BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY IN MECHANICAL/IRRIGATION ENGINEERING
EMT 2215 MATERIAL SCIENCE II
Answer all Questions
1. Gold is used to make some jewellery. Explain why gold is used to make jewellery (1 marks)
2. Define the following terms (1 marks)
a) Alloys
b) Bronze
c) Brass
3. State 4 classifications of ferrous alloys (2 marks)
4. Iron and aluminium occur in the Earth’s crust as their oxides. Different methods are used to extract iron and
aluminium from their oxides. Explain, in terms of the position of the metal in the reactivity series and the
cost of the extraction processes, why iron and aluminium are extracted by different methods (1 marks)
5. Pure metal can be converted into alloys. In many cases alloys are more useful than pure metals, for example
they are stronger. Gold alloys, stainless steel and nitinol are examples of useful alloys. Describe how alloying
improves the usefulness of metals and how strength is increased in terms of structure. You may use diagrams
to help your answer (1 marks)
6. Using a flow chart, describe the production of aluminium (2 marks)
7. Describe two types of steel alloys (1 marks)
8. A 1.51 kg sample of -brass contains 0.4501 kg of Zn, and the rest is Cu. The atomic weight of copper is 63
and zinc 64.5. Write down the concentration of copper in -brass, in wt%, WCu. Find the concentrations of
copper and zinc in the -brass, in at%, XCu and XZn (2 marks).
9. A steel alloy is quenched from a temperature within the austenite phase region into water at room temperature
so as to form martensite; the alloy is subsequently tempered at an elevated temperature which is held constant.
(a) Make a schematic plot showing how room-temperature ductility varies with the logarithm of tempering
time at the elevated temperature. (Be sure to label your axes.) (2 marks)
(b) Superimpose and label on this same plot the room-temperature behavior resulting from tempering at a
higher temperature and briefly explain the difference in behavior between these two temperatures. (2 marks)
10. It is known that the kinetics of recrystallization for some alloy obey the Avrami equation, and that the value
of n in the exponential is 5.0. If, at some temperature, the fraction recrystallized is 0.30 after 100 min,
determine the rate of recrystallization at this temperature. (2 marks)
11. (a) Briefly describe the phenomena of superheating and supercooling. (b) Why do these phenomena occur?
(2 marks)
12. Briefly explain why fine pearlite is harder and stronger than coarse pearlite, which in turn is harder and
stronger than spheroidite. (2 marks)
13. Cite two reasons why martensite is so hard and brittle. (1 marks)
14. Briefly describe the microstructural difference between spheroidite and tempered martensite. (1 mark)
15. Name four different types of steels and, for each, cite compositional differences, distinctive properties, and
typical uses. Name the five cast iron types and, for each (2 marks)
16. Name seven different types of nonferrous alloys and, for each, cite its distinctive physical and mechanical
characteristics. In addition, list at least three typical applications. (2 marks)
17. Name and describe four forming operations that are used to shape metal alloys. (2 marks)
18. Name and describe five casting techniques. State the purposes of and describe procedures for the following
heat treatments: (2 marks)
a) process annealing,
b) stress relief annealing,
c) normalizing,
c) full annealing, and
19. Discuss whether it would be advisable to hot work or cold work the following metals and alloys on the basis
of melting temperature, oxidation resistance, yield strength, and degree of brittleness: platinum,
molybdenum, lead, 304 stainless steel, and copper. (2 marks)
20. Cite three sources of internal residual stresses in metal components. What are two possible adverse
consequences of these stresses? (2 marks)
