MATERIALS SCIENCE (Group A -part1)

Hardness
Hardness is the measure of how resistant solid matter is to various kinds of permanent shape change when a
force is applied. Macroscopic hardness is generally characterized by strong intermolecular bonds, however the
behavior of solid materials under force is complex, therefore there are different measurements of hardness:
scratch hardness, indentation hardness, and rebound hardness.
Hardness is dependent on ductility, elasticity, plasticity, strain, strength, toughness, viscoelasticity, and
viscosity.
Common examples of hard matter are ceramics, concrete, certain metals, and super hard materials, which can
be contrasted with soft matter.
Ductile fracture
Ductile failure of a specimen strained axially.
In ductile fracture, extensive plastic deformation takes place before fracture. Many ductile metals,
especially materials with high purity, can sustain very large deformation of 50–100% or more strain
before fracture under favorable loading condition and environmental condition. The strain at which the
fracture happens is controlled by the purity of the materials. At room temperature, pure iron can undergo
deformation up to 100% strain before breaking, while cast iron or high-carbon steels can barely sustain
3% of strain.[citation needed].
Brittle fracture
In brittle fracture, no apparent plastic deformation takes place before fracture. In brittle crystalline
materials, fracture can occur by cleavage as the result of tensile stress acting normal to crystallographic
planes with low bonding (cleavage planes). In amorphous solids, by contrast, the lack of a crystalline
structure results in a conchoidal fracture, with cracks proceeding normal to the applied tension.

The theoretical strength of a crystalline material is (roughly)

Where: -
E is the Young's modulus of the material,
γ is the surface energy, and
ro is the equilibrium distance between atomic centers.
On the other hand, a crack introduces a stress concentration modeled by
(For sharp cracks)
Where: -
σapplied is the loading stress,
a is half the length of the crack, and
ρ is the radius of curvature at the crack tip.
Putting these two equations together, we get Looking closely, we can see that sharp cracks (small ρ) and
large defects (large a) both lower the fracture strength of the material.
Recently, scientists have discovered supersonic fracture, the phenomenon of crack motion faster than
the speed of sound in a material. [Citation needed] This phenomenon was recently also verified by experiment
of fracture in rubber-like materials.
Griffith theory
For the simple case of a thin rectangular plate with a crack perpendicular to the load Griffith’s theory
becomes:

(1.1)
Where G is the strain energy release rate, σ is the applied stress, a is half the crack length, and E is the
Young’s modulus. The strain energy release rate can otherwise be understood as: the rate at which energy is
absorbed by growth of the crack.
However, we also have that:

(1.2)
If G ≥ Gc, this is the criterion for which the crack will begin to propagate.

Fracture toughness
In materials science, fracture toughness is a property which describes the ability of a material containing a
crack to resist fracture, and is one of the most important properties of any material for virtually all design
applications. It is denoted KIc and has the units of .

The subscript 'Ic' denotes mode I crack opening under a normal tensile stress perpendicular to the crack, since
the material can be made thick enough to resist shear (mode II) or tear (mode III).
Fracture toughness is a quantitative way of expressing a material's resistance to brittle fracture when a crack is
present. If a material has a large value of fracture toughness it will probably undergo ductile fracture. Brittle
fracture is very characteristic of materials with a low fracture toughness value.[1]
Fracture mechanics, which leads to the concept of fracture toughness, was largely based on the work of A. A.
Griffith who, among other things, studied the behavior of cracks in brittle materials.

A related concept is the work of fracture (γwof) which is directly proportional to , where E is the
Young's modulus of the material.[2] Note that, in SI units, γwof is given in J/m2.
Fatigue

Fatigue is a failure mechanism which results when the material is stressed repeatedly or
when it is subjected to a cyclic load. Examples of fatigue situations are components subjected
to vibration or repeated impacts. Cyclic loading can cause mechanical deterioration
and fracture propagation resulting in ultimate failure of the material.
Fatigue is usually measured under conditions of bending where the specimen is
subjected to constant deflection at constant frequency until failure occurs. The asymptotic
value of stress shown in the schematic fatigue curve (S-N plot) in Figs. 1.18 and 1.19 [6]
is known as the fatigue limit. At stresses or strains which are less than this value failure
does not occur normally.
S-N curve
There are two general types of fatigue tests conducted. One test focuses on the nominal stress required to
cause a fatigue failure in some number of cycles. This test results in data presented as a plot of stress (S)
against the number of cycles to failure (N), which is known as an S-N curve. A log scale is almost always
used for N.

