ELASTIC AND PLASTIC BEHAVIOUR

“Elasticity is the physical property of materials which return to their

original shape after the stress that caused their deformation is no
longer applied.”(within elastic limit)
Plasticity is the property of a material where it undergoes permanent
deformation under the load.
Stress - Force or load per unit area of cross-section over which the
force or load is acting.
Strain - Elongation change in dimension per unit length.
Young’s modulus - The slope of the linear part of the stress-strain
curve in the elastic region, same as Modulus of elasticity.

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 The Tensile Test: Use of the Stress-Strain Diagram
Load - The force applied to a material during testing.
Strain gage or Extensometer - A device used for measuring change in
length and hence strain.
Glass temperature (Tg ) - A temperature below which an otherwise
ductile material behaves as if it is brittle.
Engineering stress - The applied load, or force, divided by the
original ross-sectional area of the material.
Engineering strain - The amount that a material deforms per unit
length in a tensile test.
True stress The load divided by the actual cross-sectional area of the
specimen at that load.
True strain The strain calculated using actual and not original
dimensions,

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 (c)2003 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark
used herein under license.

A unidirectional force is
applied to a specimen in the
tensile test by means of the
moveable crosshead. The
cross-head movement can be
performed using screws or a
hydraulic mechanism
DUCTILE MATERIALS
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DUCTILE MATERIALS
•They include steel, copper, tungsten etc
.The proportional limit as the stress at which stress is no longer proportional
to strain.
•The elastic limit as the stress at which the very first plastic deformation
occurs
•The yield strength or yield point of a material is defined as the stress at
which a material begins to deform plastically.
Once the yield point is passed, some fraction of the deformation will be
permanent and non-reversible.
•Ultimate tensile strength is the maximum stress that a material can
withstand while being stretched or pulled before necking.
•Necking is when large amount of strain is applied and there is a prominent
decrease in the cross-sectional area, which provides the name “necking”.

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 Stress-strain of 0.2% offset yield
strength in gray cast ion
Stress-strain curve for an aluminum
alloy
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 Brittle materials,which includes
cast iron, glass, and stone, are
characterized by the fact that
rupture occurs without any
noticeable prior change in the rate
of elongation

Stress-strain curve of low carbon alloy

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True stress The load divided by the actual cross-sectional area of the
specimen at that load.
True strain The strain calculated using actual and not original dimensions,
(c)2003 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark
used herein under license.

(c)2003 Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson

Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.

The relation between the true stress-true The stress-strain behavior of brittle materials
strain diagram and engineering stress- compared with that of more ductile materials
engineering strain diagram.
The curves are identical to the yield point
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 POLYMERS
•A polymer is a large molecule (macromolecule) composed of
repeating structural units. These sub-units are typically connected
by covalent chemical bonds.
•Examples of polymers are plastic, rubber, proteins etc
• Elastic properties of polymers differ from metals.
• Their elastic moduli are very small when compared to those of
metals
• They endure large deformation without rupture and can still return
to their original shape.
Their elastic moduli is increased with temperature.

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 MECHANISMS OF PLASTIC DEFORMATION
1.This type of deformation is irreversible.
2.However, an object in the plastic deformation range will first
have undergone elastic deformation, which is reversible.
3.Plastic deformation is characterized by a strain hardening region
and a necking region and finally, fracture (also called rupture).
4.During strain hardening the material becomes stronger through
the movement of atomic dislocations.(dislocations are
imperfections in crystal structure which increases as strain
increases)
5.There are two types of dislocations: edge and screw.
6.The modes of deformation are twinning and slip.
7.Necking, in engineering or materials science, is a mode of
tensile deformation where relatively large amounts
of strain localize disproportionately in a small region of the
material. The resulting prominent decrease in local cross-sectional
area provides the basis for the name "neck".
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This type of deformation is also irreversible. A break occurs after the
material has reached the end of the elastic, and then plastic, deformation
ranges. At this point forces accumulate until they are sufficient to cause a
fracture. All materials will eventually fracture, if sufficient forces are
applied.

Localized deformation of a ductile material during a tensile test

produces a necked region. The micrograph shows necked region in a
fractured sample

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Mechanism of elastic and plastic deformation

