Training is the bedrock of success

Training in basic metallurgy

& material testing

Training is the bedrock of success

Objectives
To get conversant with some basic concepts of
metallurgy.
Learn about materials & different material standards.
Learn about material testing methods & standards.
Review of material certificates.

Training is the bedrock of success

1. Metallurgy & its branches

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Definitions of metallurgy
Here are some definitions of metallurgy The scientific study of metals and how they are
used.
The science that deals with procedures used in
extracting metals from their ores, purifying and
alloying metals, and creating useful objects
from metals.
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and
of materials engineering that studies the
physical and chemical behavior of metallic
elements and their mixtures i.e. alloys.
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Branches of metallurgy
Extractive metallurgy- Deals with metal
extraction and refining.
Physical metallurgy- The branch of metallurgy
concerned with physical and mechanical
properties of metals as affected by composition,
mechanical working, and heat treatment.
Mechanical metallurgy - It is the area of
Metallurgy which is concerned primarily with the
response of metals to forces or loads & mainly
covers metal working, failures.

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Metal Shaping processes

Casting
(foundry)

Extrusion

Rolling

Forging

Drawing

Powder
metallurgy

Joining
(Fabrication)

Machining

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The other processes which indirectly

contribute in metal forming are

Heat treatment (hardening, carburizing etc.)

Surface treatment (plating, phosphating etc.)

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2. Materials & their standards

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The engineering materials

can be broadly classified as-

Metals &
alloys

Polymers

Rubbers

Ceramics

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The engineering alloys can further be

classified as
Ferrous Steel, Cast iron

Non- Ferrous Copper base i.e. brass,
bronze, nickel silver etc., Aluminum base
Aluminum bronzes, LM series alloys, Nibase i.e. Monel

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Steels
The steels are mainly alloys of iron & carbon. It
may also contain varying amounts of other
elements like Nickel, Chromium, Molybdenum,
Vanadium
Steel inherently contain the elements S, P, Si,
Mn which originate from the steel making
process.
Every element has a positive & negative
effect on the properties of steel.

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Classification of steels
Based on carbon percentage steels are classified as

Low carbon steels Up to 0.3%C

Medium carbon steels 0.3-0.6%C

High carbon steels 0.6 2%C
Steels are also classified on the basis of alloying
elements
Plain carbon steels without any alloying elements.

Low alloy steels with total alloying elements less than
10%

High alloy steels with total alloying elements more than
10%
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Effects of different elements in steel

Carbon Carbon imparts hardness &
hardenability to the steel. Increase in carbon
increases tensile strength but at the same time
decreases ductility.
Sulphur Increasing content of sulphur causes the
steel to become brittle & introduces hot
shortness (cracking during hot working). It is
generally controlled below 0.05%. Higher sulphur
up to 0.15% is observed only in free cutting steels
which are usually denoted by symbol M.

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Phosphorous This is also controlled below

0.05%. Higher percentage causes brittleness in
steel.
Manganese Manganese increases the toughness
of steel. Its main function is to nullify the
detrimental effects of sulphur by the formation
of MnS. Manganese in excess of 2% makes the
steel brittle.
Silicon Silicon is added in the steel during steel
making for deoxidation and is usually 0.1- 0.3%.

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Nickel Nickel increases the strength of steel

without decreasing the ductility. Hence it
increases the impact strength of steel especially
at lower temperatures. Its addition is usually
between 1.5 to 5 %. Nickel in excess of 8% makes
the steel resistant to oxidation at high
temperature & corrosion. It is therefore used in
stainless steels.

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Chromium Chromium increases hardness, wear

resistance and hardenability of the steel. It is
usually present up to 2% in general engineering
steels. Chromium in higher percentage makes the
steel resistant to high temperature oxidation &
corrosion. It is therefore present in stainless steels
in excess of 12%.
Molybdenum

Molybdenum
increases
hardenability, hardness, wear resistance &
nullifies the bad effects of chromium (temper
embrittlement). It usually always accompanies
chromium & in the percentage up to 0.5.
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Types & applications of steels

Plain low carbon steels These are usually known as
structural steels. They have good weldability & are
used mostly for fabricated structures. Examples are
the typical grades like Fe410, SA580 used for
fabricated casings, pressure vessels.
Low carbon low alloy steels- This is a widely used
variety for carburizing hardening applications. They
develop a high surface hardness due to case
carburizing & a tough core due to alloy content.
Examples are the grades 20MnCr5, SAE 8620, EN353
etc. used for gears, pinions, gudgeon pins etc.

