1. Metallurgy: Identifying Metals
TSM 233
Unit 9

2. Materials Properties for Metals
Four categories for classifying the properties of materials:
Chemical Properties
Physical Properties
Mechanical Properties
Procurement/Manufacturing Considerations

3. Chemical Properties
“Chemical properties are material characteristics that relate to the structure of a materials and its formation from the elements.”
Examples of chemical properties:
Composition of the metal
Microstructure
Grain sizes
Corrosion resistance

4. Physical Properties
“Physical properties are characteristics of materials that pertain to the interaction of these materials with various forms of energy and with other forms of matter.”
Examples of Physical Properties:
Melting point
Magnetic
Electrical conductivity
Color
Luster

5. Mechanical Properties of Metals?
“Mechanical properties are the characteristics of a material that are displayed when a force is applied to the material.”
Tensile strength – “resists pulling apart”
Compression strength – “squeezing, smashing”
Hardness – “indentation, penetration”
Elongation – “drawn out before it fails, breaks”
Ductility – “stretched, formed”
Brittleness – “fracturing, cracking”
Toughness – “prevent cracking, withstand stress”
Shear strength - “opposing forces”
Torsion strength - “twisting forces’

6. Procurement/Manufacturing Considerations
“Procurement/manufacturing considerations are not specific properties, but are selection factors.”
Available shapes
Available sizes
Available surface textures
Manufacturing tolerances.

7. Methods for Identifying Metals
Use - what the metal was/is designed to do.
Shape – some metals are commonly found as certain shapes.
Manufacturing parts - such as forging, casting type markings.
Grain structure – appearance of a fracture
Relative weight – wide variation
Bending - cold or hot bend test
Hardness – perform some form of indentation test or try to cut with a file, hacksaw or chisel.
Magnetic?? – may indicate ferrous content
Color/finish – overall appearance, shiny? dull? light? dark?
Spark test – use a grinder for ferrous metal.
Torch test – see how the metal responds to heat.

8. What are the basic shapes of metals?
Bar stock:
Rods, squares, flats, hexagon, octagon
Structural:
Angle, I-beam, channel, t-beams, z-beams
Sheets:
  Solid, expanded, plated (ex. Diamond)

9. What are the two majors classifications of metals?
Ferrous - primary element is iron
Non-ferrous - has little or no iron content

10. What is carbon steel? Carbon is used to increase the hardness of steel
Wrought iron <.003% Carbon
basically pure iron, not very common uses.
Low Carbon steel <.30% Carbon
relativity soft, malleable, workable, easily weldable.
used for common types of nails, bolts
Medium Carbon steel % Carbon
Moderate strength characteristics, weldable.
Used for structural pieces, angle iron, I- beams, etc.
Used for equipment frames.
High Carbon steel % Carbon
Hard, does not bend, can be heat treated
Used for tools which are hammered, pounded.
Used for drills, chisels, hammers, etc
Tool Steel (Very High Carbon).8 –1.70% C
Very hard, higher quality tools.
Often have alloying metals added.
Used for drills, files, saws,
Cast Iron 1.8 – 4 % Carbon
Very hard, brittle, low bending strengths
used for machinery, engine, transmission housings.

11. What is alloy steel? When other metals are “mixed” with steel (iron).
Examples : Stainless Steel, Nickel Steel, etc.
Note: galvanized steel is not an alloy steel, as the zinc is a coating.

12. What are some common alloy metals with iron?
Chromium- improves corrosion resistant, toughness, hardness
Manganese- increases strength and heat treatment properties.
Molybdenum -increases strength and maintaining strength when heated.
Nickel - increases strength, ductility, toughness.
Tungsten - produces smaller, more dense grains, and retain hardness.
Vanadium - provides slow grain growth and toughness when heated.
Stainless steel - iron, nickel and chromium, resistance to corrosion.

13. How is steel classified?
SAE four digit classification system:
First digit indicates the grouping
Second digit is the relative percentage of the primary alloying element
Third and fourth (sometimes fifth) digits are the median percentage of carbon in hundredths of a percent.

14. Common SAE Steel Classifications
Carbon Steels 10XX
Manganese Steels 13XX and 15XX
Nickel Steel 23XX and 25XX
Nickel-Chromium Steels 31XX, 33XX
Molybdenum Steels 40XX, 41XX, etc.
Chromium Steels 51XX, 52XX
Chromium-Vanadium Steel 61XX
Multiple Alloy Steels 8XXX, 9XXX
Ex.: 86XX, Nickel 0.55%, Chromium 0.50%, Molybdenum 0.20%

15. How is Stainless Steel Classified?
Stainless steel is group of metals based upon three primary alloying elements used with steel (Fe and C) and Chromium with many variations of alloying elements such as Manganese and Nickel.
AISI Numbering System uses three digits:
2xx series - Chromium, Manganese, Nickel alloys
3xx series- Chromium-Nickel alloys.
4xx series - Chromium alloys
An UNS numbering system has been recently developed which uses the AISI numbers plus two more digits as a suffix for easier classifications of stainless steels.

16. Stainless Steel Terminology
Ferritic – These steels contain less than 0.10% carbon and are magnetic. They cannot be hardened via heat treatment limits the use of these metals somewhat, but they are still suitable for a wide range of applications. Austenitic – This is the most common type of stainless steel, accounting for up to 70% of all stainless steel production. Its versatility is in large part down to the fact that it can be formed and welded with successful results. Martensitic – This type of steel shares some characteristics with ferritic, but boasts higher levels of carbon, up to a full 1%. This means that they can be tempered and hardened and are thus highly useful in situations where the strength of the steel is more important than its resistance to corrosion.