Creep
Creep is the tendency of a solid material to slowly move or deform permanently under the influence of
stresses. Creep is more severe in materials that are subjected to heat for long periods, and near the melting
point. Creep always increases with temperature.
The rate of this deformation is a function of the material properties, exposure time, exposure temperature and
the applied load. Unlike brittle fracture, creep deformation does not occur suddenly upon the application of
stress. Instead, strain accumulates as a result of long-term stress. Creep deformation is "time-dependent"
deformation.
Twinning
When, mechanical deformation is created by twinning, the lattice structure changes. The atoms move only a
fraction of an inter atomic space and this leads to a rearrangement of the lattice structure. Twinning is
observed as wide bands under the microscope. These wide bands can not be removed by polishing.
Two kinds of twins are of interest to the metallurgists:
1. Deformation or mechanical twins, most prevalent in close packed hexagonal metals (magnesium, zinc, iron
with large amount of ferrite)
2. Annealing twins, most prevalent in F.C.C. (Face centered cubic) metals (aluminum, copper, brass, iron with
austenite).These metals have been previously worked and heat treated. The twins are formed because of a
change in the normal growth mechanism.

The effect of twinning on the lattice structure

Difference between slip and twinning
Slip vs. Twinning:

Slip Twinning

Atomic movement Atoms move a whole Atoms move fractional

number of atomic spacing. atomic spacing.

Microscopic appearance Thin lines Wide bands or broad lines

Lattice orientation No change in lattice Lattice orientation changes.

orientation. The steps are Surface polishing will not
only visible on the surface of destroy the evidence of
the crystal and can be twinning.
removed by polishing. After
polishing there is no
evidence of slip.

Hardening
Hardening is a metallurgical and metalworking process used to increase the hardness of a metal. The hardness
of a metal is directly proportional to the uniaxial yield stress at the location of the imposed strain. A harder
metal will have a higher resistance to plastic deformation than a less hard metal.
Processes
The five hardening processes are:
• The Hall-Petch method is used to change the grain size in a material, which can affect the dislocation
density. Smaller grain size will make the material harder, but if the grains get too small the hardness
can actually decrease.
• In work hardening (also referred to as strain or cold hardening) the material is strained past its yield
point. The work done on the material adds energy and has the ability to move and generate
dislocations. This process usually takes place at a temperature below the materials recrystallization
temperature.
• In solid solution strengthening, an alloying element is added to the material desired to be strengthened,
and together they form a “solid solution”. Different alloying elements can be used to cause either a
substitutional or an interstitial solid solution.
• Precipitation hardening is a process where impure particles are distributed throughout the metal. This
is achieved by first heating the metal above its phase transition temperature and then rapidly cooling
the metal. Particles of the second phase become trapped and form anchor points to impede the
movement of dislocations. Precipitation hardening is one of the most commonly used techniques for
the hardening of metal alloys. In steels, a similar method is referred to as a martensitic transformation.
In this transformation, austenite is rapidly cooled off before the dissolved carbon atoms have a chance
to escape, forming martensite, a higher hardness phase of steel.
• Martensitic transformation, more commonly known as quenching and tempering.
All hardening mechanisms, except of the martensitic transformation, introduce dislocations or defects in a
crystal lattice that act as barriers to slip.
Applications
Material hardening is required for many applications:
• Machine cutting tools (drill bits, taps, lathe tools) need be much harder than the material they are
operating on in order to be effective.
• Knife blades- a high hardness blade keeps a sharp edge.
• Bearings- necessary to have a very hard surface that will withstand continued stresses
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Cold and Hot working

Hot working
Mechanical working of metals above it re-crystallisation temperature is known as hot working.

The common hot working processes:-

The principal hot working processes generally applied to various metals, are the following:
1. Hot rolling.
2. Hot forging.
3. Hot spinning.
4. Hot extrusion.
5. Welded pipe and tube manufacturing.
6. Roll piercing.
7. Hot drawing.

Cold working
What do you mean by cold working methods? Explain any two cold working process with neat sketch.*

The processes which are done on the metals by keeping the temperature below recrystallisation temperature
are known as cold working processes. The force required for these processes is high as compared to hot
working processes. Cold working processes are also applied for soft materials otherwise the work piece will
crack. In cold working processes strength & hardness is increased but grain structure is distorted
Hall - petch relationship
There is an inverse relationship between delta yield strength and grain size to some power, x.

where k is the strengthening coefficient and both k and x are material specific. The smaller the grain size, the
smaller the repulsion stress felt by a grain boundary dislocation and the higher the applied stress needed to
propagate dislocations through the material.
The relation between yield stress and grain size is described mathematically by the Hall-Petch equation which
is

where ky is the strengthening coefficient (a constant unique to each material), σo is a materials constant for the
starting stress for dislocation movement (or the resistance of the lattice to dislocation motion), d is the grain
diameter, and σy is the yield stress.
Bauschinger effect
The Bauschinger effect refers to a property of materials where the material's stress/strain
characteristics change as a result of the microscopic stress distribution of the material. For example, an
increase in tensile yield strength occurs at the expense of compressive yield strength.
Schmid`s law