Session 2 :

Metals in Engineering
Ferrous metals (pig iron, steel & cast iron)
Types of steel & cast iron & applications.

Non-ferrous metals (aluminium, copper, lead & tin)

Important alloys; bearing metals; applications
Eng. Rohan Edirisooriya
Senior Lecturer
Department of Marine Engineering

Ocean University of Sri Lanka (OCUSL)

Dr. Krishan Wickramasinghe

PhD (Tokyo, Japan), MEng (Moratuwa, SL), BSc Eng (Ruhuna, SL)

Acknowledgement: Dr. Krishan Wickramasinghe, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ruhuna 01

 ❑ Iron and Steel production
Steel making process consists of
several steps:

1. Extraction of Iron ore

2. Production of Pig iron
3. Purifying pig ion and making
steel by adding different alloying
elements

Iron ores:

▪ The naturally occurring materials containing iron are known as minerals of iron.
▪ The mineral deposit from iron which can be extracted economically are referred as ores of
iron which is used as feeding raw materials in pig iron production.
▪ Around 4.6 % of earth crust consist of iron, and usually associated with nickel and cobalt.
02
❑ Blast Furnace

▪ Coke (As solid fuel)

▪ Limestone and dolomite

(as flux)

03
 ❑ Pig iron

▪ Intermediate metallic product(impure) of smelting of iron ores after blast

furnace operation.
▪ Has a very high carbon content, which makes it very brittle and not useful
directly as a material except for limited applications.
▪ Use for production of wrought iron and steel.

Composition of pig iron

Elements Wt %
Carbon 3.5 – 4.2
Silicon 0.5 – 2.5
Manganese 0.5 – 1.5
Phosphorous 0.04 – 2.0
Sulphur 0.04 – 0.15 Pig Iron lumps
Iron Rest 04
 ❑ Classification of Engineering Materials

1. Ferrous metals are those which have the iron as their main constituent, such as pig iron,
cast iron, wrought iron and steels.

2. Non-ferrous metals are those which have a metal other than iron as their main
constituent, such as copper, aluminium, brass, bronze, tin, silver zinc, invar etc. 05
 ❑ Ferrous alloys - Steel

▪ Iron is the main constituent.

▪ Very important as engineering construction materials because:

(1) Iron-containing compounds exist in abundant quantities within the earth’s crust;

(2) Metallic iron and steel alloys may be produced using relatively economical
extraction, refining, alloying, and fabrication techniques;

(3) Ferrous alloys are extremely versatile in that they may be tailored to have a wide
range of mechanical and physical properties.

▪ Steel is recyclable and hence is a “Green Material”.

Disadvantage of many ferrous alloys - Susceptibility to corrosion.

06
❑ Iron – Iron Carbide (Fe-Fe3C) phase diagram

07
Steel
 ❑ Iron – Iron Carbide (Fe-Fe3C) phase diagram
α-ferrite - solid solution of C in BCC Fe

▪ Stable form of iron at room temperature.

▪ The maximum solubility of C is 0.022 wt%
▪ Transforms to FCC -austenite at 912°C

-austenite - solid solution of C in FCC Fe

▪ The maximum solubility of C is 2.14 wt %

▪ Transforms to BCC δ-ferrite at 1395°C
▪ Is not stable below the eutectoid temperature (727°C) unless cooled rapidly.

δ-ferrite : solid solution of C in BCC Fe Fe3C (iron carbide or cementite)

▪ The same structure as α-ferrite ▪ This intermetallic compound is metastable,

▪ Stable only at high T, above 1394°C it remains as a compound indefinitely at
▪ Melts at 1538°C room T, but decomposes (very slowly, within
several years) into α-Fe and C (graphite) at
650 - 700°C. 08
 ❑ Low carbon Steel
▪ Contain less than 0.25 wt% of C.

▪ Unresponsive to heat treatments (difficult to get martensite) and

strengthening can be achieved by cold work.

▪ Microstructures consist of ferrite (-Fe) and pearlite.

▪ Relatively soft and weak but have outstanding ductility and toughness.

Martensite : Solid solution of Fe-C (Body centered Tetragonal, BCT)

Perlite: Alternating layers of the two phases ( and Fe3C) that form simultaneously during the
transformation.

Typical applications:

Automobile body components, structural shapes (I-beams, channel and angle iron)
and sheets that are used in pipelines, buildings and bridges.
09
 ❑ Medium carbon steel

▪ Carbon contents between 0.25 and 0.6 wt%.

▪ These alloys may be heat treated by austernitizing. quenching and then

tempering to improve their mechanical properties.

▪ Mostly used in tempered condition and having microstructure of tempered

martensite.

▪ Hardenability is low by heat treatments. Addition of chromium, nickel, and

molybdenum improve the capacity of these alloys to be heat treated.

▪ Heat-treated alloys are stronger than the low-carbon steels, (But HT reduce
ductility and toughness)

Typical applications:

Railway wheels and tracks, gears, crankshaft (applications need combination

of high strength, wear resistance and toughness)
10
 ❑ High carbon steel
▪ Also called as carbon tool steel

▪ Carbon contents between 0.60 and 1.40 wt%.

▪ Hardest , strongest and yet least ductile carbon steel.

▪ Used in hardened and tempered condition. Especially wear resistant and capable
of holding a sharp cutting edge.

Typical applications:

Cutting tools, dies for forming and shaping materials, springs and high strength
wire.

