POLYCRISTALLINE
MATERIALS
When there is no grain boundaries then the crystal is called single
crystal. Atom are oriented in one direction only. A turbine blade of
single crystal of titanium has proved a great success.
Solidification occurs into stages
1. Nucleation – small politicals of crystalline solid begins to form at a
point within the liquid, it is called nucleus.
2. Growth – more and more atom transfer themselves to these
growing solid from liquid it becomes microscopically large.
if only single nucleus is formed then it will become single crystal
without boundary. If more than one nucleus is formed then there is
many crystals is formed which is called grain. And the boundary which
separate the grains, called grain boundaries
Grains and grain boundary can be observed in microscope after etching
by suitable chemical agent. This chemical agent called etchant. This
chemically attack the grain boundaries. Which can be seen in
microscope.
Atoms are arranged in a crystalline order in each grains, though there is
difference in orientation of atoms (20° or more) in the randomly
distributed grains, but there is an area of mismatch mostly consisting of
large angle green boundaries in a pure metal.
The crystal structure continues and changed right up to the interface
and the grain boundary is a narrow transition region not more than
about two atom thick.
As the atoms at the grain boundaries are displaced from the normal
lattice sites, they have more energy.
Characteristics of grain boundaries –
1. A groove due to preferential attack of the etching chemical with
these atoms at grain boundary, which appears as a dark line under
microscope.
2. Grain boundary energy helps in the formation of new grain of new
Phase.
3. Preferential presence of impurity atoms in the metal at the grain
boundaries.
4. Grain boundary energy is depends on factors such as composition
and orientation of grains.
5. Diffusion of atom is faster at the grain boundary.
6. Grain boundaries are source and sink of the vacancies.
7. The non crystalline nature of grain boundaries makes its viscosity to
decrease continuously on heating.
8. In high temperature application, grain boundaries act like very
viscous liquid.
9. Grain boundaries strengthen the metal and alloy below
equicohesive temperature
As a grain boundary has energy related with it, it tends to minimise it’s
area in order to reduce its total energy. In order to decrease its energy,
the grain boundary tries to straighten itself under the force of surface
tension.
Multiphase alloys
Multiphase materials are mixture of two or more phases, these phases
may be produced through mechanical mixing or by some phase
transformation.
Whether the alloy is a single phase material or has two phases, can be
easily distinguished. For example micrograph of muntz metal East with
fake chloride shows two phase (alpha + beta).
Following to aspects must be clearly understood
1. Etching characteristics – the Alpha phase etches white, where is
beta phase etches black.
2. Shapes of the grains – shape of the greens of Alpha is distinctly
different from the shape of grain of beta phase. In a two phase
alloy, the relative amount of phases, the interfacial energy between
phases, and the method of obtaining the phase mixture control the
shape and size of two phases.
Shapes of phases
Any surface, aur an interface such as green boundary has energy
related with it, which acts like a surface tension.
If a liquid and a solid surface are involved, then depending on the
interfacial energy, three cases arise
1. Complete wetting of solid
2. Partial wetting
3. Non wetting of the solid
