Materials Flashcards
What are the two types of hardness tests and explain them?
The Brinnell Test: Uses a steel sphere that is pressed into the surface of the material. The relationship between the diameter of the sphere and the diameter of the indent forms the hardness value.
The Rockwell hardness test. For softer materials a steel sphere is used and for harder materials a diamond cone is used. The depth and force are automatically determined by the tester and produces a corresponding hardness value.
What test is used to test microhardness?
The Knoop hardness test
What is the definition of ductility?
The ability of a material to be permanently deformed without breaking when a force is applied.
What is fracture toughness?
Measures the ability of a material containing a flaw to withstand an applied load.
What are Weibull statistics?
The likelihood of material failing under a given load.. Brittle materials have a much wider distribution that ductile
How do brittle and ductile materials fail?
Ductile: Necking occurs, leaves cup and cone fracture, and failure surface leaves dimples from microvoids pointing in the direction of failure.
Brittle: No necking, chevron pattern fans away from the origin of the crack
What constitutes a ferrous metal?
Based upon carbon-iron alloys
What are the components of the AISI or SAE Distinctions for Ferrous Metals
The first two numbers indicate the governing alloying element.
The last two or three numbers indicate the percent Carbon
What is the carbon percent that distinguishes Carbon Steels and Cast irons?
2.11 %C
What is the carbon percentage that distingusihes hypo and hyper-euctectoid steels?
0.77%
What happens to 5 key properties when the percet carbon increases?
- Tensile Strength Up
- Yield Strength Up
- % Elongation Down
- Ductility Down
- Impact Toughness Down
What are the basic solid solutions of ferrous alloys?
Austeninte, Ferrite, Cementite, and Pearlite
What are the four methods of cooling a ferrous alloy to produce variations in solid solution strengthening and what is the resulting solid solution?
- Quenching- Martensite
- Austempering-Bainite
- Normalizing- Fine Pearlite
- Annealing- Coarse Pearlite
How are pearlite and bainite different?
Pearlite is a lamellar structure of cementite and ferrite while Bainite is non-lamellar with significantly more dislocations
What benefits arise from using an alloying element in steel?
- Solid-solution strengthening of Ferrite
- Cause precipitation of alloy carbides instead of cementite
- Improve corrosion resistance and other special characteristics
- Improve hardenability
What is hardenability?
Depth to which a material is hardened after putting it through a heat treating process
What is the Jominy Test?
It compares the hardenability of different steels by austenitizing a steel and then cooling one end with water.
What is the Jominy Distance?
It evaluates the hardness of material at a given distance away from the water cooled end.
What is the grossman chart used for?
To determine the hardenability at the center of a steel bar for different quenchants
What is galvanized steel?
Steel covered with zinc for improved corosion resistance.
What makes it stainless steel?
Contains at least 11% Chromium that forms a protective layer of chromium oxide
What additional solid solution is introduced when cast irons are cooled?
Graphite
What is the specific strength?
Strength/density
What are the pros and cons of aluminum alloys?
Pros:
- Great specific strength
- No ductile to brittle transition at low temps
- Easily formed
- Resistance to oxidation and corrosion (aluminum oxide)
Cons:
- Potential to fail by fatigue
- Poor wear resistance
What are the two kinds of aluminum alloys and what makes them distinct?
Wrought Alloys- Properties controlled by strain hardening, solid-solution strengthening, and grain size control
Casting Alloys- Enough silicon is present to cause an eutectic reaction
What are the pros and cons of magnesium alloys?
Pros:
- Lighter than aluminum
- Good corrosion resistance in most environments
- Good specific strength
Cons:
- Poor corrosion resistance with salt
- Poor resistance to creep, fatigue, and wear
- Poor Strengthening capabilities
What are the pros and cons of beryllium alloys?
Pros:
- Lighter than aluminum
- Stiffer than steel
- High Specific strength
Cons:
- Expensive
- Brittle, reactive, and toxic
What are the pros and cons of copper alloys?
Pros:
- Better resistance to creep, fatigue, and wear
- Excellent ductility, corrosion resistance, and conductivities
Cons:
1. Low specific strength
What is brass?
Copper and Zinc
What is bronze?
Copper and tin
What are the pros of nickel and cobalt alloys?
Pros:
- High Melting Temp
- High Strength
- Excellent corrosion resistance
What are monels?
Copper-Nickel alloys known for exceptional strength and corrosion resistance
What are superalloys?
Nickel, iron-nickel, and cobalt allows that contain a large amount of alloying element to produce high strength at elevated temperatures
What are the pros of titanium alloys?
- Excellent corrosion resistance
- High Specific strength
- Good High-Temper Properties
What does it mean if a material is allotropic?
