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FERROUS MATERIALS
As the most abundant of all commercial metals, alloys of iron and steel continue to cover a broad range of structural applications. Iron ore constitutes about 5% of the earth's crust and is easy to convert to a useful form. Iron is obtained by fusing the ore to drive off oxygen, sulfur, and other impurities. The ore is melted in a furnace in direct contact with the fuel using limestone as a flux. The limestone combines with impurities and forms a slag, which is easily removed. Adding carbon in small amounts reduces the melting point (2,777F) of iron. All commercial forms of iron and steel contain carbon, which is an integral part of the metallurgy of iron and steel. Manipulation of atom-to-atom relationships between iron, carbon, and various alloying elements establishes the specific properties of ferrous metals. As atoms transform from one specific arrangement, or crystal lattice, to another, strength, toughness, impact resistance, hardness, ductility, and other properties are altered. The metallurgy of iron and steel is a study of how these atomic rearrangements take place, how they can be controlled, and which properties are affected.
Ferrous Metals Name Composition 0.15 to0.30% carbon Properties Tough, high tensile strength, ductile. Because of low carbon content it can not be hardened and tempered. It must be case hardened. Stronger and harder than mild steels. Less ductile, tough and malleable. Uses girders, Plates, nuts and bolts, general purpose.
Mild Steel
0.70% to 1.40% carbon. medium carbon, tungsten, chromium and vanadium. 18% chromium, and 8% nickel added. Low carbon steel,, nickel,and chromium. Remelted pig iron with small amounts of scrap steel.
The hardest of the carbon steels. Less ductile, tough and malleable.
Can be hardened and tempered. Can be brittle. Retains hardness at high temperatures.
Stainless Steel
Corrosion resistant
Cast Iron
Heavy crushing machinery. Car cylinder blocks, vices, machine tool parts, brake drums, machine handle and gear wheels, plumbing fitments.
Fig.1. Three plain carbons steels, from left to right: 1018, 1045 and 1095. Increasing the carbon content (from 0.18% to 0.95%) causes the amount of ferrite (light) to decrease and the amount of pearlite (dark, lamellar) to increase.
ductility and strength and has good wear resistance; used for large parts, forging and automotive components.
High carbon steel: approximately 0.60.99% carbon content. Very strong, used for springs and high-strength wires.
Ultra high carbon steel: approximately 1.02.0% carbon content. Steels that can be tempered to great hardness. Used for special purposes like (non-industrial-purpose) knives, axles or punches. Most steels with more than 1.2% carbon content are made using powder metallurgy.
Steel can be heat treated which allows parts to be fabricated in an easily-formable soft state. If enough carbon is present, the alloy can be hardened to increase strength, wear, and impact resistance. Steels are often wrought by cold-working methods, which is the shaping of metal through deformation at a low equilibrium or metastable temperature.
