc. It is brittle in nature.
6ut cast iron has good compression strength, lubrication retaining
properties and damepning properties. Therefore many machinery
parts are made of cast iron only which require vibration dampning,
continuous lubrication etc. 6ased on requirement, diferent grades
of cast irons have been developed which have improved properties.
2ast iron has higher carbon and silicon contents than steel. 6ecause
of the higher carbon content, the structure of cast iron, as compared
to that of steel, e5hibits a rich carbon phase. 8epending primarily on
composition, cooling rate and melt treatment, various grade of cast
irons can be made.
There are many grades of cast iron. e.g. white cast iron, <rey cast
iron, (odulor cast iron and "aleable cast iron. Each cast iron has
speci1c properties and is used for speci1c requirement.
The cast iron contain greater percentage of carbon 4 , I .0+ than in
steel. 2arbon in cast Iron may be found in two diferent forms. 9ne
is in total chemically combined form and another is in independent
form.
3hen all carbon present in the matri5 is in chemically combined
condition with iron forming 4'e
=
2+ iron carbide in the form of
JcementiteK, it is called 3 w$ite cast iron4 0
3hen all percentage of carbon is not chemically combined with Iron
and also e5ists as free carbon or graphite 7a!es, it is called J#re%
cast iron4.

5re% Cast Iron -) 3hen all percentage of carbon is not chemically
combined with Iron and some percentage of carbon e5ists as free
carbon or graphite 7a!es, it is called grey cast iron0 It is
machineable and have very good dampening property.
1$ite Cast Iron -) 3hen all carbon present in the matri5 is in
chemically combined condition with iron, forming 4'e
=
2+ iron carbide
in the form of JcementiteK, it is called white cast iron.
The presence of cementite or iron)carbide ma!es this metal hard
and brittle and wear resistance. This is also machineable and it has
high temperature resistance property.

6ctile or Nodlar Cast Iron :- 3hen small quantity of
"agnesium or 2erinum is added to cast iron the graphite content
gets converted into nodular or spherodial form and gets dispersed
throughout the matri5. This improves the 7uidity, and thus e5cellent
castings are made. (odular cast iron has good strength, high
toughness, wear resistance and good impact strength.
Allo% Cast Iron-) &ome alloying elements are added to cast iron to
overcome certain inherent de1ciencies and to improve mechanical
properties more suitable for special purpose. To increase strength,
wear resistance, corrosion resistance, hardness etc. (ic!el,
2hromium, "olybdenum , Fanadium etc. are added forming various
grades of alloy cast iron.

Cast Carbon Steels
2arbon steel is a generali;ed name given to steels containing only
carbon as the principal alloying element. 9ther elements are
present in small quantities. Important elements added for de)
o5idation and other properties are &ilicon and "anganese in cast
carbon steels typically range from /.,. to about /.B/0 Si, and /../
to about *.//0 Mn respectively.
2arbon steels can be classi1ed according to their carbon content
into three broad groups-
Cow)carbon steels- L /.,/0 2
"edium)carbon steels- /.,/ to /../0 2
Aigh)carbon steels- H /../0 2
2arbon steel castings are produced in diferent grades of properties
depending on the speci1c requirements. ccordingly composition
and heat treatment shall be selected to achieve speci1c
combinations of properties, which includes hardness, strength,
ductility, fatigue resistance, and toughness. lthough there are
certain other properties speci1c to particular grades but it is
important to recogni;e the inter relationships for all grades for these
general properties.

