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Microstructure of Metals

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Microstructure of Metals

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chiniahdivish31
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Microstructure of

metals
Robin Ramsamy
12.02.4
Metal Technology

• A useful starting point in the study of the structure of


metals is to consider the structure of the atom
Atoms

• Atoms consist of three basic particles:


protons, electrons, and neutrons. The
nucleus (center) of the atom contains
the protons (positively charged) and the
neutrons (no charge). The outermost
regions of the atom are called electron
shells and contain the electrons
(negatively charged).
Ionic Bond

Bonding in Covalent Bond


Materials
Van der Waal’s Forces

Metallic Bond
Ionic crystals are bound
together by the electrostatic
attraction between the positive
and negative ions.
Ionic Bond
Ionic bonds are strong and such
crystals are fairly strong with a
high melting point.
A covalent bond consists of a pair of
shared electrons between
neighbouring atoms.

Covalent For e.g the carbon atom has four


valency electrons, and the hydrogen
Bond atom has one valency electron

Thus one carbon atom will combine


with four hydrogen atoms to form a
total of eight valency electrons
Van der Waal’s Forces
These are weak surfaces forces which often exist between the long chain
molecules of polymers

The attractive forces between molecules is due to entirely to their


proximity and not to any chemical bond.

Since these forces are weak the chains can slide readily over one another,
as they do in thermoplastics materials
Metallic Bond

• Metal crystals consist of positive


ions arranged on a regular lattice
structure immersed in a ‘cloud’
of free electrons
• The electrons of this cloud are
not bound to any ion but move
rapidly through the metal in
such a way that an
approximately uniform density is
maintained
Metallic space
lattices – three
main types
• Face centred cubic – FCC
• Body centred cubic - BCC
• Hexagonal close – packed

They represent the smallest


unit of the crystalline metallic
structure. It is usual in such
diagrams to represent atoms as
solid spheres and to ignore the
atomic structure
• If a pure metal is melted and the temperature
recorded and plottedat various intervals during
Crystallisation of Metals cooling, the cooling curve for that metal is obtained
Crystallisation of metals
• Solidification or crystallization commences by the formation of small
‘nuclei’ scattered at random in the cooling liquid
• Microstructure are material structures seen
at the micro level. Specifically, they are
structures of an object, organism, or
material as revealed by a microscope at
magnifications greater than 25 times.
Definition
• When typically mentioned, the
microstructure are defects, impurities,
grains, and grain boundary.
The following pictures are examples of microstructure that result from
specific material processing.
A material’s • Composite
microstructure • Metallic
can be • Ceramic
classified into • Polymeric
the following:
Corrosion
This can
immensely Wear resistance
affect
properties that Hardness
determine the
application of Ductility
materials, like: Toughness
The structure of a material can be
described through its microstructure
and crystal structure.

The crystal structure is used to refer to


Microstructure the average atom positions throughout
the cells

Microstructure describes a certain


material’s appearance in terms of
nanometer- to centimeter-length scale.
Microstructure can be viewed under a wide range of
techniques in microscopy. The microstructure features of
materials may differ tremendously when seen at
dissimilar length scales. Therefore, it is vital to consider
the length scale of every observation when illustrating
the material’s microstructure.

The idea behind microstructure is highly relatable to the


average person through the macrostructural features of
common objects. For instance, in galvanized steel, like in
a road divider or lamp casing, it appears to be an evenly
colored structure, but upon closer examination it can be
seen that it is composed of interlocking polygons with
varying shades such as silver and gray.
• Every polygon is described as a zinc
crystal holding onto the steel surface
beneath. Lead and zinc are two metals
that have crystals large enough to be
seen by the naked eye. The crystals are
generally unworked and unstressed,
growing in various directions and are not
prone to deforming stress. Larger
crystals, as can be observed in the
microstructure, indicate lower strengths,
but high ductility.
• Metallography is the study of metals and alloys,
primarily their structures. The application of
metallography mainly includes observation,
often via microscopy, to determine the metal's
What Does chemical and atomic structure, and the
distribution of the components or the phases.
Metallography
• The metallographic analysis process is used
Mean? to identify metals or alloys, as well as the
various identifying characteristics
associated with a given metallic substance.
Such properties range from grain size and
grain growth to inter-metallic phase
microstructure.
How to prepare a piece for a microstructure
analysis
• The surface of a metallographic specimen is prepared by various
methods of grinding, polishing, and etching. After preparation, it is
often analyzed using optical or electron microscopy. Using only
metallographic techniques, a skilled technician can identify alloys and
predict material properties.

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