The purpose of heat treating carbon steel is to change the mechanical properties of steel, usually ductility, hardness, yield strength, or impact resistance. Note that the electrical and thermal conductivity are slightly altered. As with most strengthening techniques for steel, Young's modulus is unaffected. Steel has a higher solid solubility for carbon in the austenite phase, therefore all heat treatments, except spheroidizing and process annealing, start by heating to an austenitic phase. The rate at which the steel is cooled through the eutectoid reaction affects the rate at which carbon diffuses out of austenite. Generally speaking, cooling quickly will give a finer pearlite (until the martensite critical temperature is reached) and cooling slowly will give a coarser pearlite. Cooling a hypoeutectoid (less than 0.77 wt% C) steel results in a pearlitic structure with -ferrite at the grain boundaries. If it is hypereutectoid (more than 0.77 wt% C) steel then the structure is full pearlite with small grains of cementite scattered throughout. The relative amounts of constituents are found using the lever rule. Here is a list of the types of heat treatments possible: Spheroidizing: Spheroidite forms when carbon steel is heated to approximately 700 C for over 30 hours. Spheroidite can form at lower temperatures but the time needed drastically increases, as this is a diffusion controlled process. The result is a structure of rods or spheres of cementite within primary structure (ferrite or pearlite, depending on which side of the eutectoid you are on). The purpose is to soften higher carbon steels and allow more formability. This is the softest and most ductile form of steel. The image to the right shows where spheroidizing usually occurs. Full annealing: Carbon steel is heated to approximately 40 C above Ac 3 or Ac1 for 1 hour; this assures all the ferrite transforms into austenite (although cementite might still exist if the carbon content is greater than the eutectoid). The steel must then be cooled slowly, in the realm of 38 C (100 F) per hour. Usually it is just furnace cooled, where the furnace is turned off with the steel still inside. This results in a coarse pearlitic structure, which means the "bands" of pearlite are thick. Fully annealed steel is soft and ductile, with no internal stresses, which is often necessary for cost-effective forming. Only spheroidized steel is softer and more ductile.[9] Process annealing: A process used to relieve stress in a cold-worked carbon steel with less than 0.3 wt% C. The steel is usually heated up to 550650 C for 1 hour, but sometimes temperatures as high as 700 C. The image to the right shows the area where process annealing occurs. Isothermal annealing: It is a process in which hypoeutectoid steel is heated above the upper critical temperature and this temperature is maintained for a period of time and then the temperature is brought down below lower critical temperature and is again maintained. Then finally it is cooled at room temperature. This method helps in eliminating any temperature gradient. Normalizing: Carbon steel is heated to approximately 55 C above Ac3 or Acm for 1 hour; this assures the steel completely transforms to austenite. The steel is then air cooled, which is a cooling rate of approximately 38 C (100 F) per minute. This results in a fine pearlitic structure, and a more uniform structure. Normalized steel has a higher strength than annealed steel; it has a relatively high strength and ductility. Quenching: Carbon steel with at least 0.4 wt% C is heated to normalizing temperatures and then rapidly cooled (quenched) in water, brine, or oil to the critical temperature. The critical temperature is dependent on the carbon content, but as a general rule is lower as the carbon content increases. This results in a martensitic structure; a form of steel that possesses a super-saturated carbon content in a deformed body-centered cubic (BCC) crystalline structure, properly termed body-centered tetragonal (BCT). This crystalline
structure has a very high amount of internal stress. Due to these internal stress quenched steel is extremely hard but brittle, usually too brittle for practical purposes. These internal stresses cause stress cracks on the surface. Quenched steel is approximately three (lower carbon content) to four (high carbon content) times harder than normalized steel. Martempering (Marquenching): Martempering is not actually a tempering procedure, hence the term "Marquenching." It is a form of isothermal heat treatment applied after an initial quench of typically in an oil or brine solution at a temperature right above the "martensite start temperature". At this temperature, residual stresses within the material are relieved and some bainite may be formed from the retained ferrite which did not have time to transform into anything else. In industry, this is a process used to control the ductility and hardness of a material. With longer marquenching time, the ductility increases with a minimal loss in strength; the steel is held in this solution until the center and surface temperatures equalize. Then the steel is cooled at a moderate speed to keep the temperature gradient minimal. Not only does this process reduce internal stresses and stress cracks, but it also increases the impact resistance. Quench and tempering: This is the most common heat treatment encountered, because the final properties can be precisely determined by the temperature and time of the tempering. Tempering involves reheating quenched steel to a temperature below the eutectoid temperature then cooling. The elevated temperature allows very small amounts of spheroidite to form, which restore ductility, but reduces hardness. Actual temperatures and times are carefully chosen for each composition. Austempering: The austempering process is the same as martempering, except the steel is held in the brine solution through the bainite transformation temperatures, and then moderately cooled. The resulting bainite steel has a greater ductility, higher impact resistance, and less distortion. The disadvantage of austempering is it can only be used on a few steels, and it requires a special brine solution.