Cast Stainless Steels
&tainless steels are a class of chromium)containing steels widely
used for their corrosion resistance properties in corrosive
environments and for service at cryogenic and elevated
temperatures. &tainless steels are distinguished from other steels by
the enhanced corrosion and o5idation resistance created by
chromium additions. 2hromium imparts passivity to ferrous alloys
when present in amounts of more than about **0, particularly if
conditions are strongly o5idi;ing. 2onsequently, steels with more
than */ or *,0 2r are sometimes de1ned as stainless steels.
&tainless steel castings are usually classi1ed as corrosion)resistant
castings or some times heat)resistant, used in the services where
temperature range from >./ to ?./
o
2. The usual distinction
between heat)resistant and corrosion)resistant cast steels is based
on carbon content and stablising element in the composition.
For#in#
'or &ervices in which parts are e5posed to tensile strength or
transmission of torque etc then forging are used. 'orging may be in
carbon steel, &tainless steel or lloy &teel.
'orging is the direct compression)type process and it is probably the
oldest method of metal forming. It involves the application of a
compressive stress, either by impact or by pressure, which e5ceeds
the 7ow stress of the metal. The stress can be applied quic!ly or
slowly. The process can be carried out in hot or cold conditions,
choice of temperature being decided by factors such as ease and
cheapness of formation. Requirement of production quantity,
imparting certain mechanical properties or surface 1nish are the
overriding factor.
There are two !inds of forging process, impact forging and press
forging. In the former, the load is applied by impact, and
deformation ta!es place over a very short time. Eress forging, on the
other hand, involves the gradual build up of pressure to cause the
metal to yield. The time of application is relatively long. 9ver @/0 of
forging processes are hot.
Impact forging can be further subdivided into three types-
&mith forging,
8rop forging,
Mpset forging.
Strctre and -ro.erties of For#in#s
'orgings are invariably produced by the hot)wor!ing process and
this helps in controlling the resultant grain structure and hence
properties of the forgings. There are, however, important diferences
in forgings produced by diferent techniques.
The fact that the impact forges applies a stress for a very short
duration compared to the press forge, results in totally diferent
grain structures in the product. In the case of impact forge, the
mechanical wor!ing is concentrated on the surface layers. Removal
of the stress after the blow results in metal rela5ation before the
efect of the blow could have penetrated up to the center.
Impact forging of a large Nas castN piece of metal at high
temperature will result in a very inhomogeneous structure, the
outside layers showing a typical hot)wor!ed structure whilst the
center is still as cast. ny attempt to achieve greater penetration by
increasing the impact load usually leads to internal crac!ing. Impact
forging is therefore limited to relatively small wor! pieces.
Eress forging invariably results in total penetration of the efect of
the applied stress up to the center of the wor! piece. The process is
generally less severe on the metal than impact. The end result is a
more homogeneous product having very high quality. &ince the
process is much slower and the equipment used is much larger,
press)forged articles are more e5pensive than impact forged
components.
MARA5IN5 STEEL -) "araging steel is an iron based steel alloy
which do not contain 2arbon. It is !nown for possessing superior
strength without loosing malleability. Iron with various proportions of
alloying elements li!e 2obalt, (ic!el as strengthening agents are
added with "olybdenum and Titanium. It possess.

) Aigh strength and tonghness
) Easy "achinable
) 2an be easily nitrided
) Resist corrosion and crac! propagation.

The common grades contain *D I *@ 0 (ic!el, B I *, 0 2obalt = I
. 0 "olybdenum and /., I *.?0 Titanium.

"EAT TREATEMENT OF MATERIAL :-
The speci1c properties of steels or alloys 4'errous or (on ferruns+
may be changed as required by following a heating and cooling
cycle for that material under de1nite conditions. 8esired results are
obtained by heating in a temperature range where a phase or
combination of phases are stable. This process of following a cycle
of heating and cooling of material to impart speci1c properties in
the material is called $eat treat!ent. The structure of steel is
composed of two variables.
*+ <rain structure OThe arrangement of atoms in a metal
,+ <rain si;e ) the si;e of the individual crystals of the metal
&teels can e5hibit a wide variety of properties depending on their
grain structure and grain si;es as well as the phases of its micro)
constituents present in its matri5. The matri5 structures of materials
depend on the heat treatment cycle followed after the formation
process. &ome times a minor addition of alloying element changes
the entire cycle of heat treatment as the matri5 body structure gets
changed. The basis for consideration of heat treatment of steels is
the iron)carbon 4'e)2+ phase diagram. 8uring heat treatment of the
metals, it is impossible to cool the specimen at a uniform rate
through out. The surface of the specimen will always cool more
rapidly than the interior region. Therefore the ustenite will
transform over a range of temperatures, yielding a possible
variation of microstructure and properties of the material within the
shape. The successful heat treatment of steels is to produce a
predominantly "artensitic microstructure throughout the cross
section. This depends upon following factors-
*+ The composition of the alloy
,+ The type and character of the quenching medium
=+ The si;e and shape of the specimen
6y way of various heat treatment cycles, internal stresses, which
may have been developed due to formation, can be removed, grain
si;e may be re1ned, hard and soft surfaces may be produced. In
many cases it helps in improving the tensile strength and toughness
also. 'inal results of heat treatment depends upon the rate of
heating, 1nal temperature of soa!ing, period of soa!ing, rate of
cooling, quenching media etc. &peci1c cycles are designed by the
metallurgist to get the best results in the required services.
<enerally heat treatment is done for the following purposes.
*. To Impart hard surface
,. To Improve machineablity
=. To re1ne grain si;e
>. To relieve internal stresses
.. To improve wear resistance
?. To improve tensile strength
D. To Improve magnitic or electrical properties
B. To Improve softness and mleability
&pecial heat treatments have been designed and named by the
metallurgist for getting the properties enhanced in the materials.
These are in general performed after some steps of forming.