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 DEFECTS /IMPERFECTIONS
The arrangement of the atoms or ions in engineered materials contains
imperfections or defects(Real Crystals). These defects often have a profound
effect on the properties of materials.
These imperfections only represent defects in or deviations from the perfect
or ideal atomic or ionic arrangements expected in a given crystal structure.
Three basic types of imperfections :Point defects, Line defects (or
dislocations), Surface(Plane) defects and Volume defects
The material is not considered defective from a technological viewpoint.
In many applications, the presence of such defects is useful. Eg: Defects
known as dislocations are useful for increasing the strength of metals and
alloys.
Often the “defects” may be created intentionally to produce a desired set of
electronic, magnetic, optical, or mechanical properties.
Eg:i)Pure iron is relatively soft, adding a small amount of carbon, creating
defects and getting trasformed to Plain carbon steel of higher strength.
ii)Pure alumina is transparent and colorless,adding small amount of
chromium,creatin a special defect, resulting in a beautiful red ruby crystal.
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Point Defects
A point defect is an irregularity in the lattice associated with a missing atom
(vacancy), an extra atom (interstitial), or an impurity (substitutional)
Atom, Frenkel defect, and Schottky defect. Vacancy is simply
missing from the
crystalline lattice.
Vacancies are created
during solidification due to
imperfect packing and
elevated temperatures. The
atoms are constantly being
displaced from their ideal
locations by thermal
vibrations. The frequency
of vibration is
almost independent of
temperature, but the
amplitude increases with
increasing temperature.
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The number of vacancies increases exponentially with temperature according
to: nv=N e-Ev/KT where nv is the number of vacancies at temperature;
N is the total number of lattice sites( no of atoms per cm cube.
Ev is the energy necessary to form a vacancy;
k is the Boltzmann constant (1.38x10-24 J/K); and
T is the absolute temperature in degrees Kelvin.
As Vacancies increases , density slightly and electrical conductivity
also decreases Vacancies enhance atomic diffusion.
Interstitial Defects formed when an extra atom or ion is inserted into the
crystal structure at a normally unoccupied position.
Interstitial atoms or ions, although much smaller than the atoms or ions
located at the lattice points, are still larger than the interstitial sites that they
occupy; consequently, the surrounding crystal region is compressed and
distorted.
Eg.:Interstitial atoms such as hydrogen are often present as impurities.
Carbon atoms are intentionally added to iron to produce steel. For small
concentrations, carbon atoms occupy interstitial sites in the iron crystal
structure, introducing a stress in the localized region of the crystal in their
vicinity. Once introduced, the number of interstitial atoms or ions in the
structure remains nearly constant, even when the temperature esrmnotes.in
is changed.
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Substitutional defect :When one atom or ion is replaced by a different
type of atom or ion The substitutional atoms or ions occupy the normal
lattice site. Substitutional atoms or ions may either be larger or smaller
than the normal atoms or ions in the crystal structure, causing surrounding
interatomic spacings be reduced and have larger interatomic spacings
Examples:i)Incorporation of dopants such as phosphorus (P) or boron (B)
into Si. ii) Add copper to nickel, copper atoms will occupy crystallographic
sites where nickel atoms would normally be present.
Substitutional atoms often increase the strength of the metallic material.

MECHANISMS FOR CREATING VACANCIES

Frenkel mechanism (Vacancy and interstitial):
An atom is displaced from its normal lattice
position into an interstitial site. This requires
quite a bit of energy—the energy to form a
vacancy and the energy to form an
interstitial. Therefore, the probability is quite
low. Frenkel defect can occur in metals and
covalently bonded materials.

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Schottky mechanism (Vacancy and substitutional): vacancies originate at free
surfaces and move by diffusion into the crystal interior. Solute atoms of a
second metal can be present as impurities or added as intentional alloying
elements. These solute atoms can substitute on the crystalline lattice for
solvent atoms and form substitutional point defects, or they can be located in
the interstitial locations between the atoms of the crystalline lattice to form
interstitial defects.It is commonly found in many ceramic materials.
For example,
One Mg+2 vacancy and one O-2 vacancy in MgO constitute a Schottky pair.

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Line Defects (Dislocations)
The existence of line defects is known as Dislocations .This happens
during solidification of the material or when the material is deformed
permanently.Particularly useful in explaining deformation and strengthening
in metallic materials. A crystalline metal without dislocations, although
extremely strong, would also be extremely brittle and practically useless as
an engineering material. Thus, dislocations play a central role in the
determination of strength and ductility
Three types of dislocations: the Screw dislocation, Edge dislocation, and
Mixed dislocation.
Screw Dislocations: By cutting partway through a perfect crystal and then
skewing the crystal by one atom spacing. When crystal was skewed,
starting at point x and traveling equal atom spacings in each direction, and
finish at point y one atom spacing below our starting point.
If a screw dislocation were not present, the loop would close. The vector
required to complete the loop is the Burgers vector b. The Burgers vector
is parallel to the screw dislocation. The motion of a screw dislocation is
also a result of shear stress
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Edge Dislocations:By slicing partway through a perfect crystal, spreading
the crystal apart, and partly filling the cut with an extra half plane of atoms.
The bottom edge of this inserted plane represents the edge dislocation.
If a clockwise loop around the edge dislocation is taken, starting at point x
and traveling an equal number of atom spacings in each direction, and
finish at point y one atom spacing from the starting point.
If an edge dislocation were not present, the loop would close.
The vector required to complete the loop(Burgers vector) is perpendicular
to the dislocation.

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Dislocation Motion :A plane that contains both the dislocation line and the
Burgers vector is known as slip plane. When large shear stress acting
parallel to the Burgers vector is applied to a crystal containing a dislocation,
the dislocation can move through a process known as slip.
The bonds across the slip plane between the atoms in the column to the
right of the dislocation shown are broken.
The atoms in the column to the right of the dislocation below the slip plane
are shifted slightly so that they establish bonds with the atoms of the edge
dislocation.
In this way, the dislocation has shifted to the right [Figure 4–7(b)].
If this process continues, the dislocation moves through the crystal [Figure
4-7(c)] until it produces a step on the exterior of the crystal [Figure 4-7(d)]
in the slip direction (which is parallel to the Burgers vector).

