NMC EXAM BRUSH-UP

NOVEMBER 2009
OVERVIEW
1. Crystal Structures
2. Solidification and Crystal Defects in
Solids
3. Heat Treatments
4. Electrical Properties of Materials
5. Magnetic Properties of Materials
CRYSTAL STRUCTURES
Chapter 3
CRYSTAL STRUCTURES
What do I need to know?
Main Metallic Crystal Structures
 FCC, BCC, HCP, BCT
Polymorphism
UnitLattices and Bravais Lattices
Density Tool Box
Close-packed Crystal Structures
MAIN METALLIC CRYSTAL
STRUCTURES
 BCC (α-Fe, Na, Li and K)
Coordination Number = 8
Effective number of atoms = 2
Lattice Parameter a = 4R/√3
Fraction of Unit Cell that is occupied by
atoms by Volume
 APF = Volume of Atoms/Volume of Unit Cell
 APF = 0.68
MAIN METALLIC CRYSTAL
STRUCTURES
 FCC (γ-Fe, Au, Ag, Pt)
Coordination Number = 12
Effective number of atoms = 4
Lattice Parameter a = 4R/√2
Fraction of Unit Cell that is occupied by
atoms by Volume
 APF = Volume of Atoms/Volume of Unit Cell
 APF = 0.74
MAIN METALLIC CRYSTAL
STRUCTURES
 HCP (C, Cd, Co, Zn)
Coordination Number = 12
Effective number of atoms = 6
Lattice Parameter a = 2R & c = 1.633a
Fraction of Unit Cell that is occupied by
atoms by Volume
 APF = Volume of Atoms/Volume of Unit Cell
 APF = 0.74
MAIN METALLIC CRYSTAL
STRUCTURES
 Examples
1. Calculate the radius of an iridium atom. Ir has an FCC
crystal structure and a density of 22.4g/cm3 and an
atomic weight of 192.2g/mol (R = 0.136nm)
POLYMORPHISM
 Crystalstructure transformation in
materials due to temperature or pressure
change
 Fe
 @ Room Temperature - BCC
 Above 727°C – FCC

 Above 1394°C – BCC

C
 @ Room Temperature – HCP
 @ Very high pressures and temperatures – Diamond Cubic
UNIT AND BRAVAIS LATTICES
 14 Bravais lattices (RELAX you don’t have to know
them all!)
 These include the geometrical shape of lattice and atom
placement
 Cubic, Tetragonal, Hexagonal, Orthorhombic, Monoclinic,
Rhombohedral and Triclinic
 4 Types of unit lattices
 Only concerned with placement of atoms in lattice
 Simple
 Body-centred

 Face centered

 End-centred
DENSITY TOOL BOX
 Volumetric
Density of Materials
ρv= (NR)(MR)/ [(Vcell)(NA)] (g/cm3)
 Planar Atomic Density
ρp= (NR(intersected atoms))/Aplane (atoms/mm2)

 Linear Atomic Density

ρl= (NR(atom diameters on line))/Lline (atoms/mm)
DENSITY TOOL BOX
 Examples
1. Consider the FCC crystal structure of Al. Determine the
planar atomic density of the (111) plane. (0.91)
2. Cobalt has an HCP crystal structure with an atomic
radius of 0.1253nm and a c/a ratio of 1.623.
a) Compute the volume of the unit cell for Co V =
0.0664nm3
b) Explain in your own words why the c/a ratio in
question a is not equal to the theoretical value of
1.633.
CLOSE-PACKED CRYSTAL STRUCTURES
 FCC and HCP are both close-packed (APF 0.74)
 Closely packed plane has the highest planar
density
 Packing sequence differs
 ABC ABC ABC – FCC and AB AB AB – HCP
 FCC has more closely packed planes than HCP
and BCC does not have a close packed plane
SUMMARY: TIPS AND FURTHER
EXAMPLES
 Exam questions will most likely be more focused on
calculations than the theory of this chapter
 Familiarise yourself with the sketches of FCC, BCC,
HCP and BCT
 If you can sketch it, CN, Atoms per unit cell and APF
can be UNDERSTOOD
 Principle for Ionic crystals are similar just note that the
cation and anion valences HAVE TO BALANCE
 Prove to yourself that the c/a ratio = 1.633 for an ideal
HCP crystal
 ALWAYS DRAW A PICTURE!!!
IMPERFECTIONS IN SOLIDS
Chapter 4
CRYSTAL STRUCTURES
What do I need to know?
Process of Solidification
 Polycrystalline Metals (Sketch ingot solidification
mechanism)
 Single Crystals (Chozkralski process)