17. 100, 200, 300 Stainless Steels
200 Series—austenitic chromium-nickel-manganese alloys
Type 201—austenitic that is hardenable through cold working
Type 202—austenitic general purpose stainless steel
300 Series—austenitic chromium-nickel alloys
Type 301—highly ductile, for formed products. Good weldability. Better wear resistance and fatigue strength than 304.
Type 304—the most common grade; the classic 18/8 (18% chromium, 8% nickel) stainless steel.
Type 304L—same as the 304 grade but lower carbon content to increase weldability. Is slightly weaker than 304.
Type 308—used as the filler metal when welding 304.
Type 310 — used for high temperature applications. The high chromium and nickel content give the steel excellent oxidation resistance as well as high strength at high temperature. This grade is ductile, and has good weldability.
Type 316—the second most common grade (after 304); for food and surgical stainless steel uses.

18. 400, 500, 600 Stainless Steels
400 Series—ferritic and martensitic chromium alloys
Type 409—cheapest type; used for automobile exhausts.
Type 410—martensitic (high-strength iron/chromium). Wear-resistant, but less corrosion-resistant.
Type 416—easy to machine due to additional sulfur
Type 420—Cutlery Grade martensitic.
Type 430—decorative, e.g., for automotive trim; ferritic.
Type 439—ferritic grade, a higher grade version of 409 used for catalytic converter exhaust sections. Increased chromium for high temperatures
Type 440—a higher grade of cutlery steel, with more carbon, allowing for much better edge retention when properly heat-treated.
500 Series—heat-resisting chromium alloys
600 Series—originally created for proprietary alloys, which are no longer given SAE grade numbers.

19. What are some common Non-ferrous metals?
Copper – electrical and heat conductivity, easily formed and soldered/brazed, resistant to water corrosion.
(electrical wires, water pipes and tubes, food processing equipment)
Aluminum – lightweight, resistant to corrosion, can be made into a variety of shapes, electrical and heat conductivity.
(electrical wires, conduit, tubes, window/door frames, refrigeration equipment, sheet metal applications)
Lead – heavy, toxic, easily formed.
(weights, batteries, protective vessels)
Magnesium – very lightweight, flammable, similar to aluminum, but lighter.
(lightweight moving parts like wheels, lightweight frames, ladders, energy conserving applications)
Titanium - high strength, good weight to strength ratio, high temperature properties, alloying with many metals. Used for aircraft, transports.
(used high strength, lightweight applications like aircraft parts)

20. How is Aluminum classified?
A complex system of:
Four digit system used for wrought aluminum
Three digit system used for cast aluminum
Letter suffixes used to designate the heat treatment
Common types:
1XXX Pure Al, (99.0%)
2XXX Aluminum w/Copper as a major alloy
3XXX Aluminum w/Manganese as a major alloy
4XXX Aluminum w/Silicon as a major alloy
5XXX Aluminum w/Magnesium as a major alloy
6XXX Aluminum w/ Magnesium and Silicon alloys
7XXX Aluminum w/Zinc

21. Cast Aluminum Alloys 1xx.x series are minimum 99% aluminum
The Aluminum Association(AA) has adopted a nomenclature similar to that of wrought alloys.
The second two digits reveal the minimum percentage of aluminum, e.g x correspond to a minimum of 99.50% aluminum.
The digit after the decimal point takes a value of 0 or 1, denoting casting and ingot respectively.
1xx.x series are minimum 99% aluminum
2xx.x series copper
3xx.x series silicon, copper and/or magnesium
4xx.x series silicon
5xx.x series magnesium
7xx.x series zinc
8xx.x series tin
9xx.x other elements

22. Aerospace Aluminum Alloys
The following aluminum alloys are commonly used in aircraft and other aerospace structures:
7068, 7075, 6061, 6063, 2024, 5052, 7050
Aluminum-Scandium alloys for aerospace industry components. These alloys contain between 0.1% and 0.5% (by weight) of Scandium. Also used for high performance sports equipment: baseball bats, lacrosse sticks, bicycle frames.
Note that the term aircraft aluminum or aerospace aluminum usually refers to 7075.

23. Automotive Aluminum Alloys
6111 and 2008 Aluminum alloys are extensively used for external automotive body panels
5083 and 5754 used for inner body panels.
Hoods have been manufactured from 2036, 6016, and alloys.
Truck and trailer body panels have used 5456 Aluminum.
Automobile frames often use 5182 Aluminum or Aluminum formed sheets, 6061 or 6063 extrusions.
Wheels have been cast from A356.0 Aluminum or formed 5xxx sheet.

24. What are some common Non-ferrous alloys?
Bronze – alloy of copper and tin (up to 11%), resistant to corrosion, appearance.
Brass - copper and zinc (10%-40%), resistant to acids, two basic types:
Machine Brass - (32-40% zinc)
Red brass - (15%-25% zinc)
Solders - tin, lead, antimony.

25. Die Cast Metals
Low melting point metals used to produce identical castings at a rapid rate
Examples: die cast toys, pulleys, “non-critical” automobile, truck, tractor parts.
Also called “pot metals”
Six Major Groups:
Tin-based alloys
Lead-based alloys
Zinc-based alloys
Aluminum-based alloys
Copper, bronze and brass-based alloys.
Magnesium-based alloys.