The crystal structure changes based on the temperature.
What constitutes a “Light Metal” and what are examples?
Metals that have a low density but high specific strength.
- Aluminum
- Magnesium
- Titanium
- Beryllium
What constitutes a “Nobel Metal” and what are examples?
Resists corrosion and makes very good conductors of electricity.
- Gold
- Silver
- Palladium
- Platinum
- Rhodium
What constitutes a refractory metal and what are examples?
Exceptionally high melting temperature and high temp service. High density so low specific strength. BCC crystal structure.
- Tungsten
- Molybdenum
- Tantalum
- Niobium
What is the definition of glass?
Metastable material that has hardened and become rigid without crystallizing
What does amorphous mean?
No crystalline structure and only short-order of atoms
What are glass modifiers?
Additional elements that break up the network structure and cause glass to crystallize by introducing a shortage of available silicone. They allow for glass to be made at a lower temperature
What are the three temperature and viscosity ranges of glasses?
- Liquid range- sheet and plate glass formed in molten state
- Working range- shapes formed by pressing, drawing, or blowing into molds
- Annealing range- annealed to reduce residual stress and prevent cracks from forming and potentially causing devitrification
What is devitrification?
Precipitation of a crystalline phase from the glass
What is tempered glass?
Glass that had its surface cooled faster than the center which introduced a residual compressive stress
What is laminar glass?
Two pieces of annealed glass with a polymer between them
What is a glass-ceramic?
Crystalline materials derived from amorphous glasses
What percentage of crystallinity do glass-ceramics have?
> 70-99%
How do glass-ceramics get their crystallinity?
Controlled crystallization forms a combination of amorphous glass and ultra-fine crystalline phases
What are glazes?
Ceramic coatings applied to glasses
What are enamels?
Ceramic coating applied to metals
What are examples of common ceramics? What are they used for?
- Diamond- Abrasives for grinding and polishing
- Silica-glasses
- Silicon carbide- coating for metals and ceramics at high temps
How are ceramics made?
- Starts as a fine powder
- Formed into shape to produce a green ceramic
- Fired to harden
What is an example of a glass-ceramic?
Corning Ware- The ceramic top of ovens
What are the most important defect in a polycrystalline ceramic?
Pores- They are pre-existing locations for crack growth
What are technical ceramics?
High-performance/engineered ceramics, that are made of inorganic ceramic materials have superior properties. They have incredibly high purity made from a metal compound combined with oxides, carbides, or nitrides
What are examples of technical ceramics?
Alumina Oxide, Zirconium Oxide
What is polymerization?
The process by which small molecules consisting of one or a few units are chemically joined to create giant molecules
Are polymers traditionally organic or inorganic?
Organic meaning they contain carbon
What are the three kinds of plastics/polymers?
Thermoset, thermoplastics, and elastomers
How are polymers classified?
- By how the molecules are synthesized
- By their molecular structure
- By their chemical family
What are the two types of polymerization? Briefly explain them?
- Addition- Atoms are added in chain-like fashion to build the polymer (Polyethylene)
- Condensation- A relatively small molecule is formed as a result of the polymerization reaction, typically make much more complex structures (Polycarbonates)
What are the two formations that polymer chains can form?
- Linear Polymer- Much stronger as they can tightly pack together
- Branched Polymer- Little branches around chain backbone prevents dense packing and therefore stiffness, density, and strength reduced
What does increased crystallization do to thermoplastics?
Increased density, resistance to chemical attack, and mechanical properties. It forms stronger bonds
What causes increased crystallization in polymers?
Deformation leads to an alignment of polymer chains in a preferred orientation
What is tacticity?
The properties of a polymer being controlled by the location of nonsymmetrical atoms or atom arrangements
What are:
- Isotactic Polymers
- Syndiotactic Polymers
- Atactic Polymers
- a type of atoms is all on the same side of the chain
- The atom type alternates between sides
- The atom type is randomly distributed (Poor packing and poor strength)
What are copolymers?
Linear-addition chains composed of two or more types of molecules. (Backbone of the chain has multiple types of molecules) This is able to blend properties of multiple chains Example ABS
What are Liquid-Crystalline Polymers?
Complex thermoplastic chains that are so stiff they act as rigid rods, even at high temps Example Kevlar
What are the two types of crystallization for a thermoplastic?
- Temperature (Slow-Cooling)
2. Stress-Induced Crystallization (Untangle chains)
What are the four viscosity stages as temperature increases?
- Rigid
- Leathery
- Rubbery (Both elastic and plastic deformation occurs)
- Viscous
Which type of thermoplastics shows the most crystallinity? (Linear or Branched)
Linear as they are less complex and able to more tightly pack together