Co 5.0 8.0
Mn 0.10.4 -
Si 0.20.4 -
(a)
M35
M35 is similar to M2, but with 5% cobalt added. The addition of cobalt increases heat resistance.
(b)
M42
M42 is a high speed steel alloy made up of roughly 8% cobalt. It is widely used in metal manufacturing because of its ability to resist wear over conventional high speed steels, allowing for shorter cycle times in production environments due to higher cutting speeds or from the increase in time between tool changes. M42 is also less prone to chipping when used for interrupted cuts and cost less when compared to the same tool made of carbide. Tools made from high speed steel and cobalt can often be identified by the letters HSS-Co.
I.2.B Applications
The main use of high speed steels continues to be in the manufacture of various cutting tools: drills, taps, milling cutters, tool bits, gear cutters, saw blades, etc., although usage for punches and dies is increasing. High carbon steel remains a good choice for low speed applications where a very keen (sharp) edge is required, such as files, chisels and hand plane blades.
The low carbon version of the Austenitic Stainless Steel, for example 316L or 304L, are used to avoid corrosion problem caused by welding. The "L" means that the carbon content of the Stainless Steel is below 0.03%, this will reduce the sensitization effect, precipitation of Chromium Carbides, due to the high temperature produced by welding operation. Ferritic stainless steels are highly corrosion-resistant, but less durable than austenitic grades. They contain between 10.5% and 27% chromium and very little nickel, if any, but some types can contain lead. Most compositions include molybdenum; some, aluminium or titanium. Common ferritic grades include 18Cr-2Mo, 26Cr-1Mo, 29Cr-4Mo, and 29Cr4Mo-2Ni. Martensitic stainless steels are not as corrosion-resistant as the other two classes but are extremely strong and tough, as well as highly machineable, and can be hardened by heat treatment. Martensitic stainless steel contains chromium (12-14%), molybdenum (0.2-1%), nickel (0-<2%), and carbon (about 0.1-1%) (giving it more hardness but making the material a bit more brittle). It is quenched and magnetic. It is also known as series-00 steel. Precipitation-hardening martensitic stainless steels have corrosion resistance comparable to austenitic varieties, but can be precipitation hardened to even higher strengths than the other martensitic grades. The most common, 17-4PH, uses about 17% chromium and 4% nickel. There is a rising trend in defense budgets to opt for an ultrahigh-strength stainless steel when possible in new projects, as it is estimated that 2% of the US GDP is spent dealing with corrosion. The Lockheed-Martin Joint Strike Fighter is the first aircraft to use a precipitation-hardenable stainless steelCarpenter Custom 465 in its airframe. Duplex stainless steels have a mixed microstructure of austenite and ferrite, the aim being to produce a 50/50 mix, although in commercial alloys, the mix may be 40/60 respectively. Duplex steels have improved strength over austenitic stainless steels and also improved resistance to localised corrosion, particularly pitting, crevice corrosion and stress corrosion cracking. They are characterised by high chromium (1928%) and molybdenum (up to 5%) and lower nickel contents than austenitic stainless steels. The most used Duplex Stainless Steel are the 2205 (22% Chromium, 5% Nickel) and 2507 (25% Chromium, 7% Nickel) sometimes the 2507 is also called "SuperDuplex" due to the higher Corrosion resistance.