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Medium plain carbon steels These steels are

less expensive & develop a good strength in small
sections when heat treated. The examples are the
grades EN8, EN9, C45 etc. used for variety of
applications like fasteners, dowels, small shafts
etc. Many times these steels are used in
toughened & induction hardened condition
which provides a wear resistant surface & a tough
core.

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Medium carbon low alloy steel This is perhaps

the most widely used category of steel. A wide
range of mechanical properties can be achieved
in any section with proper combination of
chemistry & heat treatment. The examples are the
grades like EN19, EN24, EN26 etc. used for shafts,
gears, crankshafts, connecting rods etc.

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High alloy steels These include tool steels &

stainless steel. In stainless steel there are three
varieties
Ferritic stainless steels

Martensitic stainless steels, which can be hardened
& tempered & have a moderate resistance to
corrosion e.g. AISI 410, EN56

Austenitic stainless steel which contain high nickel,
are non magnetic & have very good resistance to
corrosion & high temperature oxidation e.g. AISI
304,310 etc. Used in valves, heat treatment fixtures.

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Some components made of steel

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Cast Iron

Cast iron is a group of ferrous alloys which

contains carbon between 2.3 3.75%C. Besides
Mn, S & P other alloying elements like Cu, Ni, Cr,
Mg may also be added to achieve desired
microstructure & properties.
The peculiarity of cast iron is that, in cast iron the
carbon exists both as graphite or free carbon
and as combined carbon.

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The microstructure of the carbon contains two

parts viz. Graphite & Matrix. The cast iron is
therefore sometimes named as graphite in steel
matrix.

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The properties of cast iron directly depend upon

amount, shape, size & distribution of graphite &
the constituents of matrix i.e. pearlite, ferrite etc.
By properly controlling the casting practice i.e.
cooling rate, inoculations and with additions of some
alloying elements a variety of microstructures can
be obtained in cast iron. This is the reason why
most of the standards leave the chemical
composition at the manufacturers discretion &
only specify the mechanical properties.

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Types of cast irons & applications

Depending on the graphite shape the cast iron

is divided in two categories

Grey cast iron (F. G. Iron) in which graphite
exists in the form of flakes.

Nodular cast iron (S. G. Iron) in which
graphite exists in the form of nodules.

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Gray cast iron

Due to the flake shape of graphite these cast irons
have a moderate strength, low ductility & low
impact strength. These irons are specified on the
basis of the minimum ultimate tensile strength
required on the test piece e.g. FG260 (260MPa),
FG300 (300MPa) etc.
To achieve the properties the microstructure is
controlled in such a way as to get the graphite
flakes of type A & the matrix containing
pearlite & ferrite. More the amount of pearlite,
more is the strength.

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In spite of the limitations of mechanical properties

Gray cast iron is a very popular grade since it is
cheapest, easiest to cast, has excellent
machinability & excellent capacity to damp the
vibrations. Very intricate shapes can be cast due
to its excellent castability. It is widely used for
variety of applications like casings, cylinder
blocks, covers, structural parts etc.

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Some components of gray cast iron

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S G Iron
S G Iron or nodular iron is also known as ductile iron. Due
to the spheroidal shape of the graphite these irons possess
good tensile strength, ductility & impact strength. These
are considered to be intermediate between cast irons &
steel.
Depending on the matrix they are classified as ferritic,
pearlitic or ferrito-pearlitic.
These irons are specified on the basis of minimum UTS or
YS & elongation e.g. 400/15, 700/2, SNG 42/2 etc. Some
grades are also specified for low temperature impact
properties e.g. 400/18 LT.