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Slip
Plastic deformation takes place by sliding (slip) of close-packed planes over
one another.

If an edge dislocation is subjected

to a shear stress τ that acts parallel
to the Burgers vector and
perpendicular to the dislocation line.
A component of the shear stress
must act parallel to the Burgers
vector in order for the dislocation to
move. The dislocation line
moves in a direction parallel to the
Burgers vector.

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For a screw dislocation, a component
of the shear stress must act parallel to
the Burgers vector (and thus the
dislocation line) in order for the
dislocation to move. The dislocation
moves in a direction perpendicular to
the Burgers vector, and the slip step
that is produced is parallel to the
Burgers vector. Since the Burgers
vector of a screw dislocation
is parallel to the dislocation line,
specification of the Burgers vector and
dislocation line does not define a slip
plane for a screw dislocation.
The Peierls-Nabarro stress is required to move the dislocation
from one equilibrium location to another
where τ is the shear stress, d is the interplanar spacing
between adjacent slip planes, b is the magnitude of the Burgers
vector, and both c and k are constants for the material.
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Factors influencing Slip Systems
1.The stress required for dislocation to move increases exponentially with
the length of the Burgers vector. Thus, the slip direction should have a small
repeat distance or high linear density. The close-packed directions in metals
and alloys satisfy this criterion and are the usual slip directions.
2. The stress required for dislocation to move decreases exponentially with
the interplanar spacing of the slip planes. Slip occurs most easily between
planes of atoms that are smooth (so there are smaller “hills and valleys” on
the surface) and between planes that are far apart (or have a relatively large
interplanar spacing). Planes with a high planar density fulfill this
requirement. Therefore, the slip planes are typically close-packed planes or
those as closely packed as possible.
3. Dislocations do not move easily in materials such as silicon, which have
covalent bonds. Because of the strength and directionality of the bonds, the
materials typically fail in a brittle manner before the force becomes high
enough to cause appreciable slip.
Dislocations also play a relatively minor role in the deformation of
polymers. Most polymers contain a substantial volume fraction of material
that is amorphous and, therefore, does not contain dislocations.
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Permanent deformation in polymers primarily involves the stretching, rotation,
and disentanglement of long chain molecules.
4. Materials with ionic bonding, including many ceramics such as MgO, also
are resistant to slip. Movement of a dislocation disrupts the charge balance
around the anions and cations, requiring that bonds between anions and cations
be broken.
Common slip systems in several materials

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Twinning is a mechanism that causes plastic deformation, is of less
important to dislocation movement.
Mechanical twinning is the coordinated movement of large numbers of
atoms that deform a portion of the crystal by an abrupt shearing motion.
Atoms on each side of the twinning plane, or habit plane, form a mirror
image with those on the other side of the plane.

Twins occur in pairs, such that the change in orientation of the atoms
introduced by one twin is restored by the second twin.. Twins can occur as a
result of plastic deformation (deformation twins) or during annealing
(annealing twins).
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Mechanical twinning occurs in bcc and hcp metals, while annealing twins
are fairly common in fcc metals.
Mechanical twinning increases the strength because it subdivides the crystal,
thereby increasing the number of barriers to dislocation movement.
The amount of bulk plastic deformation in twinning is small compared
to slip.
There is a difference in orientation of the atoms in the twinned region
compared to the untwinned region that constitutes a phase boundary.
Twins form suddenly, at a rate approaching the speed of sound, and can
produce audible sounds, such as “tin cry.”

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 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SLIP AND TWINNING
SLIP TWINNING

orientation above and orientation change

Orientation below the slip plane is the across the twin plane.
same
No such relationship exists Atoms in the twinned portion
Mirror in slip. of the lattice form a mirror
Image image with the
the deformation is untwinned
deformationportion.
is homogeneous
Deformation nonhomogeneous because all of the atoms move
cooperatively at the sametime.
lower stress is required to In twinning, a high stress is
Stress initiate it, while a higher required to initiate, but a very
stress is required to low stress is required for
keep it propagating. propagation.
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Significance of Dislocation
-Strength of metals is much lower than metallic bond. If slip occurs, only a
tiny fraction of all of the metallic bonds across the interface need to be
broken at any one time. Strength of metals is 103 to 104 times lower than
that strength of metallic bonds.
-Slip provides ductility in metals. If no dislocations were present, an iron
bar would be brittle and the metal could not be shaped by metalworking.
-The dislocation density, or total length of dislocations per unit volume, is
usually used to represent the amount of dislocations present. Dislocation
densities of 106cm/cm3 are typical of the softest metals, while densities up to
1012 cm/cm3 can be achieved by deforming the material.
-Dislocations also influence electronic and optical properties of materials.
Eg: the resistance of pure copper increases with increasing dislocation
density.
-Presence of dislocations has a deleterious effect on the performance of
photo detectors, light emitting diodes, lasers, and solar cells.