I.3.B Applications
Stainless steels resistance to corrosion and staining, low maintenance, relative inexpense, and familiar luster make it an ideal base material for a host of commercial applications. There are over 150 grades of stainless steel, of which fifteen are most common. The alloy is milled into coils, sheets, plates, bars, wire, and tubing to be used in cookware, cutlery, hardware, surgical instruments, major appliances, industrial equipment, and as an automotive and aerospace structural alloy and construction material in large buildings. Orange juice and other food transport and storage tankers are often made of stainless steel, due to its corrosion resistance and antibacterial properties. This also influences its use in commercial catering kitchens and food processing plants, as it can be steam cleaned, sterilized, and does not need painting or application of other surface finishes. Stainless steel is also used for jewellery and watches. The most common stainless steel alloy used for this is 316L. It can be re-finished by any jeweller and will not oxidize or turn black
Typically, HSLA steels are low-carbon steels with up to 1.5% manganese, strengthened by small additions of elements, such as columbium, copper, vanadium or titanium and sometimes by special rolling and cooling techniques. Improved-formability HSLA steels contain additions such as zirconium, calcium, or rare-earth elements for sulfide-inclusion shape control. Since parts made from HSLA steels can have thinner cross sections than equivalent parts made from low-carbon steel, corrosion of an HSLA steel can significantly reduce strength by decreasing the load-bearing cross section. While additions of elements such as copper, silicon, nickel, chromium, and phosphorus can improve atmospheric corrosion resistance of these alloys, they also increase cost. Galvanizing, zinc-rich coatings, and other rust-preventive finishes can help protect HSLA-steel parts from corrosion. Grades known as "improved-formability" HSLA steels (sheet-steel grades designated ASTM A715, and plates designated ASTM A656) have yield strengths up to 80,000 psi, yet cost only about 24% more than a typical 34,000-psi plain-carbon steel. Because these alloys must compete with other structural metals such as AISI 1010 steel and aluminum, they must be as inexpensive as possible. However, formulating and rolling a steel that meets this cost requirement is not easy, and the finished product presents a number of trade-offs. For example, the increase in strength from 35,000 to 80,000 psi may be accompanied by a 30 to 40% loss in ductility. Improved-formability HSLA steels were developed primarily for the automotive industry to replace low-carbon steel parts with thinner cross-section parts for reduced weight without sacrificing strength and dent resistance. Typical passenger-car applications include door-intrusion beams, chassis members, reinforcing and mounting brackets, steering and suspension parts, bumpers, and wheels. Trucks, construction equipment, off-highway vehicles, mining equipment, and other heavy-duty vehicles use HSLA sheets or plates for chassis components, buckets, grader blades, and structural members outside the body. For these applications, sheets or light-gage plates are specified. Structural forms (alloys from the family of 45,000 to 50,000-psi minimum yield strength HSLA steels) are specified in applications such as offshore oil and gas rigs, single-pole powertransmission towers, railroad cars, and ship construction. In equipment such as power cranes, cement mixers, farm machinery, trucks, trailers, and powertransmission towers, HSLA bar, with minimum yield strengths ranging from 50,000 to 70,000 psi is used. Forming, drilling, sawing, and other machining operations on HSLA steels usually require 25 to 30% more power than do structural carbon steels. Most HSLA alloys have directionally sensitive properties. For some grades, formability and impact strength vary significantly depending on whether the material is tested longitudinally or transversely to the rolled direction. For example, bends parallel to the longitudinal direction are more apt to cause cracking around the outside, tension-bearing surface of the bend. This effect is more pronounced in thick sheets. This directional characteristic is substantially reduced in HSLA steels that have been treated for sulfide shape control.
I.4.A APPLICATIONS
Components for the aircraft, automotive and general engineering industries eg. Propeller shafts, connecting rods, gear shafts, and other automobile parts. Heavy forgings, eg. Rotors, shafts, discs.
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Grey cast iron; Silicon is essential to making grey cast iron as opposed to white cast iron. When silicon is alloyed with ferrite and carbon in amounts of about 2 percent, the carbide of iron becomes unstable. Silicon causes the carbon to rapidly come out of solution as graphite, leaving a matrix of relatively pure, soft iron. Weak bonding between planes of graphite lead to a high activation energy for growth in that direction, resulting in thin, round flakes. This structure has several useful properties. The metal expands slightly on solidifying as the graphite precipitates, resulting in sharp castings. The graphite content also offers good corrosion resistance. Graphite acts as a lubricant, improving wear resistance. The exceptionally high speed of sound in graphite gives cast iron a much higher thermal conductivity. Since ferrite is so different in this respect (having heavier atoms, bonded much less tightly) phonons tend to scatter at the interface between the two materials. In practical terms, this means that cast iron tends to damp mechanical vibrations (including sound), which can help machinery to run more smoothly. All of the properties listed in the paragraph above ease the machining of grey cast iron. The sharp edges of graphite flakes also tend to concentrate stress, allowing cracks to form much more easily, so that material can be removed much more efficiently. Easier initiation of cracks can be a drawback once an item is finished, however: grey cast iron has less tensile strength and shock resistance than steel. It is also difficult to weld. Grey cast iron's high thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity are often exploited to make cast iron cookware and disc brake rotors.