Defects in Solids
 Influencing factors
 Types of Defects

Calculating Grain Size

PROCESS OF SOLIDIFICATION
 Heat is extracted from
mold walls (high cooling
rate, small grains)
 Towards centre of ingot

molten metal starts to

cool (columnar zone)
 Centre of ingot, last

metal solidifies (large equiaxed

grains)
DEFECTS IN SOLIDS
 Influencing Factors
 Mechanical Properties
 Ductility
 Electrical Properties
 Conductivity
 Heat conductivity ability

 Diffusion of atoms
 Corrosion resistance

 Types of Defects
 Microdefects (point defects, line defects and surface
defects)
 Macrodefects (Cracks, pores, inclusions and blow holes)
DEFECTS IN SOLIDS
 Microdefects – Point Defects
 Vacancies
 Nc = Ne(-Qv/kT)
 Self-interstitial Defects
 Impurities
 Most materials are used in alloy form
 Simplest alloy is that of solid solution

 Substitutional (Alloying atoms replaces that of paremt atoms)

 Interstitial (Alloying atoms positions between parent atoms)

 Excess alloying elements above saturation limit –

two-phase solid
 Solid solution also depends on Hume-Rothery criteria
DEFECTS IN SOLIDS
 Microdefects – Point Defects
 Hume-Rothery Criteria
 Rparent and Ralloy difference < 15%
 Parent and alloy crystal structure must be similar
 Electron negativity of 2 elements must be about equal

 2 Elements must have the same number of valence electrons

 Schottky Defects (Ceramics)

 Missing cation AND anion
 Frenkel Defects (Ceramics)
 Cation vacancy
DEFECTS IN SOLIDS
 Formation of Point Defects
 Vacancies
 During solidification
 Rapid cooling

 Cold work

 Radioactive bombardment

 Self-interstitial Atoms
 Radioactive bombardment
 Impurities
 Solid solutions
 Diffusion of rogue species
DEFECTS IN SOLIDS
 Microdefects – Line defects
 Two primary types
 Screw defects (Forms through shear)
 Edge dislocation

 ⥜ - Positive dislocation

 ⥝ - Negative dislocation

 Formation of Edge dislocations (Usually forms through tension)

 Solidification

 Cold work (Enhances slip of dislocations on close-packed

planes)
 Vacancy condensation
DEFECTS IN SOLIDS
 Microdefects – Surface defects
 Grain boundaries
 Due to neighboring grains with different geometrical orientation
 Grain boundary is area of high energy capacity

 Always present in polycrystalline materials/alloys

 Twinning
 Plane that has a mirror image
 Forms through cold work (mechanical twins) or during annealing

(annealed twins)
DEFECTS IN SOLIDS
 Macrodefects
 Cracks
 Due to rapid cooling during solidification
 Due to mechanical deformation

 Pores or blow holes

 Due to decrease in gaseous solubility in the molten metal, gas
escapes through partially solidified surface
 Inclusions
 Rogue particles that intrude material during manufacturing
CALCULATING GRAIN SIZE
 N = 2n-1
N = Average number of grains per square inch (@100x)
 n = Grain size number

 Examples
1. For an ASTM grain size of 6, how many grains would there
be per square inch at
a) 100X? (32)
b) Without any magnification? (320 000)
2. Determine the ASTM grain size number if 25 grains per
square inch are measured at a magnification of 75. (4.8)
ANOTHER EXAMPLE
3. Calculate the fraction of atom sites that are vacant for Pb at
its melting temperature of 327°C. Assume an energy for
vacancy formation of 0.55eV/atoms. (2.41x10-5)
 SUMMARY: TIPS
 This chapter contains mainly theory but the concepts
are of utter importance
 Expect a few graphs in the exam on this chapter
 Number of calculations in this chapter will probably be
limited
12

10

6 Resistivity
4

Grain Size

Strength Creep Resistance Ndefects, CW, %Alloying Elements

HEAT TREATMENT
Chapter 9
HEAT TREATMENT
What do I need to know?
 Fe-C phase system
 Interpretation of binary phase diagram
 Phases present at specific temperature and composition

