THERMAL TREATMENT METHODS TO

STRENGTHEN A METAL OR AN ALLOY

Lt Cdr Khalid
NAME-6105
Introduction
 Strength of Material can be increased by hindering
dislocation, which is responsible for plastic deformation.

 Dislocation: A displacement of part of a crystal lattice

structure. "dislocations are present due to the accidents of
imperfect growth"

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Introduction
 Ordinarily ductility is sacrificed when an alloy is
strengthened.

 The relationship between dislocation motion and

mechanical behavior of metals is significant

 The ability of a metal to plastically deform depends on

the ability of dislocations to move.

 Virtually all strengthening techniques rely on this simple

principle: Restricting or Hindering dislocation motion renders
a material harder and stronger.

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Strengthing Methods
 Different ways to hinder dislocation motion/Strengthening
mechanisms:

1. Grain Size Reduction

2. Solid Solution Strengthening
3. Strain Hardening (Work)
4. Age Hardening
(Precipitation)

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GRAIN SIZE REDUCTION
SINGLE PHASE

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Strengthening by Grain size reduction
 Grain boundaries are barriers to slip.
• Barrier "strength" increases with Increasing angle of
misorientation.
• Smaller grain size: more barriers to slip
 It is based on the fact that
dislocations will experience
hindrances while trying to move
from a grain into the next because
of abrupt change in orientation of
planes.
Adapted from Fig. 7.14, Callister 7e. (Fig.
 Yield strength is related to grain 7.14 is from A Textbook of Materials
size (diameter, d) as Hall-Petch Technology, by Van Vlack, Pearson
Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.)
relation:

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Strengthening by Grain size reduction
 Grain Size Reduction Techniques:
• Increase Rate of solidification from the liquid phase.
• Perform Plastic deformation followed by an appropriate
heat treatment.
 Notes:
• Grain size reduction also improves toughness of many
alloys.
• Small-angle grain boundaries are not effective in
interfering with the slip process because of the small
crystallographic misalignment across the boundary.
• Boundaries between two different phases are also
impediments to movements of dislocations.
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SOLID SOLUTION STRENGTHENING
SINGLE PHASE

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Solid Solution Strengthening
 Impurity atoms distort the lattice and generate stress.

 Stress can produce a barrier to dislocation motion.

 Impure foreign atoms in a single phase material produces

lattice strains which can anchor the dislocations.

 Effectiveness of this strengthening depends on two

factors–size difference and volume fraction of solute.

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Solid Solution Strengthening
 2 types of solid solution:

 Substitutional – the solute

and solvent atoms are
similar in size, rendering the
solute atoms to occupy the
lattice point of the solvent Figure: Solute atoms are introduced
atoms. into the matrix (solvent atoms)

 Interstitial – The solute atoms are of smaller size than the

solvent atom, rendering the solute atoms to occupy the
interstitial sites in the solvent lattice.

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Solid Solution Strengthening
 Factors affecting the solubility of solute atoms:
1. Atomic Size Factors
2. Crystal Structure
3. Electro-negativity
4. Valences

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Solid Solution Strengthening

Figure: Stress Concentration at Dislocations

Adapted from Fig. 7.4, Callister 7e.

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Strengthening by Alloying
 Small impurities tend to concentrate at dislocations on the
“Compressive stress side”
 Reduce mobility of dislocation increase strength

Adapted from Fig. 7.17, Callister 7e.

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Strengthening by Alloying
 Large impurities concentrate at dislocations on “Tensile
Stress” side – pinning dislocation

Adapted from Fig. 7.18, Callister 7e.

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Strengthening by Alloying
e.g: Solid Solution Strengthening in Copper
Tensile strength & yield strength increase with wt% Ni

Empirical relation:

Alloying increases YS and TS. 16

STRAIN HARDENING
SINGLE PHASE

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Strain Hardening
 Phenomenon where ductile metals become stronger and
harder when they are deformed plastically is called strain
hardening or work hardening.

 Increasing temperature lowers the rate of strain hardening.

Hence materials are strain hardened at low temperatures,
thus also called cold working.

 During plastic deformation, dislocation density increases.

And thus their interaction with each other resulting in
increase in yield stress.

 Dislocation density (ρ) and shear stress (τ) are related as

follows:

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Strain Hardening
 Plastic deformation of ductile materials increase the
strength of the material at very low temperature than its'
melting point.

 Strengthening of a metal or polymer by plastic deformation

is called as work hardening or strain hardening.
 This strengthening occurs because of dislocations
movements and dislocation generation within the crystal
structure of the material.
 The reason for strain hardening is the increase of
dislocation density with plastic deformation.

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Strain Hardening
• The average distance between dislocations decreases and
dislocations start blocking the motion of each other.
€e -recoverable elastic strain
€p -inelastic strain
Σ0 -stress at initial yield
Σy -stress at new yield
Σ0 < Σy

A0 -initial cross sectional area

Ad -new cross sectional area
CW -Cold work %
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Strain Hardening
 In addition to maximizing dislocation density, work
hardening changes the following parameters of the material.
• Hardness increase
• Yield strength increases
• Ductility decreases (material becomes more brittle)
• Grain become directional
• Conducting temperature is
very low compared to melting
point o temperature. (---1 /3
of melting temperature)

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Strain Hardening: Annealing of Deformed Metals

 After cold working, most of metals are in high energy state.

 For restoration to the initial state of the metal, annealing
process can be carried out by heat treating.
 Ductility is very low after the cold working, but hardness is
higher.

