Engineering Alloys

Non - Ferrous
NON FEROUS MATERIALS

 COPPER AND ITS ALLOYS

 ALUMINUM AND ITS ALLOYS

 TITANIUM AND ITS ALLOYS

COPPER AND ITS ALLOYS

 COPPER

 BRASSES (Cu- Zn ALLOY)

 BRONZES

 COPPER- NICKEL ALLOYS

 COPPER
PROPERTIES OF COPPER

 High electrical conductivity (best among

conductors)

 It has good ductility and malleability

because of its FCC structure
 COPPER

 Good corrosion resistance to general

atmospheric conditions

 Good thermal conductivity

 Good machinability and ease of

fabrication
 COPPER
APPLICATIONS

 Used for making electrical

conductors(99.9% purity)

 Automobile radiators and in

refrigerators for circulating fluids.
 COPPER
 Used in distillery and in other process
equipments (due to its good corrosion
resistance and non-toxic nature of
copper ions)

 The free cutting copper ( 0.6%

tellurium copper), which has excellent
machinability, is used for bolts, welding
tips, switch gears, relays, etc.
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 BRASSES
 Brasses are the alloys of Copper and
Zinc.

 Equilibrium diagram of Cu-Zn

  -Brasses

  + Brasses
 BRASSES
L
+L +L
910°C
 
+ +
 450ºC

+' '

10 20 30 40 50 %Zn

ga tion
n
%Elo
t r e ngth
S

Cu-Zn Equilibrium diagram and mechanical properties

 BRASSES

 The equilibrium solubility of Zn in Cu is

around 38% ( i.e, the  phase or FCC
structure) and is sharply influenced by
cooling rate.

 Under industrial cooling rates, the

solubility reduces to 30%.
 BRASSES
 As the Zn addition exceeds the solubility
limit a second phase  (BCC) is formed.

 And around 450°C the  phase

undergoes a order-disorder
transformation and below 450 °C it
forms ordered structure of  ( i.e, '
phase)
 BRASSES
 The tensile strength and ductility of
brass increases with increasing amount
of Zn upto 30% ( i.e, the solubility limit)

 With the appearance of the  phase (ie,

>30%) the strength continues to
increase but the ductility begins to
decrease.
 BRASSES

 Therefore, most commercial alloys

contains less than 40%Zn.

 Upto 20% the colour of brass is red and

beyond 20% it becomes yellow.

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  -BRASSES
TYPES, PROPERTIES & APPLICATIONS

 These are the alloys contain less than

30%Zn.

 They are soft, ductile, malleable and

have fairly good corrosion resistance in
annealed condition and are suitable for
cold rolling, wire drawing, etc.
  -BRASSES
 Gliding metal (5%Zn) used for making
coins, medals, bullet envelops,
condenser tubes, etc.

 Cartridge brass ( 30%Zn) has

maximum ductility and malleability
among all the -brasses.
  -BRASSES
 Cartridge brass is also called 70-30
brass.

 Formed by deep drawing, stretching

and press work operations.

 Used for making cartridge cases,

radiator fins, rivets and springs.
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  + BRASSES
TYPES, PROPERTIES & APPLICATIONS

 These are the 30 - 40%Zn alloy which

contains two (  + ) phases.

 They are hard and strong and fabricated

by hot working process (above 600°C) .

 Corrosion resistance of these alloys are

less compared to - Brasses.
  + BRASSES
 Muntz metal ( 40%Zn) is used for
utensils, nuts, bolts, pump parts,
condenser tubes, and similar applications
where corrosion resistance is not severe.

 Naval brass or Tobin brass ( 60Cu/ 39Zn/

1Sn) has good corrosion resistance
towards marine environments.
  + BRASSES

 The addition of tin increases the

corrosion resistance towards marine
environment in Naval brass.

 It is used for marine hardware,

propeller shafts, piston rods, welding
rods, etc.

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 BRONZES

 Bronze is the alloy of copper containing

elements other than zinc ( i.e, Sn, Al, Be,
etc.)