 Lever-rule for calculating percentage of different phases at

temperatures and compositions

 Phase transformations (peritectic, eutectic, eutectoid and peritectoid

reactions)
 Equilibrium phases and reactions

 Non-equilibruim phases

 Heat treatments and microstructures

HEAT TREATMENT
 Fe-C phase system  Only to be used for
equilibrium cooling
conditions
 Phase diagram shows all
of the reactions,
compositions and
temperatures
 Phases with equilibrium
cooling
 Ferrite,
cementite
and pearlite
HEAT TREATMENT
 Fe-C phase system Examples
1. By using the Fe-C phase diagram, answer the following
questions applicable to a 0.5%C hypoeutectoid steel
that is cooled slowly from 950°C to just below 727°C.
a) Calculate the amount of proeutectoid ferrite in the steel
(38.71%)
b) Calculate the amounts of eutectoid ferrite and eutectoid
cementite in the steel (54.17% and 7.1%)
HEAT TREATMENT
 Fe-C phase system Examples
2. Determine the chemical compositions of steels
containing the following microstructural components
after cooling
a) 92% Ferrite and 8% Cementite (0.559%C)
b) 48.2% Proeutectoid ferrite (0.426% C)
c) 4.7% Proeutectoid cementite (1.0773% C)
d) 10.45% Eutectoid cementite (Hypereutectoid composition)
(1.388% C)
HEAT TREATMENT
 Non-equilibrium Phases Transformations
 Increase in cooling rate – non-equilibrium phases
 Bainite – T from 250 – 550°C
 Fine dissemination of cementite in ferrite matrix

 Good toughness, strength and hardness properties

 Martensite – Rapid cooling (quenching in water or brine)

 C atoms don’t have time to diffuse out of FCC structure, are

trapped in BCT cell

 Due to high amount of distortion associated with phase

transformation, hardness and strength of martensite is very high

 Temper treatment is often need to restore ductility of martensite

 Tempering occurs below 650°C and allows C to precipitate out – also

known as spherodising – internal stresses are relieved and ductility is
improved
HEAT TREATMENT
 Types of Treatments
 Annealing
 Steel is austenitised, cooled at equilbrium condictions
 Large grains and coarse pearlite

 Good ductility

 Normarlising
 Air-quench
 Finer grain size and pearlite

 Harder component than annealed sample

 Hardening
 Rapid queching in brine, oil, water or even liquid nitrogen
 Martensite forms

 Excessively high hardness

HEAT TREATMENT
 Types of Treatments
 Stress Relieftreatment
 Cold worked, quenched, welded or machined components
experience stress fluctuations due to internal stresses
 Heat component below eutectoid temperature to relieve

internal stress
 Spherodising
 Process at which componenet is heated to allow the
rediffusion of C atoms out of the grains to form spheres)
 Good machinability and good ductility

 Spheres have the lowest surface to volume energy therefore

precipitates grow in geometry to mimic this shape

RECAP: TIPS
 You will most likely HAVE to use the lever rule
 You may expect some application type questions
 If you have to design a heat treatment remember FIT FOR
PURPOSE
 Cementite is highly brittle therefore any application that requires
good toughness, the amount in the matrix must be reduced – propose
spherodising treatment
 With hypoeutectoid steels, pearlite can be a problem for applications
that require high strength – CW can resolve this to a degree
 If a rapid quench (water, brine, oil or liquid nitrogen is
proposed, you will propably end up with martensite – tempering
is essential)
 Bainite can be produced by quenching in a molten Pb or salt bath
and will give excellent mechanical properties but time constraints
have to be taken into account
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF
MATERIALS
Chapter 14
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF
MATERIALS
What do I need to know?
 Relationship between resistivity and conductivity
 3 Groups of electrical conductivity
 Factors that influence resistivity and conductivity
 Energy gap model for metals and isolators
 Intrinsic semi-conductors
 Extrinsic semi-conductors
 Dielectric character
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF
MATERIALS
 Resistivity and Conductivity
 Inversely proportional to each other
 Resistance of material is dependent on the type of material,
length and cross-sectional area of component
 Ohm’s law can be used to determine Resistance and the
micro-law can be used to determine conductivity or
resistivity
 3 Types of Conductors
 Conductor (e.g. Metals with high conductivity)
 Semi-conductors (e.g. Si with moderate conductivity)
 Isolators (e.g. Ceramics with poor conductivity)
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF
MATERIALS
 Factors that influence resisitivity
 Temperature
 Linear relationship between resistivity and temperature
 Purity of metal
 Alloying elements increase resistivity as electrons have less mobility
in the crystal structure
 Crystal Defects
 An increase in the crystal defects will facilitate an increase in the
resistivity as they will form barriers against the movement of
electrons
 Resistivity can be reduced by heat treatments (HX)
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF
MATERIALS
 Energy gap model
 Metals
 Small amount of energy needed to fill energy gap with metals
 Therefore most metals have good conductivity

