METALS

I. Introduction (brief history, facts, statistical report etc.) [RON]

II. Main Functions/Relevance [RENZO]
III. Classifications/Types [ALOU]
IV. Structure and Properties [JC]
V. Strengths, Weaknesses and Possible Defects [RENZO]
VI. Processing [JC]
VII. Industry Uses [RON]
VIII. Phase Diagram of Alloys [ALOU]

PROPERTIES OF METALS

Chemical Properties

Metals are usually inclined to form cations through electron loss,[6] reacting with oxygen in the air to form
oxides over various timescales (iron rusts over years, while potassium burns in seconds).

Physical Properties

A. Density
-mass per unit volume of material; clearly depends on the mass of the atoms, their sized, and the way
they are packed. Metals are dense because they have heavy atoms and close-packing.

The high density of most metals is due to the tightly packed crystal lattice of the metallic structure

B. Melting Point and Boiling Point

Metals tend to have high melting and boiling points because of the strength of the metallic bond. The
strength of the bond varies from metal to metal and depends on the number of electrons which each
atom delocalises into the sea of electrons, and on the packing.

Boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid equals the
pressure surrounding the liquid

Melting point is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid at atmospheric pressure. At
the melting point the solid and the liquid phase exist in equilibrium.

C. Malleability and Ductility

Metals are malleable and ductile, deforming under stress without cleaving.

Malleability
- is a material's ability to deform under compressive stress; this is often characterized by the material's
ability to form a thin sheet by hammering or rolling.
Compressive strength is the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to reduce
size.
- Gold and silver are highly malleable. When a piece of hot iron is hammered it takes the shape of a
sheet. The property is not seen in non-metals

Ductility
- is a solid material's ability to deform under tensile stress; this is often characterized by the material's
ability to be stretched into a wire.
 Tensile strength is a measurement of the force required to pull something such as rope, wire, or a
structural beam to the point where it breaks. The tensile strength of a material is the maximum
amount of tensile stress that it can take before failure, for example breaking.

D. Thermal Conductivity
Metals have high thermal conductivity

Thermal conductivity
(λ with the unit W/(m•K)) describes the transport of energy – in the form of heat – through a body of
mass as the result of a temperature gradient. According to the second law of thermodynamics, heat
always flows in the direction of the lower temperature.

E. Electrical Conductivity
Metals have high electrical conductivity

Electrical conductivity
- measures a material's ability to conduct an electric current
- Like balls in a Newton's cradle, electrons in a metal quickly transfer energy from one terminal to
another, despite their own negligible movement.

F. Magnetic Susceptibility

Magnetic Susceptibility
indicates whether a material is attracted into or repelled out of a magnetic field, which in turn has
implications for practical applications

The magnetic properties of a material are governed entirely by the configuration of the electrons in that
material. In metals there are two types of electrons: bound electrons and free electrons. The free
electrons are free to move between atoms, and are the cause of conductivity in metals. The bound
electrons are stuck to the individual atoms.

G. Optical Reflectivity
Metals are shiny and lustrous. Sheets of metal beyond a few micrometres in thickness appear opaque, but
gold leaf transmits green light.

Why do metals absorb light when other substances, such as the glass in the car's windows, do not? Light is
absorbed when the energy of this radiation is equal to the energy needed to excite an electron to a
higher-energy excited state or when the energy can be used to move an electron through the solid.
Because electrons are delocalized in metals and therefore free to move through the solid metals
absorb light easily.

STRUCTURES OF METALS

CRYSTALS
To form the strongest metallic bonds, metals are packed together as closely as possible. Several packing
arrangements are possible.

Unit cell structures determine some of the properties of metals. For example, FCC structures are more likely to be
ductile than BCC, (body centered cubic) or HCP (hexagonal close packed).

Body Centered Cubic (BCC) Structure

Face Centered Cubic (FCC) Structure
Hexagonal Closed Packed (HCP) Structure
PROCESSING OF METALS

Introduction

The metal smelting and refining industry processes metal ores and scrap metal to obtain pure metals.
Various types of metals and alloys are used as starting materials, including rolled stock (bars, strips, light sections,
sheets or tubes) and drawn stock (bars, light sections, tubes or wire).

1. Smelting and Refining

Primary smelting and refining produces metals directly from ore concentrates, while secondary smelting and
refining produces metals from scrap and process waste.

Overview of Processes

Two metal recovery technologies are generally used to produce refined metals, pyrometallurgical and
hydrometallurgical. Pyrometallurgical processes use heat to separate desired metals from other materials.
Hydrometallurgical technologies differ from pyrometallurgical processes in that the desired metals are separated
from other materials using techniques that capitalize on differences between constituent solubilities and/or
electrochemical properties while in aqueous solutions.

2. Foundry

Founding, or metal casting, involves the pouring of molten metal into the hollow inside of a heat-resistant mould
which is the outside or negative shape of the pattern of the desired metal object.

Moulds made from silica sand bound with clay predominate in the iron foundry sector.

3. Stamping and Forging

In stamping operations, metal is formed into specific shapes at ambient temperatures by shearing, pressing and
stretching between dies, usually in a series of one or more discrete impact steps. In forging, compressive force is
applied to pre-formed blocks (blanks) of metal, usually heated to high temperatures, also in one or more discrete
pressing steps.

4. Welding and Thermal Cutting

Welding is a generic term referring to the union of pieces of metal at joint faces rendered plastic or liquid by heat
or pressure, or both. The three common direct sources of heat are:

1. flame produced by the combustion of fuel gas with air or oxygen

2. electrical arc, struck between an electrode and a workpiece or between two electrodes
3. electrical resistance offered to passage of current between two or more workpieces.

5. Lathes

The important part lathes play in metalworking shops is best illustrated by the fact that 90 to 95% of the swarf
(metal shavings) produced in the valves and fittings industry originates from lathes.

6. Grinding and Polishing

Grinding generally involves the use of a bonded abrasive to wear away parts of a workpiece. The aim is to give the
work a certain shape, correct its dimensions, increase the smoothness of a surface or improve the sharpness of
cutting edges.

Aluminium oxide is most widely used in grinding wheels, followed by silicon carbide.

Phase Diagrams

 a map showing the structure of phases present as the temperature and overall composition of
the alloy are varied.
 for understanding and controlling the structures of polyphase materials.

eutectic point - a mixture of the constituent elements which produces melting at a single temperature
like a pure element.

eutectic temperature- temperature wherein an alloy's composition does not place it within the alpha or
beta solid solution regions, the alloy will become fully solid

Composition, Microstructure, and the Phase Diagram

eutectic alloy- an alloy with composition right at the eutectic point, will be considered.

hypoeutectic alloy -an alloy with a composition that lies to the left of the eutectic point on the
phase diagram,

hypereutectic alloy- an alloy with a composition that lies to the right of the eutectic point
Eutectic Alloys

Hypoeutectic Alloys

The first solid phase to form is called the

primary phase so, in this case, primary alpha is
formed.
Hypereutectic

This alloy will solidify like the hypoeutectic

alloy did except it will pass through the “beta +
liquid” region of the phase diagram rather than
the “alpha + liquid” region. This will result in a
microstructure comprised of grains of beta and
grains of eutectic mixture (alpha and beta) rather
than grains of alpha and grains of eutectic mixture
(alpha and beta) as the hypoeutectic alloy had.