SMK METHODIST (ACS) KAMPAR

Alloys
Chapter 8

NAME : AMANJIT SINGH CLASS: 4 SCIENCE 1 TEACHER: MISS THATCHANI

DEFINITION OF ALLOY
A mixture containing two or more metallic elements or metallic and non-metallic elements usually fused together or dissolving into each other when molten; For example, brass is an alloy of zinc and copper. Simply put, alloys are actually a mixture of two or more metals. There is a wide coverage of elements which can be found in the Periodic Table. For instance, calcium (Ca) and potassium (K) are metals. We can even have alloy that includes a small amount of non-metallic elements like Carbon(C). The main concept of alloy is that they are better at something than any of the metal which are single. Metallurgists (people who work with metals) sometimes add chromium (Cr) or nickel (Ni) to steel in order to increase its strength. Although steel is already an alloy which is a very strong metal, the addition of small amounts of the other metals prevents the steel from rusting. Depending on what metal is added, we can create galvanized steel or what we know as stainless steel. It is always improving specific qualities of the original. Another good example of an alloy happens when metallurgists add carbon (C) to steel. A small amount of carbon (a non-metallic element) makes the steel even stronger. These special carbon-steel alloys are used in armor plating and weapons during olden days. Lets take Amalgams as an example of alloy. Amalgam is a special type of alloy. We like them because we think that mercury (Hg) is a cool element. You might know mercury as "quicksilver" which exist in the form of liquid at room temperature. Anyway, an amalgam is an alloy with a mixture of mercury (50% of the total content), silver (22-32%), tin (14%), copper (8%), and other trace metals. The most common place you may have seen amalgams is in old dental work. The

fillings in the mouths of your grandparents may have been amalgams. That physical trait was used when they made fillings. Let's say you have an amalgam of mercury (Hg) and silver (Ag). When it is created, it is very soft. As time passes, the mercury leaves the amalgam and the silver remains. The silver that is left is very hard. At the end of the product is a filling. PRECAUTION: Never ever play with mercury! It is very poisonous metal. You shouldn't even touch it because it will seep into your skin. Dentists don't usually use amalgams with mercury anymore because it has side effects.

History of Alloys
Alloys were first used in 2500 B.C. (Bronze Age) by the ancient Sumerians. They found out that that the blending of copper and tin produces bronze, an alloy which was much stronger than copper and did not lose its edge during use at that time. Other alloys were soon discovered, such as steel, where iron smelted at high temperature with charcoal to combine carbon atoms into its crystalline structure. As time passes, more and more types of elements and variation of alloys were discovered.

Structure of Metals
Metal atoms are arranged in the form of groups of crystals that are packed together. Between these crystalline groups are gaps. Metals can be bent or deformed. It is because the atoms in the crystalline groups will slide and roll over each other when stress is placed on the metal. The size of the crystal grains (and the metal's physical characteristics) can be changed by giving the metal to heat, hammering and controlled cooling.

COMPARISON OF ARRANGEMENT OF METALS AND ARRANGEMENT OF ALLOYS

a) As we can see from the picture beside, this is the arrangement of atoms in a pure metal. It is a regular and organized closed-packed pure metal

b) This happens if force is applied on a pure metal. Pure metals are soft owing to the arrangement of atoms which enable the layer of particles to slide over each other whenever an external force is applied on the pure metal. This makes the metal ductile and they can be stretched to form long wires.

c) Unlike alloy, pure metals have imperfection in the natural arrangement of metal atoms. We can see that there are gaps or empty spaces exist in the structure of pure metals. When the pure metals are subjected to hammering or pressed, the groups of metal atoms will slide into new position in these gaps. This makes the pure metal malleable. For instance, we are able to create various types of shapes of metals or being pressed into thin sheets.