ANNEALIN5: ) nnealing is one of the most widely used process in
the heat treatment of Iron or steel. ccording to merican society of
"aterial Testing 4&T"+ annealing is a generic term denoting a heat
treatment that consist of heating and holding at a suitable
temperature followed by cooling at a suitable rate in a suitable
quenching medium primarily to soften the material.

NORMALI2IN5 -)This heat treatment is generally followed on the
materials which are formed by forging at high temperature. It
consist of heating ferrous alloys to a suitable temperature, !eep it
there for speci1c time called soa!ing, followed by cooling at speci1c
rate for re1ning grain si;e of a steel. This heat treatment is must for
all forging formations.

TEM-ERIN5-) In the as quenched state the martensite formed is
not only very hard but also very brittle and can not be wor!ed
further in any application. lso many internal stresses gets
introduce during the quenching operation. Temperring is used to
enhance the ductility and toughness of martensite and relieve the
internal stresses. In tempering steel is re)heated to speci1ed low
temperature below its critical temperature for a certain period of
time and then cooled at a prescribed rate.

AUSTEM-ERIN5:- ustempering is also !nown as usteninting is
the heat treatment process in which steel or iron alloy is heated to a
temperature of ,/.P2 I .//P2 above the critical temperature and
it is !ept at that temperature for suGcient time, un till it is all ferrite
and pearlite are converted into austenite and then cooling at a
de1nite rate for speci1c grades of steels.

"AR6ENIN5 -) Aardening is the heat treatment for ma!ing the
steel hard at the outer surface while the core remains soft. The steel
is heated above the critical temperature and held at that
temperature for considerable time to ensure thorough penetration
of the temperature in side the metal and then cooled at a speci1c
fast rate. Aardness of the surface achieved depends upon the
volume of the cooling bath, media of the cooling etc.

STRESS RELIE7IN5-) &tress relieving is the most frequently and
widely done heat treatment in any industry. speci1c heating and
cooling cycle is designed to relieve internal stresses developed by
forming, forging, welding or any hot wor!. Rate of heating,
temperature of soa!ing, time of soa!ing, loading and un)loading
temperatures depends upon the grade of material and thic!ness of
the $ob.

There are certain other heat treatment process also e.g.
2R6MRIQI(<, 2R(I8I(<, (ITRI8I(<, 'C"E AR8(I(<, which are
done to obtain various surface hardness for speci1c purpose. These
heat treatments are more related to manufacturing industries.

8UENC"IN5-) :uenching is the operation of rapid cooling of wor!
piece from high temperature to ambient in a liquid or gaseous
media. In this operation intermediate transformations are avoided
by not giving suGcient time at intermediate temperatures. 'or
achieving this the volume of the quenching media shall be suGcient
with respect to the wor! piece. There are various &peci1c gaseous
or liquid medium used for speci1c purposes. "edia plays important
role in achieving the speci1c properties after the heat treatment.
&ome important terms which are used frequently in industries-

5RAIN SI2E-) 3hen material mass starts solidifying from molten
state, the solidi1cation starts simultaneously at numerous locations.
The grains formed early in the solid mass gets suGcient time and
heat from the surrounding to grow in its vicinity and on completion
of solidi1cation the material is composed of various si;es of grains.
These grains are visible under metallurgical microscope. The
number of grains per unit area is called the grain si;e of that
material. ccording to merican &ociety for Testing "aterial 4&T"+
the grain si;e of a steel is speci1ed by the number of grains per
square area which are visible under magni1cation of *// times.
"ore the grains per square inch area or higher grain no 4&T" ? I
@+ means 1ne grain structure and less the grains per square inch
area or less &T" grain (o. 4&T" * I.+ means coarse grain
structure.
<rain (o or <rain si;e in steel is one of the most in7uential factors
for mechanical properties and application of service. 'ine grain
denotes good strength and coarse grain indicates wea! materials.
'or high pressure and high temperature application grain structure
is very important.

CREE- :- "aterial e5posed to high temperature and pressure for
long time may develop permanent plastic deformation which can
leads to its failure. This permanent plastic deformation is called
2reep. It is measured in percentage as variation in si;e w.r.t. original
si;e. "aterial used in this type of condition should have high creep
resistance. &ome high temperature resisting material are Inconel
?//, Inconnel B//, AK>9, I(.*@ etc in which percentage of
2hromium ranges from ,/ I =.0 and (ichel ,. I D/ 0 and 2arbon
/./? I /../0. There are certain other alloying and micro alloying
elements also as &ilicon, (iobium, 2obalt, luminum etc. which are
added to enhance the speci1c properties as per requirement.

