Materials

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 Materials

Introduction

• We need to have an initial understanding of the various materials that are

used in the manufacture of lifting equipment.

• Consideration will be given to the properties and desirability of their

characteristics, together with some typical uses to which they are put.

• The following slides and your course handouts will provide adequate
information of this subject.

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 Materials
Materials that are used in the manufacture of lifting equipment must have
the following characteristics: -

– They must be strong

– Capable of resisting shock loads
– In relation to the above, be ductile
– Need to be hard to resist wear

Materials must be easily worked by one of the normal processes such as: -

– Forging
– Casting
– Machining

The materials must also be weldable and the finished product must be able
to resist corrosion as far as is possible.

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 Materials

Strength
This is probably the single most important property. It is defined as
‘the ability of a material to resist rupture when a load is applied’.

Ductility
This is the ability of a material to undergo cold plastic deformation,
usually as a result of tension, i.e. the ability to be drawn.

Brittleness
This is a tendency to fracture without visible plastic deformation. A
material that is brittle will tend to fail without warning it is therefore a
property that is undesirable in lifting equipment.

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 Materials

Elasticity
This is the ability of a material to return to its original dimensions after
the removal of the stress.

Plasticity
This is the ability of a material to retain its new dimensions after the
removal of the stress.

Toughness
The ability to withstand bending without fracture and withstand shatter.
It is generally true that a ductile material is also a tough one.

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 Materials
Hardness
This is the ability to resist cutting, abrasion or indentation. A material needs to be
hard if, when in use, other items rub over or against it and tend to wear it to a
smaller size.

Corrosion Resistance
Materials used in severe conditions need to be able to resist oxide formation,
e.g. ‘rust’, on their surfaces. This is achieved by using non-ferrous materials and
also by the additions of elements, such as chromium, to ordinary steel.
Corrosion will weaken lifting gear by reducing its section, and causing pits so
giving rise to stress raisers. It also causes moving parts to lock.

Malleability
This is the capacity to undergo deformation in all directions, usually by cold
deformation such as hammering, bending or squeezing. It is therefore the ability
to be cold worked.

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 Materials
Ferrous Metals

Wrought Iron

• Historically wrought iron was used to produce all items of forged lifting gear and chain
due to its ease of working compared to other materials.

• As technology advanced other, more suitable and consistent materials have been
developed, as have the ways of working them.

Cast Iron

• Although its use is limited, as it is brittle, cast iron still has an important role in the
manufacture of certain items of lifting equipment.

• The material has very little shock resistance as the graphite flakes, which have no
strength, act in the same way as cracks with sharp edges.

• Cast iron is however very strong in compression.

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 Materials
Ferrous Metals

Steel

• Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, which may then contain other materials, either
present as impurities which the manufacturing process has been unable to remove or
as added elements included in the manufacturing process to produce the required
properties or qualities.

• The term ‘steel’ covers a considerable range of materials.

• The presence of oxides in finished steel can produce a form of brittleness known as
strain age embrittlement.

• If the steel is over-strained followed by resting in warm conditions, the steel may
become very brittle.

• In the course of manufacture (smelting), the addition of such elements as

manganese, silicon or aluminium, which attract oxygen, will de-oxidise the steel and
produce a steel known as ‘killed steel’, which is not subject to strain age
embrittlement.

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 Materials
Ferrous Metals

Carbon Steels
Three classes of carbon steels are used in various ways in the manufacture of lifting
equipment.
1) Low carbon steels
2) Medium carbon steels
3) High carbon steels.
As the names suggests the quantity of carbon present affects the tensile strength, the
form and distribution of the carbon affecting the mechanical properties.

Alloy Steels
Alloy steels have varying carbon contents but they obtain their properties from the
addition of other alloying elements.

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 Materials
Non Ferrous Metals
Copper and its Alloys

• Malleable, ductile, and non-magnetic with low to average strength and good corrosion
resistance.

• Brass and silicon bronze, composed mainly of copper, gain their strength from the
addition of other metals.

• A small amount of phosphorous (1%) added to cast tin bronzes produces a material
termed ‘phosphorus bronze’. Adding phosphorus increases tensile strength and
corrosion resistance.

Monel Metal

• Composed basically of two-thirds nickel, one-third copper.

• Has good strength and excellent corrosion resistance against salt water.

• Very expensive.

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 Materials
Non Ferrous Metals

Aluminium

• Bluish and silvery-white in colour. Very light, malleable, and ductile with high heat and
electrical conductivity.

• 1/3 the weight of steel with good corrosion resistance against certain chemicals and
acids but weak resistance against other elements such as sea water.

Polymers (Plastic)

• Man-made chemical based materials.

• Good toughness, very light, good electrical and thermal insulation and can be easily
fabricated and cast.

• Extremely corrosion resistant with selective resistance to chemicals.

• Typical polymers used in lifting equipment are polyamide, polypropylene and

polyester.

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 Any Questions?

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