 Originally the name bronze was used to

denote Copper- Tin alloy.
 BRONZES
TYPES, PROPERTIES & APPLICATIONS

 Bell metals (20-25%Sn) used for making

bells are very hard and brittle and give
ringing sound.

 Gun metal (88Cu/10Sn/2Zn) used for

gun barrels and ordinance parts,gears,
bearings, etc (Here Zn acts as deoxidiser
and improves fluidity of melt)
 BRONZES
 Statuary bronze (86Cu/10Sn/2Zn/2Pb)
used for making statues( Here Pb gives a
brownish black colour called patina to
statues)

 Wrought phosphor bronze ( 2.5-8% Sn

and 0.1-0.35%P) are used for making
springs and electrical contacts.
 BRONZES

 Commercial aluminum bronze or

imitation gold (4-11%Al) are lustrous
and their colour is the finest of all the
copper alloys.

 The imitation gold is used in jewellery,

heat exchangers, chemical plants, etc.

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 Cu – Ni ALLOYS
TYPES, PROPERTIES & APPLICATIONS
 Copper and Nickel are completely
soluble with each other both in solid and
liquid states and hence form a
continuous series of solid solutions.

 All the alloys are ductile and malleable

and can be worked in both hot and cold
conditions.
 Cu – Ni ALLOYS
 The corrosion resistance of the alloy
increases as the Ni content increases.

 Tensile, proof and fatigue strengths

increases with the Ni content, and reaches a
maximum between 60 - 70%Ni.

 The alloy becomes progressively white and

beyond 20%Ni it becomes practically
white.
 Cu – Ni ALLOYS
 Constantan (45%Ni) has a very high
electrical resistivity and a extremely low
(i.e nearly zero) temperature coefficient
of resistance over a temperature range
of 20- 350°C.

 Constantan is used for resistors and in

thermocouples.
 Cu – Ni ALLOYS

 German silver (5-30%Ni, 5-40%Zn)

alloys have silver-blue white colour and
good resistance to the action of food
chemicals, water and atmosphere and
are used for rivets, screws, costume
jewellery, name plates, etc.

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ALUMINUM AND ITS ALLOYS
 ALUMINUM

 ALUMINUM – COPPER ALLOYS

 ALUMINUM – SILICON ALLOYS

 Y-ALLOY

 CORROSION RESISTRANCE OF Al & ITS ALLOYS

 ALUMINUM
PROPERTIES OF ALUMINUM

 It has FCC structure, good

machinability and workability.

 Low density (1/3 of steel or Cu alloys)

 Good electrical conductivity (about 60%

of Cu, but for equal weight the
conductivity is 200% of Cu)
 ALUMINUM
 High thermal conductivity.

 Excellent corrosion resistance and

oxidation resistance due to the
formation of Al2O3 film on the metal
surface.

 Excellent ability of getting alloyed with

other elements like Cu, Si, Mg, Zn, etc.
 ALUMINUM
APPLICATIONS

 It has applications where good

formability or very good resistance to
corrosion or both are required and high
strength is not required.

 Used in food packing due to the non-

toxic nature of Al2O3.
 ALUMINUM
 Due to very low ductile to brittle
transition temperature (i.e, - 40°C),
finds application in refrigeration.

 It is a powerful grain refiner and is used

in Copper and Brasses to reduce their
cast grain sizes, thereby to increase
mechanical properties with improved
surface finish at lower cost.
 ALUMINUM
 Used in the de-oxidation of steel in
manufacturing of killed steels.

 Used in making permanent magnets,

shape memory alloys and space alloys.

 Used as electrical conductors, cooking

utensils, transportation industry, etc.
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ALUMINUM-COPPER ALLOYS
TYPES, PROPERTIES & APPLICATIONS

 The Al-Cu alloys are heat treatable

alloys.

 Max solubility of Copper in aluminum is

5.65% (at 550°C) and <0.5% at room
temp.
ALUMINUM-COPPER ALLOYS
 Duralumin (4%Cu) is used for making
rivets for aircrafts.

 Has high specific strength (200MPa)

(for high strength steels 170MPa).