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Schmid’s Law :Differences in behaviour of metals that have different
crystal structures can be understood by examining the force required to
initiate the slip process. If a unidirectional force F is applied to a cylinder
of metal that is a single crystal We can orient the slip plane and slip
direction to the applied force by defining the angles λ and . Φ.The angle
between the slip direction and the applied force is λ, and ϕ is the angle
between the normal to the slip plane and the applied force.
Note that the sum of angles and can be, but does not have to be, 90°.

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 In order for the dislocation to move in its slip system, a shear force acting in
the slip direction must be produced by the applied force.
This resolved shear force Fr is given by
If we divide the equation by the area of the slip plane,
There fore known as Schmid Law.

Calculation of Resolved Shear Stress

If we apply Schmidt's law, in which the single crystal is oriented so that the
slip plane is perpendicular to the applied tensile stress.
Suppose the slip plane is perpendicular to the applied stress-

Even if the applied stress is enormous, no resolved shear stress

develops along the slip direction and the dislocation cannot
move. Slip cannot occur if the slip system is oriented so that
Eitherλ or ϕ is 90°

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The critical resolved shear stress τcrss is the shear stress required for slip to
occur. Thus slip occurs, causing the metal to plastically deform, when the
applied stress σ produces a resolved shear stress (τr) that equals the critical
resolved shear stress τcrss .

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 Yield stress for real crystals
1.The stress level at which a metal or other material ceases to behave
elastically. The stress divided by the strain is no longer constant. The
point at which this occurs is known as the yield point.
2.The initial elastic strain is caused by the simple stretching of bonds.
Hooke's Law applies to this region.
3.At the yield point, stage I begins. The crystal will extend considerably
at almost constant stress. This is called easy glide, and is caused by slip
on one slip system.
4.The geometry of the crystal changes as slip proceeds.
5.In this stage of deformation, known as stage II, dislocations are gliding
on two slip systems, and they can interact.
6.Consequently, the crystal becomes more difficult to extend. This
phenomenon is called work hardening.
7.Stage III corresponds to extension at high stresses, where the applied
force becomes sufficient to overcome the obstacles, so the slope of the
graph becomes progressively less steep. The work hardening saturates.
8.Stage III ends with the failure of the crystal.
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Strengthening Mechanisms:
Defects in materials, such as dislocations, point defects and grain boundaries,
serve as “stop signs” for dislocations. It is necessary to provide resistance to
dislocation motion, and any mechanism that impedes dislocation motion
makes a metal stronger. Strengthening Mechanisms are :-
Strain Hardening
Solid-Solution Strengthening
Grain-Size Strengthening
Dispersion strengthening

Strain Hardening :Strengthening of a material by increasing the number of

dislocations by deformation, or cold working. Also known as “work
hardening.” Work hardening is a measure of how the resistance to plastic
flow increases as the metal is deformed.
While slip is required to facilitate plastic deformation and therefore allow a
metal to be formed into useful shapes, strengthening metals requires
increasing the number of barriers to slip and reducing the ability to
plastically deform. Increasing the interference to slip and increasing the
strength can be accomplished by methods such as plastic deformation.
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As a metal is plastically deformed, new dislocations are created,
so that the dislocation density becomes higher and higher. In addition to
multiplying, the dislocations become entangled and impede each others’
motion. The result is increasing resistance to plastic deformation with
increasing dislocation density. The number of dislocations is defined by the
dislocation density, ρ, which is the length of dislocations per unit volume
of material. Therefore, the units of ρ are cm/cm3 or cm-2.
The dislocation density of an annealed metal usually varies between
approximately 106 and 107 cm/cm2, while that for a cold-worked metal
may run as high as 108 to 1011 cm/cm2.
Work hardening results in a simultaneous increase in strength and a
decrease in ductility. Since the work hardened condition increases the
stored energy in the metal and is thermodynamically unstable, the deformed
metal will try to return to a state of lower energy.
This generally cannot be accomplished at room temperature. Elevated
temperatures, in the range of 1/2 to 3/4 of the absolute melting point, are
necessary to allow mechanisms, such as diffusion, to restore the
lower-energy state. The process of heating a work-hardened metal to
restore its original strength and ductility is called annealing
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Relationship of Cold Working to the Stress-Strain Curve.

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Many techniques for deformation processing are used to simultaneously
shape and strengthen a material by cold working.Viz:
Rolling is used to produce metal plate, sheet, or foil.
Forging deforms the metal into a die cavity, producing relatively complex
shapes such as automotive crankshafts or connecting rods.
Drawing is pulling a metallic rod through a die to produce a wire or fiber.
In extrusion, a material is pushed through a die to form products of uniform
cross-sections, including rods, tubes, or aluminium trims for doors/ windows.
Deep drawing is used to form the body of aluminum beverage cans.
Stretch forming and bending are used to shape sheet material.