White cast iron; with a lower silicon content and faster cooling, the carbon in white cast iron precipitates out of the melt as the metastable phase cementite, Fe3C, rather than graphite. The cementite which precipitates from the melt forms as relatively large particles, usually in a eutectic mixture where the other phase is austenite (which on cooling might transform to martensite). These eutectic carbides are much too large to provide precipitation hardening (as in some steels, where cementite precipitates might inhibit plastic deformation by impeding the movement of dislocations through the ferrite matrix). Rather, they increase the bulk hardness of the cast iron simply by virtue of their own very high hardness and their substantial volume fraction, such that the bulk hardness can be approximated by a rule of mixtures. In any case, they offer hardness at the expense of toughness. Since carbide makes up a large fraction of the material, white
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cast iron could reasonably be classified as a cermet. White iron is too brittle for use in many structural components, but with good hardness and abrasion resistance and relatively low cost, it finds use in such applications as the wear surfaces (impeller and volute) of slurry pumps, shell liners and lifter bars in ball mills and autogenous grinding mills, balls and rings in coal pulverisers and (conceivably?) balls for rolling-element bearings and the teeth of a backhoe's digging bucket (although the latter two applications would normally use high quality wrought high-carbon martensitic steels and cast mediumcarbon martensitic steels respectively). It is difficult to cool thick castings fast enough to solidify the melt as white cast iron all the way through. However, rapid cooling can be used to solidify a shell of white cast iron, after which the remainder cools more slowly to form a core of grey cast iron. The resulting casting, called a chilled casting, has the benefits of a hard surface and a somewhat tougher interior. White cast iron can also be made by using a high percentage of chromium in the iron; Cr is a strong carbide-forming element, so at high enough percentages of chrome, the precipitation of graphite out of the iron is suppressed. High-chrome white iron alloys allow massive castings (for example, a 10-tonne impeller) to be sand cast, i.e., a high cooling rate is not required, as well as providing impressive abrasion resistance.
Malleable iron starts as a white iron casting, that is then heat treated at about 900 C. Graphite separates out much more slowly in this case, so that surface tension has time to form it into spheroidal particles rather than flakes. Due to their lower aspect ratio, spheroids are relatively short and far from one another, and have a lower cross section vis-a-vis a propagating crack or phonon. They also have blunt boundaries, as opposed to flakes, which alleviates the stress concentration problems faced by grey cast iron. In general, the properties of malleable cast iron are more like mild steel. There is a limit to how large a part can be cast in malleable iron, since it is made from white cast iron. Nodular or ductile cast iron. Tiny amounts of magnesium or cerium added to these alloys slow down the growth of graphite precipitates by bonding to the edges of the graphite planes. Along with careful control of other elements and timing, this allows the carbon to separate as spheroidal particles as the material solidifies. The properties are similar to malleable iron but parts can be cast with larger sections.
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Aluminium
Pure Metal
Aluminium alloysDuraluminium)
Copper
Pure metal
Red, tough, ductile, High electrical conductor, corrosion resistant, Can work hard or cold. Needs frequent annealing. Very corrosive, yellow in colour, tarnishes very easily. Harder than copper. Good electrical conductor.
Electrical wire, cables and conductors, water and central heating pipes and cylinders. Printed circuit boards, roofs.
