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MSc in Mat Sci Programme

MME6702 Physical Metallurgy Principles (3.00)

Core Course
October 2024 Semester

MME6702 Physical Metallurgy Principles

(For MSc in Mat Sci Programme)

A. K. M. Bazlur Rashid Lecture 01

Professor, Dept. of Materials and Metallurgical Eng.
Bangladesh Univ. of Eng. and Tech., Dhaka-1000 Introduction

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Lecture Outcome (LO)

At the end of this lecture, students should be able to

1. describe the scope of physical metallurgy,
2. explain, using examples, the structure-processing-properties-performance
relation of materials, and
3. describe the scope, COs and CLOs of the course MME6702.

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Part 1
Scope of physical metallurgy

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1. Introduction to Physical Metallurgy

❑ Metals have always played a very dominant role in the development of mankind.
• archeologists refer to a bronze age and an iron age in their classification of the stages in man’s
development.

❑ This dominant role is particularly true for the industrialization of the past 120 years
that has so drastically changed our daily lives from those of our great
grandfathers and grandmothers.
• this critical dependence upon metals is also obvious when one walks through any industrial
plant, be it chemical, mechanical, electronic, nuclear, or whatever, or even in his home.

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❑ Consider the following items that we take for granted, which were unknown
in the homes of our great grandparents of the nineteenth century:
• Plumbing systems
• Wiring and electric lights
• Electric stoves
• Refrigerators Washers and driers
• Dishwashers and garbage disposals
• Furnace and ducts (or pipes)
• Radio and TV
• Aluminium window frames
• Air conditioners

❑ At some point in all these items, metals fulfil a critical role so that it would be very
difficult and frequently impossible to produce them without the use of metals.

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❑ The design engineer selects those materials that have the desired physical
properties and are the most economical.

❑ There are essentially three main physical properties possessed by metals that
account for their key role in man’s development. These are:
1. Formability. Notice that practically all the metal objects that you use have been
mechanically shaped. Only about 20% are used directly in their as-cast form.
2. Strength without brittleness. Many materials, such as glass, are very strong but also
extremely brittle. Hence, one would never dream of designing an airplane wing out of glass
even though its yield strength is over 7 times higher than our best aluminium alloys.
3. Electrical and magnetic properties. The relatively low electrical resistivity of metals and
the magnetization of the ferrous metals are the key properties here.

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❑ Physical Metallurgy is the part of metallurgical science, which deals with the effect
of the atomic arrangement and the microstructure of the metals and alloys upon
their physical properties.

❑ The microstructure evolves through different thermal, thermo-mechanical or

thermochemical treatments, which are applied to the metal at the solid state.

❑ One may broadly summarize these relationships as in the following table.

Influence of Atomic Influence of

Physical Property
Arrangement and Defect Microstructure
Mechanical (Strength; Ductility) Very strong Very strong
Electrical and thermal (Resistivity; Magnetisation;
Slight Slight to strong
Thermal conductivity)
Chemical (Corrosive resistance; Catalytic potential) Slight Slight to moderate

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❑ So, it is seen that through the selection of the atomic arrangement and the
microstructure one may exercise some control over all the physical properties
of a metal, particularly its mechanical properties.

❑ The metallurgist can exercise control over atomic arrangement and

microstructure through such processes as casting, working, and heat treatment.

❑ A major goal of this course is to provide the theoretical base that allows one to
understand how and why these processes control the atomic arrangement and
microstructure in the way they do.

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Part 2
Structure-Processing-Properties relation

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2. Structure-Processing-Properties Relation

• behavior of material in a particular

Performance application
❑ The central issue in physical • often judged by measuring properties
metallurgy is the correlation and then comparing them with standard
values required for the application
between processing, structure
• arrangement of internal
and properties of engineering components
alloys. • subatomic Structure Properties
• atomic
• material characteristics
❑ This is commonly known as • microscopic
• response to external stimulus
the materials tetrahedron. • macroscopic (bulk)
Processing • mechanical, electrical, thermal,
magnetic, optical, deteriorative
• synthesis of material
• production of object using material

The Materials Tetrahedron 11/30

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What are structures?

