Metals Flashcards
What are ferrous metals?
Fe - iron based
What are the advantages of ferrous metals?
magnetic
strong
cheap
What are the disadvantages of ferrous metals?
rust - by oxidation, provides protective layer (steel!)
corrodes
heavy
environmental impact of processing
How are ferrous metals made?
iron ore - pig iron - cast iron - steel
requires lots of heat and energy = huge carbon footprint and pollution (recycling eliminates this process of extraction)
What are three examples of ferrous metal?
mild steel - most common, quite malleable, hard
low/medium/high carbon steel - as ‘carbon level’ increases, is more rigid and hard, so can cut
tool steel - eg. drill bits, saw blades
What are non-ferrous metals?
non-iron - all other metals
What are the properties of aluminium?
- bike, foil
strength to weight
doesn’t corrode
easy to work with
relatively cheap
What are the properties of copper?
- cables/wires
conduct electricity and heat
ductile (draw into wire)
What are the properties of tin?
- can (mild steel - strength to stack, cheap) - prevent contact with food
inert
non-toxic
What are the properties of silver and gold?
inert
aesthetics
non-toxic (plated used on cutlery)
non-tarnish
gold = best conductor
What are the properties of titanium?
- sports equipment, camping gear, planes, formula 1
doesn’t corrode
strength to weight ratio
v strong and light
BUT v expensive and hard to work with
What are the properties of zinc and magnesium?
- used as plates
What are alloys?
mixture of two or more metals to get the enhanced properties of both materials
What are the properties of stainless steel?
- sailing
- cars
- outside
- knives
steel + chrome (non-tarnish, bright, aesthetics)
strong and v hard
doesn’t rust or corrode
BUT expensive and difficult to work with
What are the properties of bronze and brass?
bronze - copper + tin
brass - copper + zinc
- statues
- castings (melt into hook/handle)
east to cast
strong
cheap