"96RO5EN EM:RITTLEMENT -) Aydrogen embrittlement is a
service related failure or deterioration of material. It involves the
ingress of hydrogen atoms into the matri5 occupies the space
available in the matri5. 3hen large number of such ingress ta!es
place the matri5 become densely occupied and thus hardness of the
material gets increased. toms ingress in the matri5 starts forming
molecules and thus the space available in the matri5 become more
and more congested. The molecules of the Aydrogen has tendency
to get librated from the congetion and thus they e5ert suGcient
pressure on the grain boundries to generate 1shers. These 1shers
when gets accumulated becomes crac!. Aydrogen embrittlement
can seriously reduce the ductility and load bearing capacity and can
cause catastrophic brittle failure at stresses much below the yield
stresses. t high temperature the difused hydrogen on the grain
boundaries combines with the carbon in the vicinity and in presence
of iron form methane gas 42A>+. The molecule si;e of the methane
is large as compared to hydrogen atom. Thus the methane gas
builds up enormous pressure on the grain boundaries and thus
1shers and crac!s are initiated. Aydrogen embrittlement does not
afect all materials equally. &ome materials are suitable for the
service while others are not. (elson curve gives the required help
for selecting the materials for particularly in hydrogen service.

Failres of Metal Co!.onents
In industries the failure analysis is equally important for the
engineers. This gives the idea for the maintenance engineers about
the performance of the designed part in the particular service. Root
causes of the failure shall be analy;ed and shall be recorded for
future use for the elimination of similar mista!es. 3hile designing
modern equipments to operate in severe environments, a designer
is confronted with many comple5 problems in selecting and
evaluating materials, for e5pected loadings and design stresses.
"aterials selection must not be con1ned to a small group of metals
for outstanding resistance in one characteristic, such as inertness to
the environment in chemical processing. Aowever, many other
factors must also be considered such as strength, toughness, mode
of fabrication and wear resistance etc. before selection and design.
"any elements of fracture are used to describe and categori;e the
types of fractures encountered in the laboratory and in service.
These elements include loading conditions, rate of crac! growth,
and macroscopic and microscopic appearance of fracture surfaces.
'ailure analysis often 1nds itself useful to classify fractures on a
macroscopic scale as ductile fractures, brittle fractures, fatigue
fractures and fractures resulting from the combined efects of stress
and environment. The last group includes stress)corrosion crac!ing
and liquid)metal embrittlement, interstitial embrittlement, corrosion
fatigue and stress rupture.
8etailed analysis of failures encountered in developing a prototype
4or in a service component+ is vital before appropriate changes can
be made in design or material to assure a reliable product.
6ctile Fractres:
8uctile fractures are characteri;ed by tearing of metal accompanied
by appreciable gross plastic deformation and e5penditure of
considerable energy during the failure.
:rittle Fractres:
6rittle fractures are characteri;ed by rapid crac! propagation with
less e5penditure of energy than with ductile fractures and without
appreciable gross plastic deformation.
Fati#e Fractres:
'atigue fractures result from cyclic loading, and appear brittle on a
macroscopic scale. They are characteri;ed by incremental
propagation of crac!s until the cross section has been reduced to
where it can no longer support the ma5imum applied load and fast
fracture ensues.
lthough all cares are ta!en while designing or manufacturing
equipments but failures do ta!es place. In general, service failures
may arise from many causes. 'or mechanical equipment, these
causes might be classi1ed into three categories as follows-
6esi#n inade;acies:- "any times while designing small things
are overloo!ed and these small things become the source of failure.
&harp corners or abnormal stress)raisers, inadequate fasteners,
wrong material or heat treatment, unforeseen conditions of service,
and lac! of accurate stress analysis may be such causes of failures.
-rocessin# and fabrication:- bout half of the failures are due to
metallurgical process, which are either not followed properly or not
performed at all while fabricating. 'actors such as quench crac!s,
improper heat treatment, forging or casting defects, nonmetallic
inclusions etc are some e5amplesS the other half failures are due to
minor mista!es done during fabrication such as Toint
misalignments, weld 7aws, improper machining or assembly,
grinding crac!s, cold straightening etc.
En<iron!ental and ser<ice deterioration:- These factors are
part of the service in which equipment is performing. These include
overloads, change of parameters, chemical attac!, wear, corrosion,
difusion, and improper maintenance.
NfailureN usually occurs as-
1. 'racture 46rea!age+
2. E5cessive deformation 4over heating, bending+
3. "aterial deterioration 42arburi;ing, metal dusting+
These facts are basic information for any engineer in an industry.