11
 ❑ Alloy Steels

▪ Other elements (besides carbon) can be added to iron to improve mechanical ,

manufacturing, and/or environmental properties.

▪ Added elements are usually metal elements.

There are three classes of alloy steels:

1. Constructional alloy steel

2. Alloy tool steel
3. Stainless steel

1. Constructional alloy steel

▪ Produce by adding alloying elements (nickel, chromium and molybdenum)

intentionally to medium-carbon steel to obtain the properties that are not found
in plain carbon steel.
12
 ❑ Alloy Tool steels

▪ Belongs to High-carbon steel usually containing chromium, vanadium,

tungsten, and molybdenum as alloying elements.

▪ Alloying elements are added into the tool steel to;

1. Increase hardness and wear-resistance by the formation of wear resistant car-

bides (Cr23C6, V4C3 , WC) which are much harder than Fe3C.

2. Improve the resistance to the tempering effects associated with high-

temperature working. (during use as in hot-working dies, but also to frictional
heat generated in cutting tools during high-speed machining processes).

▪ Tool steel are generally used in a heat-treated state.

▪ High carbon content – very brittle

13
 ❑ Cast Irons
▪ Class of ferrous alloys with carbon content above 2.14 wt%.
(Most cast ions contain 2.0  C wt. %  4.5 and some time with other alloying
elements)

▪ Melting point is comparatively lower than steel.

Completely liquid at temperatures between approximately 1150 and 1300C.

▪ Brittle
Casting is the most convenient fabrication technique.

Cast irons differ from high-carbon steels in several aspects, including the
following two:

1. Can not be converted to 100% austenite during heat treatment.

2. The other phase present in the austenite is generally graphite as opposed to
the cementite (Fe3C) present in steels.

14
❑ Cast Irons
The most common cast ion types are;

1. Gray cast iron

2. White cast iron
3. Malleable cast iron
4. Ductile or Nodular cast iron
5. Alloy Cast Iron

15
 ❑ Gray Cast Iron

▪ Content 2.5  4.0 wt% of carbon(C) and 1.0  3.0 wt% of silicon(Si) .

▪ Graphite exists in the form of flake which are surrounded by -ferrite or pearlite
matrix.
Graphite flakes

▪ Mechanically, gray iron is comparatively

weak and brittle in tension due to its
microstructure.

▪ Tips of the graphite flakes are sharp and

pointed and may serve as points of stress
concentration when an external tensile
stress is applied.

16
 ❑ Gray Cast Iron cont.
▪ Graphite in gray iron is largely interconnected, which produces excellent
machinability, vibrational damping capacity, and thermal conductivity but low
strength and toughness.

▪ Exhibit a high resistance to wear.

▪ Having high fluidity at casting temperature which permits casting pieces having
intricate shapes also casting shrinkage is low.

▪ Gray cast irons are among the least expensive of all metallic materials.

Typical applications:

Base structures for machines and heavy equipment, diesel engine casting,
cylinders, piston

17
 ❑ White Cast Iron

▪ Low-silicon cast irons (usually containing less than 1.0 wt% Si) and rapid cooling
rates, most of the carbon exists as cementite(Fe3C) instead of graphite. (Low silica
content promotes the formation of cementite phase than graphite)

▪ Variation of the graphite

and Fe3C eutectic
temperatures as Si%
increases from 0 to 2.

18
 ❑ White Cast Iron cont.

▪ Extremely hard but also very brittle, therefore unmachinable. Its use is limited to
applications that necessitate a very hard and wear-resistant surface. (Example:
Rolling mill)

▪ Used as an intermediary in the production of another cast iron, malleable iron.

Ferrite matrix Cementite(Fe3C)

19
 ❑ Ductile (or Nodular) Cast Iron

▪ Adding small amount of magnesium and/or cerium into the gray cast iron before
casting process, ductile cast iron can be produced.

▪ Graphite form as nodules or sphere-like particles instead of flake. Matrix phase

either ferrite or pearlite depending on the heat treatment.

Graphite nodules

▪ Castings are stronger and more ductile than gray ions.

▪ Mechanical characteristics are close those of steel.

Typical applications:

Valves, pump bodies, crankshafts, gears, and

other automotive and machine components.
20
 ❑ Malleable Cast Iron

▪ Heating white cast iron at temperatures between 800 – 900C and keep for
prolonged time period, then cool down to RT. Decomposition of the cementite,
then forming graphite, which exists in the form of clusters or rosettes surrounded
by a ferrite or pearlite matrix, depending on cooling rate.

▪ The microstructure is similar to that for nodular cast iron showing relatively high
strength and appreciable ductility.

Graphite rosettes
(Tempered carbon)

Typical applications:

connecting rods, transmission gears, and

differential cases for the automotive industry, pipe
fittings, and valve parts for railroad.

21
 ❑ Alloy Cast Irons

Produce using the same alloying elements which are employed in alloy steels.

Silicon:
▪ Increases the instability of cementite and promote the formation of graphite.
▪ Improves the fluidity of the molten iron and improves its casting properties.
▪ Affect for eutectic temperature. (Increases the autenite-graphite eutectic
temperature and decreases the austenite- Fe3C eutectic temperature)

Nickel :
▪ Most common element used in cast iron.
▪ Promotes graphitization.
▪ Enhance grain-refining and hence, increase toughness.

Chromium:
▪ Increases hardness and wear-resistance by stabilizing carbides.

Vanadium:
▪ Promotes heat-resistance in cast iron by rendering carbides very stable so that
they are less likely to decompose at high temperatures. 22