Strain-Hardening Exponent (n): The response of a metallic material

to cold working is given by the strain-hardening exponent, which is the
slope of the plastic portion of the true stress-true strain curve.
This relationship is governed by so-called power law behaviour according
to true stress -true strain curve when a logarithmic scale is used

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 Larger degrees of strengthening are
obtained for a given strain as n increases.
The strain-hardening exponent
is relatively low for HCP metals, but is
higher for BCC and FCC metals

Springback: When a metallic material is

deformed using a stress above its yield strength
to a higher level (S1)the corresponding strain
existing at stress S1 is obtained by dropping a
perpendicular line to the horizontal axis (point
etotal). A strain equal to (etotal - e1) is recovered
since it is elastic in nature. The elastic strain
that is recovered after a material has been
plastically deformed is known as springback
The occurrence of springback is extremely
important for the formation of automotive body
panels from sheet steels.
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Strain –Hardening Mechanisms:When we apply a stress greater than
the yield strength, dislocations begin to slip (Schmid’s Law)Hence, a
dislocation moving on its slip plane encounters obstacles that pin the
dislocation line. As we continue to apply the stress, the dislocation attempts
to move by bowing in the center. The dislocation may move so far that a
loop is produced. when the dislocation loop finally touches itself, a new
dislocation is created. The original dislocation is still pinned and can create
additional dislocation loops. This mechanism for generating dislocations is
called a Frank-Read source.

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 Solid Solution Strengthening
Unlimited Solubility
-The water is one phase, and the alcohol is a second phase. If we pour the
water into the alcohol and stir, only one phase is produced.The glass contains
a solution of water and alcohol having unique properties and composition.
Water and alcohol are soluble in each other and they display Unlimited
solubility. Only one phase is produced when they are mixed together.
-Similarly, Mix any amounts of liquid copper and liquid nickel, only one
liquid phase would be produced. This liquid alloy has the same composition
and properties everywhere because nickel and copper have Unlimited liquid
solubility.
-If the liquid copper-nickel alloy solidifies and cools to room temperature
while maintaining thermal equilibrium, only one solid phase is produced.
After solidification, they don’t separate but, instead, are randomly located
within the FCC crystal structure. Within the solid phase, the structure,
properties, and composition are uniform and no interface exists between the
copper and nickel atoms. Therefore, copper and nickel also have Unlimited
solid solubility. The solid phase is a Solid solution of copper and nickel.
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A solid solution is not a mixture. A mixture contains more than one type
of phase, and the characteristics of each phase are retained when the
mixture is formed. But in a Solid solution ,they completely dissolve in one
another and do not retain their individual characteristics.
Other Examples:
Solid solutions of Barium titanate(BaTiO3)with Strontium titanate SrTiO3
and other oxides to make electronic components such as capacitors. Millions
of multilayer capacitors are made each year using such materials.
Solid solutions of Gallium arsenide (GaAs) and Aluminum arsenide
(AlAs).They are used for red LEDs for displays

Limited Solubility When we add a small quantity of salt (one phase) to

a glass of water (a second phase) and stir, the salt dissolves completely in the
water. Only one phase—salty water or brine—is found. If we add too much
salt to the water, the excess salt sinks to the bottom of the glass . Now we
have two phases—water that is saturated with salt and excess solid salt. We
find that salt has a limited solubility in water.

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If small amount of liquid zinc added to liquid copper, a single liquid
solution is produced. When that copper-zinc solution cools and solidifies, a
single solid solution having an FCC structure results, with copper and zinc
atoms randomly located at the normal lattice points.
If the liquid solution contains more than about 30% Zn, some of the excess
zinc atoms combine with some of the copper atoms to form a CuZn
compound
Two solid phases now coexist: a solid solution of copper saturated with
about 30% Zn plus a CuZn compound. The solubility of zinc in copper is
limited.

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Conditions for Unlimited Solid Solubility-Hume-Rothery rules:
1.Size factor: The atoms or ions must be of similar size, with no more
than a 15% difference in atomic radius, in order to minimize the lattice strain
2. Crystal structure: The materials must have the same crystal structure;
otherwise, there is some point at which a transition occurs from one phase to
a second phase with a different structure.
3. Valence: The ions must have the same valence; otherwise, the valence
electron difference encourages the formation of compounds rather than
solutions.
4. Electronegativity: The atoms must have approximately the same
electronegativity. Electronegativity is the affinity for electrons If the electro
negativities differ significantly, compounds form—as when sodium and
chloride ions combine to form sodium chloride.

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 The figure shows schematically
the two-dimensional structures of
MgO and NiO. The Mg+2andNi+2
ions are similar in size and valence
and consequently can replace on
another, forming a complete series
of solid solutions of the form ,
(Mgx+2Ni+21-x)O where x = the
mole fraction of Mgx+2 or MgO.