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S G iron is widely used to replace steels

for many applications since it can give a
good
strength
with
ease
of
manufacturing, better machinability and
lighter weight. The major examples
include crankshafts, connecting rods,
gear casings.

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Some components of S G Iron

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Material standards
For every material there exists a standard.
Based on country of origin, the standards can be
categorized as Indian standards (IS), American
standards (AISI, ASTM), British standards (BS),
European standard (EN), German standard
(DIN).
Besides this ISO (International Standards
Organization) also publishes there own material
standards.

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European standards
The Committee of European Nations for standard has
created the EN (European Norms) standards which is
to replace the individual national standards of the
member countries like UK, Germany, Italy etc.
This is not to be confused with the En materials of
British standard BS 970.
All the materials covered under these standards have a
unique material number. It is therefore easy to
correlate the materials even if the designation is
changed. E.g. 17CrNiMo6 of DIN17210 is designated as
18CrNiMo7-6 in EN10084 but the material number
remains the same i.e. 1.6587
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Indian Standards
Various Indian standards are available for materials under
different categories e.g. carburizing steels, steels in the
forms of bars, structural steels, steel castings, cast iron,
antifriction bearing materials etc.
These standards are published by Bureau of Indian
Standards i.e. BIS and are available at very moderate
prices.
BIS regularly keeps on revising or reaffirming these
standards. The revision status can be confirmed from the
periodical catalogues published by BIS.
As decided by KPCL engineering, only the latest revision of
these standards are to be referred.
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American standards
The popular American standards are AISI (American Iron &
Steel Institute), SAE (Society for Automotive Engineers), ASTM
(American Society for Testing of Materials) & ASME (American
Society of Mechanical Engineers).
The AISI & SAE standards use almost similar system of
designation in which first two digits indicate a particular group
of steel & last two or three digits indicate the average carbon
content. E.g. SAE8620 indicates a low Ni-Cr-Mo steel with
average carbon content of 0.20 %.
ASTM and ASME standards specify the materials with reference
to service applications. ASME selects particular standards &
grades from ASTM & uses them with prefix S. E.g. ASTM A106 is
ASME SA106.

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3. Material Testing

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Purposes of material testing

To confirm the
compliance against
specifications.
The three main
Failure analysis
reasons why we
test a material are - Reverse engineering

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Testing may be performed on

Raw material

In process components

Finished components

Representative test piece
In case of components, the stage, size & shape
of component will decide the tests that can be
conducted.

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The routine tests performed to evaluate a material are
Chemical Testing

Mechanical testing Tensile Testing
-Impact testing
-Hardness testing

Microscopy

Non destructive testing VT, PT, MT, RT, UT,
Eddy current testing

Each of these test method is covered by some

standard.

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Chemical testing
There are two major methods of chemical analysis

Wet analysis, using burr or chips from the raw material or
from the components by using volumetric, gravimetric or
electrolytic methods. These are time consuming methods &
the accuracy depends to some extent on personal skills.
Some standards that cover wet analysis methods are
EN10036, IS 228 etc.

Spectrometric analysis, using a piece of min. 20 mm dia. &
10 mm thickness taken from raw material or component.
These methods are fast and more accurate. The standards
that cover Spectrometric methods are ASTM E1009,ASTM
E1251 etc.

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Tensile testing
Tensile test is performed to determine ultimate tensile
strength (UTS), Yield strength (YS) & ductility in terms of
% elongation & % reduction in area.
In tensile test a standard sized test piece is prepared from
the sample.
The main important parameters for this test piece are
diameter & gauge length which is proportional to the
diameter.
Tensile testing is covered by IS 1608, EN 10002 & ASTM
A370.

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IS 1608 & EN10002 are similar & can be used

interchangeably.
ASTM A370 is different from the above two. The test pieces
as per IS & EN have there gauge length 5 times the
diameter i.e.
GL = 5D
Whereas for A370 GL = 4D
This affects the value of elongation obtained & the
elongations in both the cases are not comparable.
Hence ASTM A370 should be used only when the material
tested pertains to American standards i.e. ASTM or AISI or
when specified.
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A typical tensile test piece

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Tensile testing procedure

Tensile testing is carried out with Universal Testing
Machine i.e. UTM.
Gauge length is marked on the test piece.
The test piece is held between the grips of the machine &
load is applied till the test piece breaks.
The load at Yield point & maximum load before fracture
are noted.
The broken pieces are joined & the distance between
gauge marks is measured.
The diameter at the lowest cross section in the necked
portion is measured.