 Main steps in annealing:

1. Recovery
2. Recrystallization
3. Grain growth

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Strain Hardening
 During strain hardening, in addition to mechanical properties,
physical properties also changes:
• A small decrease in density
• An appreciable decrease in electrical
conductivity
• Small increase in thermal coefficient of
expansion
• Increased chemical reactivity
(decrease in corrosion resistance).

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Strain Hardening
 Effects of cold work can be removed by heating the material
to suitable temperatures – Annealing.

 It restores the original properties into material. It

consists of three stages–
1. Recovery
2. Recrystallization and
3. Grain Growth.

 In industry, alternate cycles of strain hardening and

annealing are used to deform most metals to a very great
extent.

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Strain Hardening: Result of Cold Work
 As cold work is increased:
• Dislocation density
increases
•Yield strength (YS)
increases.
• Tensile strength (TS)
increases.
• Ductility decreases.

For Low-Carbon Steel, Adapted from Fig.

7.20, Callister 7e.

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Cold Work Analysis
 Degree of plastic deformation is defined as cold work
(%CW) rather than strain
 What is the tensile strength and ductility after cold working?

Copper
Cold
Work

D o =15.2mm D d =12.2mm

2
r  r
%CW  2
o
2
d x 100  35.6%
ro
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 Cold Work Analysis
 What is the tensile strength and ductility after cold working?

Yield Strength Tensile Strength ) Ductility (%EL)

(MPa) (MPa) 60
700 800

40
500 600
Cu
300 Cu 400 340MPa 20
Cu 7%
100
0 20 40 60 200 0
0 20 40 60
% Cold Work % Cold Work
0 %20
Cold40
Work60
YS = 300 MPa %EL = 7%
TS = 340MPa

Adapted from Fig. 7.19, Callister 7e. (Fig. 7.19 is adapted from Metals Handbook: Properties and Selection: Iron and Steels,
Vol. 1, 9th ed., B. Bardes (Ed.), American Society for Metals, 1978, p. 226; and Metals Handbook: Properties and Selection:
Nonferrous Alloys and Pure Metals, Vol. 2, 9th ed., H. Baker (Managing Ed.), American Society for Metals, 1979, p. 276 and
327.)

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1. Recovery
 Annihilation reduces dislocation density.
•During recovery, some extra half-plane
of the stored internal of atoms Dislocations
atoms annihilate
strain energy is relieved diffuse and form
through dislocation to regions a perfect
motion due to enhanced of tension atomic
plane
atomic diffusion at the extra half-plane
of atoms
elevated temperatures.

•Leads to reduction in the number of dislocations.

•After recovery is complete, the grains are still in a relatively
high strain energy state.

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2. Recrystallization
• New set of strain-free and uniaxial grains that have low
dislocation densities.

• The driving force to produce the new grain structure is the

internal energy difference between strained and unstrained
material.

• The new grains form as very small nuclei and grow until
they consume the parent material.

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2. Recrystallization
0.6 mm 0.6 mm

Adapted from
Fig. 7.21 (a),(b),
Callister 7e.
(Fig. 7.21 (a),(b)
are courtesy of
J.E. Burke,
General Electric
Company.)

33% cold New crystals

worked nucleate after
brass 3 sec. at 580C.

Figure: Cold Worked Figure: Initial

grains. Not annealed. recrystallization after 3
seconds at 580 ̊C.

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Further Recrystallization
• All cold-worked grains are consumed.
0.6 mm 0.6 mm

Adapted from
Fig. 7.21 (c),(d),
Callister 7e.
(Fig. 7.21 (c),(d)
are courtesy of
J.E. Burke,
General Electric
Company.)

After 4 After 8
seconds seconds

Figure: Partial replacement Figure: Complete

of grains, after 4 seconds. recrystallization after 8
seconds 31
3. Grain Growth
• Strain-free grains will continue to grow at elevated
temperatures.
• As grains increase in size, the total boundary area decreases

• Large grains grow at the expense of smaller grains.

0.6 mm 0.6 mm

Adapted from
Fig. 7.21 (d),(e),
Callister 7e.
(Fig. 7.21 (d),(e)
are courtesy of
J.E. Burke,
General Electric
Company.)
After 8 s, After 15 min,
580ºC 580ºC

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AGE HARDENING
MULTI PHASE

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AGE HARDENING
 Requisite for age hardening is that second phase must
be soluble at an elevated temperature but precipitates upon
quenching and aging at a lower temperature.
e.g: Al-alloys, Cu-Be alloys, Mg-Al alloys, Cu-Sn alloys

 Few advantages:

• High tensile and yield strength

• Enhanced wear resistance
• Facilitates easy machinability
• No distortion to the part

 Done in 3 steps

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AGE HARDENING
 Step-1 :

• Metal is treated with a solution at high temperatures

• All the solute atoms are dissolved to form a single
phase solution
• A large number of microscopic nuclei, called zones, are
formed on the metal
• Formation is accelerated further by elevated
temperatures

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AGE HARDENING
 Step-2 :

• Rapid cooling across the

solvus line so that the
solubility limit is exceeded
 Step-3 :

• Finally, the
supersaturated solution is
heated to an intermediate
temperature in order to
induce precipitation. Figure: Effect of Time of Cooling on
Hardness
• The metal is maintained
in this state for some time
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Adapted from Fig. 11.22, Callister . Schematic
temperature-versus-time plot
showing both solution and precipitation heat
treatments for precipitation hardening.

Adapted from Fig. 11.23, Callister .

Schematic diagram showing strength
and hardness as a function of the logarithm
of aging time at constant temperature
during the precipitation heat treatment.

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OPEN FORUM

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