Solid Solution Strengthening: This strengthening through solid

solution formation is caused by increased resistance to dislocation
motion.This is one of the important reasons why brass (Cu-Zn alloy) is
stronger than pure copper. Carbon also plays another role in the
strengthening of steels by forming ironcarbide (Fe3C), Jewellery could be
made out from pure gold or silver; however, pure gold and pure silver are
extremely soft and malleable. Jewelers add copper to gold and silver so that
the jewellery will retain its shape.
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Degree of Solid-Solution Strengthening: The degree of solid solution
strengthening depends on two factors.
First, a large difference in atomic size between the original (host or
solvent) atom and the added (guest or solute) atom increases the
strengthening effect. A larger size difference produces a greater disruption
of the initial
crystal structure, making slip more difficult
Second, the greater the amount of alloying element added, the greater the
strengthening effect (Figure 10-7). A Cu-20% Ni alloy is stronger than a
Cu-10% Ni alloy. Of course, if too much of a large or small atom is added,
the solubility limit may be exceeded and a different strengthening
mechanism, dispersion strengthening, is produced.

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Formation of Solid Solution Strengthening
When a metal is alloyed with another metal, either substitutional or
interstitial solid solutions are usually formed.
Substitutional solid solutions are those in which the solute and solvent atoms
are nearly the same size, and the solute atoms simply substitute for solvent
atoms on the crystalline lattice.
Interstitial solid solutions are those in which the solute atoms are much
smaller and fit within the spaces between the existing solvent atoms on the
crystalline structure.
However, the only solute atoms small enough to fit into the interstices of
metal crystals are hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, and boron. The other small-
diameter atoms, such as oxygen, tend to form compounds with metals rather
than dissolve in them.
When both small and large solute atoms are present, the solid solution can
be both interstitial and substitutional.

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Interstitial Solid Solutions: The four elements carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen,
and boron have such small diameters that they can form interstitial solid
solutions. Only the transition metals (e.g., iron, nickel, titanium,
and zirconium) have appreciable solubilities for carbon, nitrogen, and boron.
Very small atoms, such as carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen, can fit in the
spaces between the larger atoms. These sites are called interstitial sites and
can be of either the tetrahedral or octahedral variety
Interstitial atoms generally strengthen a metal more than substitutional
atoms do, since the interstitials cause more distortion. Carbon atoms in the
BCC form of iron are particularly potent hardeners in this respect.

Carbon, nitrogen, and boron are important

alloying elements in steels. Interstitial carbon
in
iron forms the basis of steel hardening. Indeed,
steels are alloys of iron and small amounts of
carbon. In addition, carbon and nitrogen are
diffused into the surfaces to provide hardness
and wear resistance in processes called
carburizing and nitriding. esrmnotes.in | Class notes made easy.
Substitutional Solid Solutions
The four rules that give a qualitative estimate of the ability of two metals
to form substitutional solid solutions were developed by Hume-Rothery.

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Ordered Structures: Substitutional solid solutions can further be
divided into three types: random, clustered, and ordered.Random solid
solutions are by far the most common. In a random solution, two types of
atoms, A and B, show no preference in their bonding. In other words, A-A,
A-B, and B-B bonds are equally formed. In clustering, there is a free energy
reduction in the system when A-A and B-B bonds form into A-A and B-B
regions or clusters. Finally, in an ordered solution, the lowest free
energy is obtained when A-B bonds are preferred.

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Grain boundary Strengthening
Grain Boundaries:
The microstructure of metallic materials consists of many grains.
A grain is a portion of the material within which the arrangement of the
atoms is nearly identical; however, the orientation of the atom
arrangement, or crystal structure, is different for each adjoining grain.
Eg:In Figure aThree grains are shown, the arrangement of atoms in each grain
is identical but the grains are oriented differently.
A grain boundary, the surface that separates the individual grains, is a
narrow zone in which the atoms are not properly spaced. That is,the atoms
are so close together at some locations in the grain boundary resulting in
region of compression, and in other areas they are far apart causing a region
of tension. Fig b shows a micrograph of grains in a stainless steel sample.

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Atoms within the grain boundaries are highly strained and distorted;
therefore, grain boundaries are high energy sites. The average diameter of
the individual grains within a polycrystalline metal defines the metal grain
size. Grain boundaries are a result of the solidification process and occur as
a result of the misorientation of the grains as they are frozen into position.

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How grain boundary strengthening occurs?
One method of controlling the properties of a material is by controlling the
grain size. By reducing the grain size, we increase the number of grains and,
hence, increase the amount of grain boundary area.
Any dislocation moves only a short distance before encountering a grain
boundary, and the strength of the metallic material is increased.
Reducing the grain size produces more changes in direction of the slip path
and also lengthens it, making slip more difficult; therefore, grain boundaries
are effective obstacles to slip. In addition, dislocations cannot cross the high-
energy grain boundaries; instead, they are blocked and pile up at the
boundaries. Decreasing the grain size is effective in both increasing strength
and also increasing ductility, and, as such, is one of the most effective
strengthening mechanisms.