 Isolators
 Energy gap is separated from a filled band and an empty band
 Electrons need a lot more energy to cross energy gap therefore

conductivity is lower
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF
MATERIALS
 Intrinsic Semi-Conductors (A-B-C)
 Pure, semi-conductors (Si and Ge)
 Negative and positive electrons contribute to the conductivity of

semi-conductors
 With an increase in temperature , the CONDUCTIVITY of the

material increases for semi-conductors since certain valence

electrons are excited and their mobility increases
 Extrinsic Semi-Conductors
 Differentiate between p- and n-type
 Positive (Group 3 and 4 elements) and negative semi-conductors
(Group 4 and 5 elements)
 By doping, impurities decrease the energy gap and through that,

conductivity increases
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF
MATERIALS
 Extrinsic Semi-Conductors
 n-Type
 Group 5 substitutes one of Group 4 atoms
 Majority of conductors are electrons – minority are vacancies

 p-Type
 Group 3 replaces one of Group 4 atoms
 Majority of conductors are vacancies – minority are electrons

 Dielectric Character
 Ceramics, ionics and some polymers – mostly isolators but in
some cases also semi-conductors
 Capacitor chambers

 Pizo-electric ceramics
 Ceramics that can convert electrical pulses to mechanical
vibrations or vice versa
RECAP
 This chapter consists of 90% theory
 The few electrical formulas – Ohm’s law etc have been covered
extensively at high school level but if you have any questions please
don’t hesitate to ask
 Do some exercises on extrinsic semi-conductors just to familiarise
yourself with the equations
 It’s literally plug-and-play equations with very little complicated
calculations
 Once again it’s important to UNDERSTAND the factors that will
influence conductivity and resistivity
 You can expect maybe two graphs on this chapter, some monkey
puzzle questions and maybe 1 calculation (Probably from the
extrinsic semi-conductors section)
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF
MATERIALS
Chapter 20
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
What do I need to know?
 Basic Principles (Theory)
 Magnetic field strength and magnetic density
 Relative permeabilities

 Types of magnetism
 Diamagnetic, paramagnetic, ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic and
ferrimagnetic
 Influence of Temperature on Ferromagnetics
 Hysteresis
 Magnetisation and demagnetisation and hysteris loops
 Differentitate between hard and soft magnetics
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
Types of Magnetism
 Types of magnetism
 Diamagnetic - μr < 1
 Paramagnetic – particles move toward external magnetic field but
loses their magnetism when field is removed
 Ferromagnetic – Magnetisation can be permanent due to the half-

filled orbital of elements. It is essential that electrons in the 3d

orbital are unpaired
 Antiferromagnetic – Elements have a magnetic moment but the a/d

ratio is does not range between 1.4 and 2.7 – no magnetism

 Ferrimagnetism – Traces magnetic moments – usually ionic bonds-

spine of electrons are anti-parrallel but not magnetic

MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
Influence
of Temperature on
Ferromagnetics
 At the Curie temperature, the 3d-electrons’ orientations
changes and the parallel spin of the electrons decrease
 At this temperature the ferromagnetic nature of the material is
destroyed
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
Hysteresis
 Domains on atomic level can be altered via a solenoid –
causes parallel movement of 3d-electrons
 Magnetisation occurs with ferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic
materials due
 Domains (which have the correct orientation) start to grow at the
expense of incorrect orientated domains
 Incorrect orientated domains can be rotated if the applied field

strength is strong enough

 Demagnetisation will occur if the material is heated above its
Curie temperature, by applying an opposite directed field
strength or increasing the dislocation density of the material
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
Hysteresis
So-called hysteresis loop shows the life-
cycle of a ferromagnetic material
The larger the area of the curve, the
easier magnetisation is possible
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS
Hard VS Soft magnetics

HARD SOFT
High Hc and Br values Easy to magnetise and
demagnetise
Large negative magnetic field Needs high Bs value and high
need to demagnetise pearmeability
Small magnetic field to Induced current due to the
magnetise magnetic field
RECAP
 The theory of this chapter is the most
important since there are very few types of
calculations that can be asked of you
 Types of magnets is quite important also
the mechanism that allows
ferromagnetism
 B-H curve is very easy to understand –
just follow your notes