❑ The internal conditions of materials Atomic Structure

❑ Relates to how a material is put together • Arrangement of atoms or molecules in materials

• Material with the same atom can have different
❑ It has many dimensions….
properties (e.g., two forms of carbon: graphite
and diamond)
Macroscopic Structure • When the atoms are arranged in 3D space,
these are then called crystal structures
• Structural elements that may be viewed
with the naked eye
Electronic or Sub-atomic Structure
Microscopic Structure • Electronic structure of individual atoms
• Groups of atoms agglomerated together to form grains (electrons and nucleus) that defines interaction
among atoms (interatomic bonding)
• Gives different properties
(e.g., strength, optical properties, etc.) 12/30

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Example of structures: Steel hammer head

26P
Macrostructure 30N
(or, shape) of the hammer
Crystal structure
of the hammer head
(Iron has a body-centred cubic (BCC) crystal
structure at room temperature)
Ferrite grains Electronic structure
of iron that make the hammer
Pearlite grains
(The 2 electrons in the outer shell are not
tightly held. This allows iron to form metallic
Grain boundary bonds with long-range crystal structure, and
to conduct electricity)
Microstructure
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of 0.38 wt.% carbon steel hammer head

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Optical (light) microscopes can magnify Microstructure of steel (0.8% C)

images x 500 -1000
(0.01 mm = 1 cm).
Can view objects like
• single cell organisms
• microstructure of metals and ceramics

Optical Microscope Microstructure of brass (70Cu-30Zn)

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Carbon nanotube

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

Electron microscopes use focused electrons instead of light

(developed in 1920s-1960s)
• Can magnify at least 100,000 - 10,000,000 (1 nm = 1 cm) !!
• Reveals smaller-scale structure of materials
(atomic-scale structure and defects) Image of pollen grains
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Electron diffraction pattern

Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)

Offer the most powerful magnification, potentially over one million

times or more.
• Use focused transmitted electron beam to create high
magnification images of the internal structure of a sample.
• This can be used to gather information on crystalline structures,
TEM micrograph of Al-Cu alloy
stress, internal fractures, contamination, and more. 16/30
showing CuAl2 precipitates

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Bragg’s law

X-Ray Diffractometer Intensity (Relative)

XRD is a non-destructive test method used to

analyze the structure of crystalline materials.
• Commonly used to identify the crystalline phases
and determine the residual stress present in a
material.
Diffraction angle, 2
X-ray pattern 17/30

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Logarithmic scale of structures

size, m

10-12
Atomic structure Angstrom (Å)
= 1/10,000,000,000 meter = 10-10 m
X-ray & neutron diffraction Nanometre (nm)
Crystal structure 10-9
= 1/1,000,000,000 meter = 10-9 m

Transmission electron Micrometre (μm)

= 1/1,000,000 meter = 10-6 m
10-6 microscopy
Microstructure Millimetre (mm)
= 1/1,000 meter = 10-3 m
Scanning electron microscopy
10-3

Macrostructure Optical microscopy

10-0

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Use of materials with improper microstructure

Failure

Oil tanker fracture in brittle manner Tay bridge failure in Scotland

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What are properties? ❑ Virtually most of the important properties of solid

materials may be grouped into six different categories:

• Mechanical properties – response to mechanical forces

(elastic modulus, strength, ductility, etc.)
❑ Properties are the material • Electrical properties – response electrical fields
traits (distinguishing features) (conductivity, dielectric constant, etc.)
indicating the ways the material • Magnetic properties – response magnetic fields
responds to the environment (magnetization, permeability, etc.)
and external forces. • Thermal properties – related to transmission of heat
(heat capacity, thermal conductivity, etc.)
• Optical properties – related to the absorption, transmission and
scattering of electromagnetic or light radiation
(refraction index, reflectivity, etc.)
• Chemical stability – related to the reactivity with the environment
(corrosion resistance, etc.)
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What are processing?

❑ In addition to structure and properties,
two other important components are
involved in the science and engineering
of materials — namely, processing and Metal Forming (Rolling)
performance. Metal Casting

• Composition - chemical make-up

of material.
• Synthesis - process by which
materials are made from naturally
occurring or other chemicals.
• Processing - ways of shaping
materials into useful components or
changing their properties. Powder Sintering

• Performance - accomplishment
relative to stated goals or objectives. Injection Moulding 21/30

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Application of materials tetrahedron to automotive steels chassis

A: Compositions
Performance / Cost • Iron-based? Aluminium-based?
• What is the • What alloying element should be used?
strength-to-density ratio? • What quantities?
• What is the formability?
• How does this relate to the crashworthiness of the vehicle?
• What is the cost of fabrication?