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 The Hall-Petch equation relates the grain size to the yield strength,

Where σy is the yield strength

(the level of stress necessary
to cause a certain amount of
permanent deformation).
d is average diameter of the grains
and σo and K are constants for the
metal. The Hall-Petch equation is
not valid for materials with
unusallylarge or ultrafine grains

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The yield strength of mild steel with an average grain size of 0.05 mm is
20,000 psi. The yield stress of the same steel with a grain size of 0.007 mm
is 40,000 psi. What will be the average grain size of the same steel with a
yield stress of 30,000 psi? Assume the Hall-Petch equation is valid and that
changes in the observed yield stress are due to changes in grain size.
Solution:
Thus, for a grain size of 0.05 mm, the yield stress is

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The process of preparing a metallic sample and observing or recording its
microstructure is called metallography. A sample of the material is sanded
and polished to a mirror-like finish.
The surface is then exposed to chemical attack, or etching, with grain
boundaries being attacked more aggressively than the remainder of the
grain. Light from an optical microscope is reflected or scattered from the
sample surface, depending on how the surface is etched. When more light is
scattered from deeply etched features such as the grain boundaries, these
features appear dark
ASTM grain size number:
The number of grains per square inch is determined from a photograph of
the metal taken at a magnification of 100. The ASTM grain size number n is
calculated as
where N is the number of grains per square inch.

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esrmnotes.in | Class notes made easy.
Dispersion strengthening
Most engineered materials are composed of more than one phase, and many
of these materials are designed to provide improved strength.
In dispersion-strengthened alloys, small particles of one phase, usually very
strong and hard, are introduced into a second phase, which is weaker but
more ductile. The soft phase, usually continuous and present in larger
amounts, is called the matrix. The hard-strengthening phase may be called
the dispersed phase or the precipitate, depending on how the alloy is
formed.
For dispersion strengthening to occur, the dispersed phase or precipitate must
be small enough to provide effective obstacles to dislocation movement, thus
providing the strengthening mechanism.
Eg: Eutectic reaction- solidification transformation in which a liquid freezes
to simultaneously form two solid phases.(cast irons & aluminium alloys.)

Note: Eutectic A three-phase invariant reaction in which one liquid phase

solidifies to produce two solid phases.

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Factors influencing Dispersion Strengthening:
1. The matrix should be soft and ductile, while the dispersed phase should be
hard and strong. The dispersed phase particles interfere with slip, while the
matrix provides at least some ductility to the overall alloy.
2. The hard dispersed phase should be discontinuous, while the soft, ductile
matrix should be continuous. If the hard and brittle dispersed phase were
continuous, cracks could propagate through the entire structure.
3. The dispersed phase particles should be small and numerous, increasing
the likelihood that they interfere with the slip process since the area of the
interphase interface is increased significantly.
4. The dispersed phase particles should be round, rather than needle-like or
sharp edged, because the rounded shape is less likely to initiate a crack or to
act as a notch.
5. Higher concentrations of the dispersed phase increase the strength of the
alloy.

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Intermetallic compound:
Dispersion-strengthened alloys contain an intermetallic compound as the
dispersed phase.Many intermetallic compounds, are being investigated and
developed for high temperature applications.
An intermetallic compound contains two or more metallic elements,
producing a new phase with its own composition, crystal structure, and
properties. Intermetallic compounds are almost always very hard and brittle.
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•Dispersion hardened materials can be produced with the help of powder
metallurgy- a process in which powder(of materials) of required shape, size
and distribution are mixed in desired proportions and then compacted and
sintered at the appropriate temperature.

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Particle Hardening(Artificial)
Particle, hardening occurs when extremely small particles are dispersed
throughout the matrix.
When a dislocation encounters a fine particle, it must either cut through
the particle or bow (loop) around it, as particles are usually classified as
deformable or non deformable, meaning that the dislocation is able to cut
through it (deformable) or the particle is so strong that the dislocation
cannot cut through (non deformable).
For effective particle strengthening, the matrix should be soft and ductile,
while the particles should be hard and discontinuous.
A ductile matrix is better in resisting catastrophic crack propagation.
Smaller and more numerous particles are more effective at interfering
with dislocation motion than larger and more widely spaced particles.

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esrmnotes.in | Class notes made easy.
Note: Two types of particle strengthening are : precipitation hardening,
which takes place during heat treatment, and true dispersion hardening,
which can be achieved by mechanical alloying and powder metallurgy
consolidation

PRECIPITATION HARDENING is used extensively to strengthen

aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, nickel-base superalloys, beryllium-
copper alloys, and precipitation hardening stainless steels.
In precipitation hardening, an alloy is heated to a high enough temperature to
take a significant amount of an alloying element into solid solution.
It is then rapidly cooled (quenched) to room temperature, trapping the
alloying elements in solution.
On reheating to an intermediate temperature, the host metal rejects the
alloying element in the form of fine precipitates that create matrix strains in
the lattice. These fine precipitate particles act as barriers to the motion of
dislocations and provide resistance to slip, thereby increasing the strength and
hardness.

