Strengthening Mechanisms

The ability of a metal/ Strengthening techniques

alloy to plastically rely on restricting
deform depends on the dislocation motion to
ability of dislocations to render a harder and
move. stronger material.

Solid solution Grain boundary

strengthening strengthening

Strengthening
mechanism

Precipitation Cold
hardening working
 Grain Boundary Strengthening

Smaller grain size: Hall-Petch Equation:

more barriers to slip, k
higher strength. σ y =σi +
D
 Solid Solution Strengthening
Ø The presence of solute atoms produces lattice strain,
either tensile or compressive, depending on the
relative size of the solute atom.
Ø Solute atom generates local shear that opposes
dislocation motion.

Smaller substitutional Bigger substitutional

atom creates tensile atom creates
lattice strain to the compressive lattice
host atom. strain to the host atom.
Callister, Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction, 7th ed., John Wiley&Sons, Inc, 2007.
 Solid Solution Strengthening
180

Yield Strength (MPa)

Impurity atom content increase: 160
140
Tensile and yield strength 120
100
Ductility 80
60
0 10 20 30 40 50
Example: Cu-Ni Alloy Nickel content (at%)

60

Tensile Strength (MPa)

Elongation (%)

50 400
40
300
30
20
0 10 20 30 40 50 200
0 10 20 30 40 50
Nickel content (at%) Nickel content (at%)
Callister, Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction, 7th ed., John Wiley&Sons, Inc, 2007.
 Solid Solution Strengthening
In ordered condition:
burgers vector is large
è strain hardening rate is higher
 Precipitation Hardening
Precipitation hardening or age hardening requires the
second phase, which is soluble at high temperature, has
a limited solubility at lower temperatures.

700 660 ° C L

600

500 a 5.65 548° C

400

300 a + CuAl2

200
100
Al 1 2 3 4 5 6 wt % Cu
 θʺ″
GP zones
1.82 c=7.68 A
Al
Cu θʺ″
2.02
(001)
2.02 (100) (010)
1.82
b=4.04 A
All sides coherent
a=4.04 A

θʹ′ θʹ′
(001)
4.04 A (100) (010)
c=5.80 A
(001) Coherent or
4.04 A semicoherent
a=4.04 A
a=4.04 A
b=4.04 A (100) incoherent
α - matrix (010) incoherent
(fcc) θ
θ
c=4.87 A
Incoherent
b=6.07 A
a=6.07 A

aaranton.org

 Interaction of Dislocations with
Precipitates
Second phase particles act in two distinct ways to
retard the motion of dislocations.

Gb
Stress required to force dislocation between particles: τ=
Callister, Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction, 7th ed., John Wiley&Sons, Inc, 2007. λ
 Precipitation Hardening
Ø The yield stress increases
when the crystal is aged to
form coherent GP zone.
Yield drop and low strain
hardening suggest that
dislocations cut through
the zone once the stress
reaches a high enough
value.
Ø Strain hardening
significantly increase when
the crystal is aged to peak Ø Over-aged condition
hardness. Dislocations are produces coarse incoherent
short and move around particles, giving low yield
particles. stress, high strain
hardening.
Callister, Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction, 7th ed., John Wiley&Sons, Inc, 2007.
 Precipitation vs. Dispersion Hardening
Ø In dispersion hardening, hard particles are mixed
with matrix powder and processed by powder
metallurgy techniques.

Ø In dispersion hardening, there is no coherency

between second phase and matrix.

Ø In dispersion-hardening, the second phase has very

little solubility in the matrix, even at elevated
temperatures.

Ø Dispersion hardening systems have more temperature

stability.
 Cold Working
• Cold-work structure occurs when plastic deformation is
applied in a temperature region such that the strain
hardening is not relieved (0.3 - 0.5 Tm).
Ø Cold worked structure
contains dislocation
~ 1 08- 1 010 m m-2, w h i l e
annealed structure
possesses ~103-104 mm-2.
Ø Dislocations entangle with
one another during cold
work. Hence dislocation
motion becomes more
difficult.

As T , strain rate
stored energy
 Strain Hardening
• Strain hardening or cold working is esp. used to
harden alloys that do not respond to heat treatment.
• The rate of strain hardening is lower in HCP than in
cubic metals.

Strength
Cold work

Ductility
 Texture Formation
• Severe deformation produces a reorientation of the
grains into a preferred orientation. Certain
crystallographic planes tend to orient themselves in a
preferred manner with respect to the maximum
strain direction.

• The preferred orientation resulting from plastic

deformation is strongly dependent on the available
slip and twining systems, but not affected by
processing variable such as die angle, roll diameter,
roll speed, etc.
 Anisotropy in σyield
Can be induced by rolling a polycrystalline metal

-before rolling -after rolling

rolling direction
235 mm

isotropic anisotropic
since grains are approx. since rolling affects grain
spherical & randomly orientation and shape.
oriented.
 Importance of Anisotropy

• Normal Anisotropy, R:

εw
R=
εt

• Planar Anisotropy, ΔR:

R0 + R90 − 2R45
ΔR =
2
 Earing

http://aluminium.matter.org.uk/content/html/ENG/default.asp?catid=175&pageid=2144416783
 Annealing of Cold-Worked Metal
Ø Annealing of the cold worked structure at high
temperature softens the metal and reverts to a strain-
free condition.
Ø The transformations that take place during annealing are
recovery, recrystallization and grain growth, respectively.
Ø The driving force for recovery and recrystallization is the
energy of the defects introduced during cold working
(stored energy of the deformed matrix).
Ø The driving force for grain growth is the boundary
curvature.
 Annealing of Cold-Worked Metal
Annealing Temperature (°C)
100 300 500 700
600 60
tensile strength
tensile strength (MPa)
50
500

ductility (%EL)
40

400 30

ductility
20
300

3 Annealing
stages

Effect of 1 hour heating on mechanical properties

Recovery

Recrystallization
nucleation and
growth of strain
free grains

Grain growth
 Recovery
Annihilation reduces dislocation density.

Scenario 1

Scenario 2
 Recrystallization
New crystals are formed that:
• have a small dislocation density
• are small
• consume cold-worked crystals.
0.6 mm 0.6 mm

33% cold New crystals

worked nucleate after
brass 3 sec. at 580C.
 Further Recrystallization

All cold-worked crystals are consumed.

0.6 mm 0.6 mm

After 4 After 8
seconds seconds
 Variables Affecting Recrystallization
1) The amount of prior deformation
2) Temperature
3) Time
4) Initial grain size
5) Composition
6) Amount of recovery prior to start the recrystallisation.
Recrystallization temperature can be defined as the
temperature at which a given alloy in a highly cold-
worked state completely recrystallizes in 1 h.

Degree of Deformation Trecrys Tanneal GSrecrys

Impurity Trecrys
 Grain Growth
• At longer times, larger grains consume smaller ones.
• Grain boundary area (and therefore energy) is reduced.

0.6 mm 0.6 mm

After 8 s, After 15 min,

580C 580C