Brass
Gilding metal
Lead
Pure metal
The heaviest common metal. Soft, malleable, bright and shiny when new but quickly oxidizes to a dull grey. Resistant to corrosion.
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Zinc
Pure metal
Makes brass. Coating for steel galvanized corrugated iron roofing, tanks, buckets, rust-proof paints
Tin
Pure metal
II.1.A Properties
Lightweight - Aluminum is about one-third the weight of an equal volume of copper, steel or brass. Strength - Aluminum can withstand heavy loads and pressure; when alloyed appropriately, its strength approaches that of steel. High strength-to-weight ratio - The ratio of the tensile strength of aluminum, divided by density, is higher than any other metal.
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Corrosion resistance - The formation of a microscopic film of aluminium oxide on the surface of the metal protects it against the corrosive influences of water, salt and other influences. Resilience/Flexibility - Some applications require some flexibility in addition to strength; an aluminum sailboat mast can spring back where necessary and bend slightly. Aluminum streetlights also provide necessary resilience with safety benefits of flexibility. Electrical conductivity - Aluminum has twice the conductivity of an equal weight of copper. Thermal conductivity - Aluminum spreads heat or cooling energy evenly and quickly. Non-toxicity - Aluminum is ideal for packaging and cooking material finishes because it is non-toxic. Reflectivity - Aluminum reflects light and other forms of radiant energy. Ductility - Aluminum is easy to cold work and fabricate. Malleability - The vulnerability of aluminum to heat and pressure make it ideal for extruding into formed, intricate shapes with ledges, grooves, hinges, screwholes and interlocking parts. This allows the creation of single components, whereas other metals must be manufactured into pieces that must then be assembled to create a final product. Mixability - Aluminum can be easily modified by the addition of alloys to make a final metal that is even more resilient, conductive or malleable than aluminum alone. Finishing - Aluminum can be finished with a variety of coatings and finishes such as paint, lacquer, porcelain or organic coatings, which can be anodized to bond to the metal. Recyclability - Aluminum can be easily reclaimed and recycled into new, final aluminum products. Availability - Alumina is the most abundant metallic element in the earth's crust. Cost-efficiency - Aluminum processing is inexpensive.
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the hot liquid. Molten aluminum metal collects at the cathode (negative electrode) in a process called electrolysis. Not long after the development of this process, the price of aluminum metal plummeted to around 30 cents a pound. In the production of aluminum today by the Hall-Hroult process, the aluminum oxide is dissolved in a molten mixture of sodium, calcium, and aluminum fluorides, which melts at a lower temperature than cryolite. The aluminum oxide is in the form of bauxite, a white, brown, or red earthy clay; it was first found near Les Baux, France, in 1821 by P. Berthier, and is now the main source of all aluminum. It is mined in various parts of Africa and in France, Surinam, Jamaica, and the United Statesmainly in Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia. The world's supply of bauxite appears to be immense enough to last for hundreds of years at the rate it is being mined today.
Wrought aluminum: A four-digit number that corresponds to a specific alloying element combination usually designates wrought aluminum alloys. This number is followed by a temper designation that identifies thermal and mechanical treatments. To develop strength, heat-treatable wrought alloys are solution heat treated, then quenched and precipitation hardened. Solution heat treatment consists of heating the metal, holding at temperature to bring the hardening constituents into solution, then cooling to retain those constituents in solution. Precipitation hardening after solution heat treatment increases strength and hardness of these alloys. Wrought aluminum alloys are also strengthened by cold working. The high-strength alloys -- either heat treatable or not -- work harden more rapidly than the lower-strength, softer alloys and so may require annealing after cold working. Because hot forming does not always work harden aluminum alloys, this method is used to avoid annealing and straightening operations; however, hot forming fully heat-treated materials is difficult. Generally, aluminum formability increases with temperature. Other significant new materials are the aluminum-lithium alloys. These lightweight metals are as strong as alloys now in use and can be fabricated on existing metalworking equipment. Although impressive structural weight reductions (from 7 to 10%) are possible through direct substitution, even greater reduction (up to 15%) can be realized by developing fully optimized alloys for new designs. Such alloys would be specifically tailored to provide property combinations not presently available. Producing an alloy that will provide these combinations is the object of second and third-generation low-density alloy development efforts.