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Theory of Precipitation Hardening
Precipitation hardening is also known as age hardening or aging, to indicate
that the resulting strength increase develops with time. However, in both cases,
the hardening mechanism is the precipitation of extremely fine particles, which
impedes dislocation movement.
When the alloy is heated to the solution heat treating temperature and held for a
sufficient length of time, the solvent metal absorbs some of the solute metal.
Then, when it is rapidly cooled to room temperature, atoms of the solute metal
are trapped as a supersaturated solid solution in the solvent metal.
On reheating to an intermediate aging temperature, the supersaturated
solution precipitates very fine particles that act as barriers to dislocation
movement.
If the metal is aged at too low a temperature (T1), the precipitation process will
be incomplete, and the desired strength will not be achieved, a condition known
as underaging.
On the other hand, aging at too high a temperature (T4) also results in lower-
than-desired strength because the precipitate particles coarsen, and the
alloy is now said to be overaged.
Commercial heat treatments are closer to T2 and T3, in which the optimal
strength can be obtained in a reasonable aging time. esrmnotes.in | Class notes made easy.
esrmnotes.in | Class notes made easy.
Microstructural Evolution in Age or Precipitation Hardening
The Al-4% Cu alloy is a classic example of an age-hardenable alloy.There are three steps in
the age hardening heat treatment.
A solvus is a line on a phase diagram which separates a homogeneous solid
solution from a field of several phases.

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Step 2: Quench After solution
treatment, the alloy, which contains only α
in its structure, is rapidly cooled, or
quenched.
The atoms do not have time to diffuse to
potential nucleation sites, so the does not θ
form.
After the quench, the structure is a
supersaturated solid solution αss
containing excess copper, and it is not an
equilibrium structure. It is a metastable
structure. This situation is effectively the
same as undercooling of water, molten
metals, and silicate glasses . The only
difference is we are dealing with materials in
their solid state.

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Step 3: Age
Finally, the supersaturated α is heated at a
temperature below the solvus temperature.
At this aging temperature, atoms diffuse only
short distances. Because the supersaturated α
is metastable, the extra copper atoms diffuse to
numerous nucleation sites and precipitates
grow. Eventually, if we hold the alloy for a
sufficient time at the aging temperature, the
equilibrium α + θ structure is produced.
Note that even though the structure that is
formed has two equilibrium phases (i.e. α + θ )
, the morphology of the phases is different from
the structure that would have been obtained by
the slow cooling of this alloy
This produce the θ phase in the form of ultra-
fine uniformly dispersed second-phase
precipitate particles. This is what we need for
effective precipitation strengthening.

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Fiber –Reinforced Strengthening
Fiber-reinforced composites provide improved strength, fatigue resistance,
Young’s modulus, and strength-to-weight ratio by incorporating strong, stiff,
but brittle fibers into a softer, more ductile matrix
The matrix material transmits the force to the fibers, which carry most of the
applied force. The matrix also provides protection for the fiber surface
and minimizes diffusion of species such as oxygen or moisture that can
degrade the mechanical properties of fibers.
The strength of the composite may be high at both room temperature and
elevated temperatures.
Straw has been used to strengthen mud bricks for centuries. Steel-reinforcing
bars are introduced into concrete structures.
Glass fibers in a polymer matrix produce fiberglass for transportation and
aerospace applications. Fibers made of boron, carbon, polymers and ceramics
provide exceptional reinforcement in advanced composites based on matrices
of polymers, metals, ceramics, and even intermetallic compounds.

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 The Rule of Mixtures in Fiber-Reinforced Composites
where the subscripts m and f refer to the matrix and
the fiber

Different geometric arrangements of the fibers are possible. The fibers may
be unidirectionally aligned, aligned at 90° to one another in a woven fabric,
or randomly oriented.
The fibers may be very long or chopped into short segments for easy
fabrication. In thick sections, it is possible to have three-dimensional
composites with randomly oriented short fibers. Fiber reinforcement is used
to impart stiffness (increased modulus of elasticity) or strength to the matrix.
Fiber reinforcement also increases toughness

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esrmnotes.in | Class notes made easy.
Characteristics of Fiber Reinforced Composites
length, diameter, orientation, amount, and properties of the fibers; the
properties of the matrix; and the bonding between the fibers and the matrix
Fiber Length and Diameter Fibers can be short, long, or even continuous.
Their dimensions are often characterized by the aspect ratio l/d, where l is
the fiber length and d is the diameter. Typical fibers have diameters varying
from 10μ m to 150μ m.
The strength of a composite improves when the aspect ratio is large. Fibers
often fracture because of surface imperfections.
Making the diameter as small as possible gives the fiber less surface area and,
consequently, fewer flaws that might propagate during processing or under a
load.
Amount of Fiber A greater volume fraction of fibers increases the strength
and stiffness of the composite, as we would expect from the rule of mixtures.
The maximum volume fraction is about 80%, beyond which fibers can no
longer be completely surrounded by the matrix.

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Orientation of Fibers The reinforcing
fibers may be introduced into the
matrix in a number of orientations.
Short, randomly oriented fibers having a
small aspect ratio—typical of
fiberglass—are easily introduced into the
matrix and give relatively
isotropic behavior in the composite.
Long, or even continuous, unidirectional
arrangements of fibers produce
anisotropic properties, with particularly
good strength and stiffness parallel to the
fibers.
These fibers are often designated as 0°
plies, indicating that all of the fibers are
aligned with the direction of the applied
stress. Unidirectional orientations
provide poor properties
if the load is perpendicular to the fibers
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esrmnotes.in | Class notes made easy.