d) There is a bit of difference in this picture. We can see that there are 2 types of metals present in the picture above. This is what we know as alloy. We can see that metal B (foreign metal) is used to fill the gaps of metal A. These happens when the alloy hardens after the process of alloying, the position of some atoms are replaced by the atoms of the foreign metal, which maybe bigger or smaller. Hence, the layers of metal atoms are prevented from sliding over each other easily. This makes the alloy harder and stronger, less ductile and malleable compared to pure metal

TYPES OF ALLOYS COMMONLY USED

Alloys of magnesium Alloys of aluminium Alloys of potassium Alloys of iron Alloys of cobalt Alloys of nickel Alloys of copper Alloys of gallium Alloys of silver Alloys of tin Rare earth alloys Alloys of gold Alloys of mercury Alloys of lead Alloys of bismuth Alloys of zirconium

USAGE OF ALLOY IN DAILY LIFE

Lets take coins as an example because coin is an alloy which is widely used in our lives. During olden days, coins were widely used for transactions. The traditional coin making metals such as gold, silver and copper have become far too expensive to make coins out of where the value of a coin is no longer determined by the metal which was made of. Alloys are much cheaper, more durable and frequently much lighter than the traditional materials. Silver was largely dropped from coin minting after the end of World War 2 and was replaced with a copper/nickel alloy giving a silvery appearance. Today, we make coins out of alloys which is more reliable.

ADVANTAGES OF ALLOYING
Moreover, alloying helps to increase the hardness and strength of a metal. For instance, the addition of a small amount of carbon (C) to iron (Fe) metal produces steel which is very tough alloy of iron. Adding magnesium (Mg) to aluminium (Al) produces an alloy what we know as magnalium. Magnalium is much more stronger in terms of hardness but still maintains the low density of aluminium metal. The usage of magnalium is used to create the body of an air plane owing to its hardness compared to aluminium. Other than that, alloying helps to prevent corrosion of metals. It is because pure metal like tin and iron are easily affected by the moisture, polluted and acidic air which leads to corrosion or rusting. But the pure metals can avoid corrosion by addition of other element like metal or nonmetal.

Besides that, alloying helps to improve the appearance of the metal. As we know, metals are easily tarnished due to the formation metal oxides on the metal surface itself. This side effects can be avoided by alloying which can maintain the lustre on the surface of the metal. For instance, stainless steel. Stainless steel has a better shiny surface compared to iron itself. Adding a small amount of copper and antimony to tin produces the alloy pewter, which is shinier and harder, and it is not easily tarnished.

THE COMPOSITION, PROPERTIES AND USES OF SOME COMMON ALLOYS Alloys

Carbon Steel Composition 99% iron 1% carbon

Properties
Hard strong and

Uses
In construction of building bridges In making of and

tools, framework of heavy

machinery and as well as the body of the vehicle Stainless steel 74% iron 18% chromium 8% nickel Shiny Strong Resist rusting In the making of cutlery kitchenware In the making of machine and parts surgical and

instruments Bronze 90% copper 10% tin Hard Strong Shiny In the making of kitchenware and ships propellers In the making of decorative ornaments

Brass

70% copper 30% zinc

Hard Shiny

In the making of electrical connectors musical instruments and

In the making of kitchenware and decorative ornaments

Magnalium

70% aluminium 30% magnesium

Light Hard Strong

In the making of aircraft frames body

In the making of rims and racing car tyres

Duralumin

95% aluminium 3% copper 1% magnesium 1% manganese

Light Hard Strong

In the making of the bodies of

aircraft and bullet trains In the making of racing bicycles,

fan blades and light cable. electrical

Pewter

97% tin 3% copper and antimony

Lustrous Strong

In the making of mugs, candlesticks, decorative ornaments souvenirs and

Solder

50% lead 50% tin

Hard Shiny Low melting point

In the making of solder electrical and wires

and metal pipes

Cupro-nickel

copper;

nickel

Hard Shiny Resist corrosion

To make coins of 10 cent, 20 cent and 50 cent.

(percentage according to the colour)