 It is a natural ageing alloy and is stored

in refrigerators.
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ALUMINUM-SILICON ALLOYS
TYPES, PROPERTIES & APPLICATIONS

 The Al-Si alloys are used in castings due to

excellent fluidity.

 Higher the silicon content, better the

mechanical properties, corrosion and
oxidation resistance and lower the coefficient
of thermal expansion with improved fluidity
and casting characteristic.
ALUMINUM-SILICON ALLOYS
 However, with increase in silicon
content the amount of eutectic increases
which reduces the mechanical
properties.

 For hypereutectic compositions, the

presence of primary silicon further
reduces the mechanical properties.
ALUMINUM-SILICON ALLOYS

577°C
Temperature

1.65

4 8 12 16
%Si
Al – Si Phase diagram
ALUMINUM-SILICON ALLOYS
 The eutectic composition is increased
and the eutectic temperature is reduced
by adding small amount of modifying
agents such as metallic sodium to the
melt prior to pouring.

 Therefore, the alloys upto 16%Si gets

solidified as eutectic or hypoeutectic
without the presence of primary silicon.
ALUMINUM-SILICON ALLOYS
 The 12% Si alloy has excellent fluidity
and shows less shrinkage during
solidification.

 They are used for casting intricate

shapes in automobile industries such as
water cooled jackets, motor housing,
etc. and for pump parts in chemical
industries.
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 Y - ALLOY
 The composition of this alloy is 4%Cu,
2%Ni and 1.5%Mg and the rest is
aluminum.

 It has excellent high temperature

strength with fairly good corrosion
resistance and can be easily cast.

 It is used for piston and cylinder heads

of diesel and heavy duty petrol engine.
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CORROSION RESISTRANCE

 The high corrosion resistance is due to

the formation of self protecting thin
oxide film.

 The thickness of the thin film can be

increased by placing the material in
aqueous solution containing 15-25%
sulfuric acid and is called anodizing.
CORROSION RESISTRANCE

 The high strength alloys like Al- Cu and

Al- Zn alloys are clad with commercial
aluminum or Al-Mg-Si to get better
corrosion resistance and this process is
called Alcladding.

 The normal cladding thickness per side

is 1½ to 2½ % of the thickness of the
base metal sheet.
CORROSION RESISTRANCE

 Cladding is a process of producing

composite of the coating slabs and the
core ingot.

 This is done by mechanically attaching

the coating slab and the alloy core ingot
and the chemical bonds are produced by
hot rolling.
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TITANIUM AND ITS ALLOYS

 TITANIUM

 TITANIUM ALLOYS
 TITANIUM
 Titanium is produced from TiO2.

 The melting point of titanium is 1720°C.

 It exists in HCP structure () at room

temperature and transforms to BCC ()
at 882°C.
 TITANIUM

 It has higher specific strength, good

corrosion resistance and other high
temperature properties.

 An adherent protective TiO2 film

provides excellent resistance to
corrosion below 535°C.
 TITANIUM
 Above 535°C the film breaks and small
atoms such as Carbon, Oxygen,
Nitrogen and Hydrogen embrittle the
titanium.

 It is used in chemical processing

equipment, airframes, marine
components and biomedical implants
such as hip prostheses.
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 TITANIUM ALLOYS
 Alloying elements provide solid solution
strengthening and change the allotropic
transformation temperature.

 Addition of Sn, Zr provide solid solution

strengthening without affecting the
transformation temperature.
 TITANIUM ALLOYS
 Al, O, H, etc. increases the
transformation temperature (i.e,
  ) and are called -
stabilizers.

 V, Ta, Mo and Nb lowers the

transformation temperature are called
- stabilizers.
 TITANIUM ALLOYS

 Single phase alpha alloys are weldable

and having good ductility.

 Two phase alloys are stronger than

single phase - alloys because BCC  is
stronger than HCP .
 TITANIUM ALLOYS

 The important two phase alloy is Ti –

6Al – 4V.

 Used for making airframes, rockets, jet

engines, missile fuel tanks, human
implants, etc.