B: Microstructure
• What features of structure
limit strength and C: Synthesis and Processing
formability? • How can steelmaking be controlled to provide
• What controls the strength? a high level of toughness and formability?
• How can aerodynamic car chassis be formed?
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Structure – processing – properties: Example

From structures to properties

Polycrystalline with 5% Porosity

(Opaque)
Composed of many small, interconnected
crystals and a large number of very
small pores or void spaces, which
Single Crystal (Transparent) effectively scatter all the reflected light
Composed of single crystal (a high and render this material opaque.
degree of perfection) — which gives
rise to its transparency. Polycrystalline (Translucent)
Composed of numerous and very small single crystals
that are all connected (making a fully dense material); the
boundaries between these small crystals scatter a portion
of the light reflected from the printed page, which makes
this material optically translucent. 23/30

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From processing to structure

Old grain structure

New small,
elongated grains

During rolling operation, the grains of material are deformed During casting, the liquid metal cools from three
and become elongated along the rolling direction, which imparts directions and grains of uniform shape are created,
directional, or anisotropic properties to the material. which imparts non-directional, or isotropic properties
to the material.
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From processing to property

Processing → Property trade-offs !

(e.g., strength tends to be inverse of ductility)

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MME6702 Physical Metallurgy Principles

A Core Course for MSc in Mat Sci Programme

Course Content (As approved by the Academic Council):

Introduction. Atomic bonds. Crystal structure and crystallization of metals. Crystal
defects, dislocation, and deformation. Solid solutions. Binary phase equilibrium
diagrams. Iron and iron carbide thermal equilibrium diagram. Phase transformations.
Nucleation and growth theory. Heat treatment of steels and cast irons. Strengthening
mechanisms in solids. Surface hardening. Non-ferrous alloys and their heat-treatment.
Structure property relationship in steels and other alloys.

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Course Learning Outcomes (CLO)

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

To explain the basis of atomic bonding and crystal structures,

CO1 CL3
and relate them with the properties of metallic materials,

To discuss phase diagrams and examine their role in controlling microstructures,

CO2 CL4
properties, and selection of metals and alloys for an intended application, and

To explain the fundamentals of phase transformations and analyze their effects

CO3 CL4
on microstructure and properties of ferrous and nonferrous alloys.

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Brief Lecture Format

(All lectures are about 90 minutes in duration)
11-16 Phase Diagrams
[1] Constitutions of alloys; [2] Introduction, classification and
1 Introduction construction of phase diagrams; [3] Interpretation of phase
diagrams and development of structures; [4] Tutorials on phase
[1] Scope of MSE; [2] Structure-Processing-Properties-Performance
diagram; [5] Iron – Iron carbide phase diagrams.
relation of materials; [3] Introduction to the course MME6702, COs
and CLOs.
17-20 Structure-Property Relations
[1] Plain carbon steels – (a) Steel chemistry, (b) Designation and
2 Atomic Bonding and Materials Properties classification, (c) Microstructures, properties and applications: [2]
[1] Introduction; [2] Atomic scale structure; [3] Classifications and Alloy steels – (a) Reasons for alloying, (b) Effects of principal
characterizations of atomic bonding in solids; [4] Properties from alloying elements (c) Characteristics and applications of common
bonding; [5] Binding energy and materials properties. alloy steels (stainless steels and tool steels); [3] Cast irons – (a)
Classification, (b) Structures, (c) Properties and applications; [4]
3-5 Crystal Structure Nonferrous Alloys – (a) Importance, (b) Aluminium and its alloys,
[1] Basic crystallography; [2] Miller indices of points, directions and (c) Copper and its alloys.
planes; [3] Atomic aggregates and structure of non-crystalline solids.
21-27 Phase Transformations
6-10 Crystal Defects [1] Importance of solid-state phase transformations, the overall
[1] Importance and classification of defects in crystals; [2] Point transformation rate, the TTT diagrams; [2] Diffusive
defects – case study: diffusion in metals; [3] Line defects – case transformations, Case study - Nucleation and growth theory; [3]
study: yielding and strengthening mechanisms; [4] Surface and Martensitic transformations, Case study - Hardening of steels or
volume defects – case study: introduction to microstructure. making of TMT steel; [4] Heat treatment; [5] Surface hardening
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Reference Books
1. DR Askeland, PP Fulay and WJ Wright, The Science and Engineering of Materials,
6th Edition, Cengage Learning, Inc., 2010.

2. WD Callister Jr. and DG Rethwisch, Materials Science and Engineering - An Introduction,

9th Edition, Wiley, 2014.

3. JF Shackelford, Introduction to Materials Science for Engineers,

8th Edition, Pearson, 2015.

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Next Class

MME6702: Lecture 02
Atomic Bonding and Materials Properties

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