Cast aluminum: Aluminum can be cast by all common casting processes. Aluminum casting alloys are identified with a unified, four-digit (xxx.x) system. The first digit indicates the major alloying element. For instance, 100 series is reserved for 99% pure aluminum with no major alloying element used. The second and third digits in the 100 series indicate the precise minimum aluminum content. For example, 165.0 has a 99.65% minimum aluminum content. The 200-900 series designate various aluminum alloys, with the second two digits assigned to new alloys as they are registered. The fourth digit indicates the product form. Castings are designated 0; ingots are designed 1 or 2. Letter prefixes before the numerical designation indicate special control of one or more elements or a modification of the original alloy. Prefix X designates an experimental
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composition. The material may retain the experimental designation up to five years. Limits for the experimental alloy may be changed by the registrant. Permanent-mold casting technology involves several variations having to do with how the metal gets into the mold cavity. Initially, molds were simply gravity filled from ladles, in the same manner as sand molds. Subsequently, low pressure on the liquid-metal surface of a crucible was used to force the metal up, through a vertical tube, into the mold cavity. This refinement produces castings with higher mechanical properties and is more economical than gravity filling because extensive gates and risers are unnecessary. Designation 1xxx 2xxx Major Alloying Element Unalloyed (pure) >99% Al Copper is the principal alloying element, though other elements (Magnesium) may be specified Manganese is the principal alloying element Silicon is the principal alloying element Magnesium is the principal alloying element Magnesium and Silicon are principal alloying elements Zinc is the principal alloying element, but other elements such as Copper, Magnesium, Chromium, and Zirconium may be specified Other elements (including Tin and some Lithium compositions) Reserved for future use
8xxx 9xxx
Superplastic aluminum: Superplastic forming of metal, a process similar to vacuum forming of plastic sheet, has been used to form low-strength aluminum into nonstructural parts such as cash-register housings, luggage compartments for passenger trains, and nonload-bearing aircraft components. New in this area of technology is a superplasticformable high-strength aluminum alloy, now available for structural applications and designated 7475-02. Strength of alloy 7475 is in the range of aerospace alloy 7075, which requires conventional forming operations. Although initial cost of 7475 is higher, finished part cost is usually lower than that of 7075 because of the savings involved in the simplified design/assembly.
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Copper-based alloys form adherent films that are relatively impervious to corrosion and that protect the base metal from further attack. Certain alloy systems darken rapidly from brown to black in air. Under most outdoor conditions, however, copper surfaces develop a blue-green patina. Lacquer coatings can be applied to retain the original alloy color. An acrylic coating with benzotriazole as an additive lasts several years under most outdoor, abrasion-free conditions. Although they work harden, copper and its alloys can be hot or cold worked. Ductility can be restored by annealing or heating incident to welding or brazing operations. For applications requiring maximum electrical conductivity, the most widely used copper is C11000, "tough pitch," which contains approximately 0.03% oxygen and a minimum of 99.0% copper. In addition to high electrical conductivity, oxygen-free grades C10100 and C10200 provide immunity to embrittlement at high temperature. The addition of phosphorus produces grade C12200 -- the standard water-tube copper. High-copper alloys contain small amounts of alloying elements that improve strength with some loss in electrical conductivity. In amounts of 1%, for example, cadmium increases strength by 50%, with a loss in conductivity to 85%. Small amounts of cadmium raise the softening temperature in alloy C11600, which is used widely for printed circuits. Tellurium or sulfur, present in small amounts in Grades C14500 and C14700, has been shown to increase machinability. Copper alloys do not have a sharply defined yield point, so yield strength is reported either as 0.5% extension under load, or as 0.2% offset. On the most common basis (0.5% extension), yield strength of annealed material is approximately