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Tensile testing set-up

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Test piece during testing

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The results are calculated as follows1. Y S = Yield Load/ Original cross sectional area
2. UTS = Max. load / Original cross sectional area
3. % E = [(Final gauge length-Original gauge
length)/ Original gauge length] x 100
4. %RA = [(Original c/s area- Final c/s area)/
Original c/s area ] x 100

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Impact testing

Impact testing is carried out to evaluate the

behavior of a material under a high strain rate
(shock loading), in the presence of a notch &
at a particular temperature.
For this a test piece is made from the material
to be tested with particular dimension usually
10mmx10mmx55mm length & a notch of
shape U or V is made at the centre. The depth
of notch is usually 2 mm but could be different
according to the standards used.
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Impact testing procedure

The test piece is kept on the anvil of impact tester & is
subject to the swing of the pendulum of the tester.
The energy absorbed by the specimen before it
fractures is indicated by the tester & is considered to
be the impact strength of the material. It is expressed
in Joules & depending on the type of notch it is
denoted as KV or KU.
Three numbers of specimens are to be tested in this
way & the KV or KU value is reported as the average
of the three readings

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Impact test set-up

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Typical Charpy impact test piece

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Unless & otherwise specified, the impact testing

is carried out at room temperature but many
material standards specify the testing at
subzero temperature or temperatures higher
than room temperature.
The impact testing is covered by the standards
EN10045 & IS 1757 & ASTM A370.
Variety of impact tests like Charpy V /U, ISO
V/U, Izod, DVM are carried out with variations
in dimensions & notch of test piece.
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4. Certificate review

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Before reviewing a certificate.

Before reviewing a certificate one
must have the reference document
with him .
Rememberthe
certificate
is
always reviewed against the
specified requirements.

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A reference document may be.

The engineering drawing.
An approved drawing or datasheet from the
supplier.
A TDC (Technical Delivery Conditions) document
prepared for the particular component.
A QAP (Quality Assurance Plan) between supplier
& KPCL or between KPCL & customer.
A national or international standard.
Correspondence between KPCL & supplier.
All of above or a combination.
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The things to look for.

Certificate number & date.
Reference to KPCL requirements e.g. drawing no. &
revision, TDC or QAP etc.
Identification & traceability details e.g. serial nos., heat
no., batch code etc.
Whether the testing is carried out by the supplier
(whether the supplier has the said facility) or
outsourced to external agency (whether the agency is
approved or reputed)?
Is the certificate properly authenticated with sign &
seal?
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Technical side of the certificate.

Start from the material grade mentioned on the
certificates. Does it match with the reference
document(s) mentioned previously?
Whether all the tests as required by the reference
document(s) conducted? (For this try to study as
many material standards as possible in spare time)
Is the testing carried out as per the standard? e.g. IS
1608, ASTM A 370 etc.
Are the specified values considered in line with the
requirements of reference document(s)?

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Care to be taken.
Do not just rely upon the remark on the
certificate. Check all the test parameters &
results yourself.
Check for any errors in calculations.
Do not leave anything ununderstood.
After the review is complete, put the remark as
reviewed & found OK/not OK & sign.

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In case of any nonconformance or

discrepancies.
Write a mail to the concerned buyer describing
the nonconformance & discrepancies clearly.
The subject field shall mention the reference to
the case e.g. Nonconformance observed in
crossheads XXXXX supplied by XYZ.
Mention all the details of supply like drawing
no., GRR no., GRR date, quantity, supplier name,
and nature of nonconformance with reference
to the document referred.

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A copy of the mail shall be marked to your

superior & to all the involved internal people
e.g. your colleague working on the same job or
metallurgy laboratory.

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Thank You!!!

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