one-third the tensile strength. As the material is cold worked or hardened, it becomes less ductile, and yield strength approaches tensile strength. Copper is specified according to temper, which is established by cold working or annealing. Typical levels are: soft, half-hard, hard, spring, and extra-spring. Yield strength of a hard-temper copper is approximately two-thirds of tensile strength. For brasses, phosphor bronzes, or other commonly cold-worked grades, the hardest available tempers are also the strongest and represent approximately 70% reduction in area. Ductility is sacrificed, of course, to gain strength. Copper-beryllium alloys can be precipitation hardened to the highest strength levels attainable in copper-base alloys. All copper alloys resist corrosion by fresh water and steam. Copper nickels, aluminum brass, and aluminum bronzes provide superior resistance to saltwater corrosion. Copper alloys have high resistance to alkalies and organic acids, but have poor resistance to inorganic acids. One corrosive situation encountered, particularly in the high-zinc alloy, is dezincification. The brass dissolves as an alloy, but the copper constituent redeposits as a porous, spongy metal. Meanwhile, the zinc component is carried away by the atmosphere or deposited on the surface as an insoluble compound.
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II.3 LEAD
Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, ductile, very soft, highly malleable, bluish-white metal that has poor electrical conductivity. This true metal is highly resistant to corrosion, and because of this property, it is used to contain corrosive liquids (e.g., sulfuric acid). Because lead is very malleable and resistant to corrosion it is extensively used in building construction, e.g., external coverings of roofing joints. Lead can be toughened by adding a small amount of antimony or other metals to it. Lead is also poisonous because it is a potent neurotoxin that accumulates in soft tissues and bone over time.
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The lead produced by either of these methods is still impure, containing small amounts of copper, tin, arsenic, antimony, and other metals. Each metallic impurity is then removed by some additional step. In the case of copper, for example, the impure lead is heated to a temperature just above its melting point. At this temperature, copper is still a solid. Any copper mixed with the lead floats on top of the lead, and can be scraped off.
II.4 ZINC
Zinc is a moderately reactive bluish grey metal that tarnishes in moist air and burns in air with a bright bluish-green flame, giving off fumes of zinc oxide. It reacts with acids, alkalis and other non-metals. If not completely pure, zinc reacts with dilute acids to release hydrogen. The one common oxidation state of zinc is +2. From 100 C to 210 C (212 F to 410 F) zinc metal is malleable and can easily be beaten into various shapes. Above 210 C (410 F), the metal becomes brittle and will be pulverized by beating. Zinc is nonmagnetic.
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Cadmium is recovered in the purification of spelter, or in the initial treatment of the ore. Copper, cadmium and a little zinc and other impurities are precipitated from the zinc sulphate solution that is prepared for electrolysis. This is roasted, to reduce arsenic, leached with sulphuric acid, and then the sulphates of zinc, iron and lead are precipitated by lime, and copper by sodium sulphide. It is then filtered; the filtrate contains about 12% Cd. The cadmium is deposited by electrolysis on sheet aluminium cathodes. The cathodes are stripped, melted under NaOH and cast into ingots. There are various methods for cadmium recovery, depending on the characteristics of the particular zinc smelter.
II.5 TIN
Tin is a malleable, ductile, highly crystalline, silvery-white metal; when a bar of tin is bent, a strange crackling sound known as the tin cry can be heard due to the twinning of the crystals. Tin is malleable at ordinary temperatures but is brittle when it is cooled. One of the most important properties of tin is the ease with which it alloys or mixes with the majority of other metals, it is this quality together with the low melting point which makes it an essential ingredient of most solders. It is not toxic and it does not corrode all that rapidly making it ideal as a protection for steel for food and drinks 'tin cans' properties which are also important in pewter. The very high boiling point allows it to be used as a smooth molten surface to make 'float' glass.
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