Materials Technology I

Deformation
Theory
EMTL 250
Module 2

Manufacturing and Automation Revised: 2017

DEFORMATION THEORY
Altering Material Properties through Plastic Deformation

Rationale
Why is it important for you to learn this material?
Manufacturing processes use plastic deformation to manipulate materials, alter
their shape and alter the mechanical properties. In addition to alloying, plastic
deformation can alter material properties such as strength, toughness and ductility
on both the atomic level (micro) as well as the macro level.

Learning Outcome
When you complete this module you will be able to:
Explain the positive and negative effects of plastic deformation on the mechanical
properties of alloys.

Learning Objectives
After you complete this module, you will be able to:
1. Explain the difference between elastic and plastic deformation.
2. Discuss what is occurring on the microscopic scale, which enables plastic
deformation to increase the strength of a material.
3. Explain the response of different lattice structures to plastic deformation.
4. Discuss the processes of hot and cold working.
5. Describe the basic processes involved in modern steelmaking.

Performance Evaluation
To show you have mastered the material, you will be asked to:
1. Complete the exercise questions found throughout the module.
2. Complete Assignments in this module.

Introduction
Once an alloy (chemical composition) has been chosen, its potential mechanical
properties are fixed (i.e., there is a range of properties that may be obtained, but
there are limits based upon the chemical composition). The use of plastic
deformation, however, can alter the mechanical properties so that a whole range
of material strength and ductility can be obtained from any given alloy grade.
In order to illustrate how plastic deformation can affect these properties, we need
to understand what is occurring on a microscopic scale and how it relates to the
macroscopic properties (i.e., the big picture).

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 OBJECTIVE ONE
When you complete this section you will be able to:
1. Explain the difference between elastic and plastic deformation.
2. Discuss what occurs on the microscopic scale, which enables plastic
deformation to increase the strength of a material.

Learning Activities
Complete each of the following Learning Activities:

1. Read Discussion One.

2. Completed Exercise One.
3. Compare with Exercise One answers at the end of this module.

Discussion One
Engineered materials selection is based upon matching material properties with
service conditions. Engineers can alter the mechanical properties of materials in
three primary ways:

1. Grade selection alloying, which was discussed in Module 1

2. Plastic deformation - hot and cold working, the focus of Module 2
3. Thermal treatment - heat treating, which will be discussed in Module 3

When a force or load is applied, the part has stress being applied to it.
Load
Stress
Original Area

Obviously, larger parts will be able to handle larger loads more easily. Doubling
the size (cross-sectional area), will allow the part to handle twice the amount of
force; however, the stress being applied will remain the same. Stress is used to
compensate for the different size (cross-sectional area) of parts.

When stress is applied to a part, the material is deformed or distorted (strained).

Change in Length
Strain
Original Length

Strain is used to compensate for the different size (length) of parts. For example,
a 100 cm long spring will stretch ten times as much as a 10 cm long spring under
the same stress. However, both will still strain the same amount.

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Stress may either be in compression, tension or shear and the resulting strain will
also be in the same direction. Other stresses such as bending, torsion, etc. are
simply combinations of compression, tension and shear. Stress is usually caused
by the application of force on a part. For example, picking up a load with a crane
will cause tensile stress on the cable and bending force in the crane boom.
Application of heat to a part, however, will cause thermal stress. If a plate is
heated on the top surface rapidly, thermal expansion will occur and cause bending
(heat warpage).

Elastic Deformation occurs when a load (or stress) is applied to a material and it
is able to return to its original shape once the load is removed (e.g., stretching an
elastic band and then allowing it to return to its original shape). Force (stress) is
directly proportional to the amount of (strain) stretch.

Figure 1: Elastic Deformation between Atoms. Source: SAIT 2012

If we look at the atomic scale and examine what happens to the lattice structure,
we can see that an elastic load will stretch the atomic bonds between adjacent
metal atoms, but the bonds do not break. Once the load is released, the atoms will
go back to their original locations (see Figure 1). The effect can be seen in the
load-elongation curve shown in Figure 7 where the linear portion shows the
elastic deformation region. In this region, when the load is doubled the elongation
(stretch) will also double. This can be seen when a material flexes; a diving
springboard is designed to elastically flex a long way without plastic deformation.

Plastic deformation is defined as a permanent change in shape when metal is

worked. This occurs when the elastic limit (or yield stress) of a material is
reached and the material can no longer return to its original shape. When the
applied stress exceeds the elastic limit (yield strength) of the material, the atoms
must either:
1. Break the bonds between them to produce a fracture (brittle materials), or
2. The atomic planes within the crystal must slide over one another to
produce a permanent shift of atom positions, called slip (see Figure 2).

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 In metals, which are ductile, the atoms can easily reform new bonds with their
neighbors during slip. Therefore, the stress required to cause slip is lower than the
stress for complete fracture; so slip usually occurs. The amount of stress to cause
the first slip is called the elastic limit or Yield Strength. Slip causes the metal
to plastically deform. Figure 2 shows a 20% increase in length after slip occurs.
When discussing plastic deformation, materials are characterized as being ductile
or brittle. Ductility is the ability of a material to plastically deform without failure.
Percent elongation and percent reduction in area are two measures of ductility in
the tensile test. Plastic deformation in metals occurs by slip, when adjacent planes
of atoms slide past one another. A ductile material will exhibit plastic flow or
necking prior to failure, whereas a brittle material will fail with little or no
permanent change in shape (e.g., < 2 percent elongation).

Figure 2: Slip occurs along the space lattice when the stress applied exceeds
the elastic limit (Yield Strength). The elastic strain disappears after the
stress is removed; however, the slip between the atomic planes is permanent.
Plastic deformation has occurred. Source: SAIT 2012

The lattice structure in crystals is never perfect. They contain lattice defects which
cause stretched atomic bonds. A higher number of lattice defects will require
more stress to cause slip (higher yield strength) and reduces the ability of the
material to plastically deform (lower percentage elongation). Anything that causes
atomic bonds to be pre-stretched will increase the strength. It will also reduce the
amount of ductility (stretch) left in the atomic bonds.

These lattice defects include:

1. Vacancies - missing atoms in the lattice structure (see Figure 3).
2. Interstitial atoms - solute atoms located at the interstitial sites (see Figure 4).

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 3. Substitutional atoms - solute atoms replacing solvent atoms in the lattice
structure.
4. Dislocation - line defect or missing line of atoms (see Figure 5).

Figure 3: Vacancy Lattice Defect. Source: B. Kenny, SAIT 2012

Figure 4: Alloying creates Interstitial and Substitutional Lattice Defects

making it more difficult for slip to occur. Source: B. Kenny, SAIT 2012

Figure 5: During plastic deformation, atoms sequentially slide along the slip
plane. Atom 1 moves to the left, followed by atom 2 and so on. The
dislocation is the stretched opening or line of missing atoms (going into page).
The dislocation line moves to the right as the atoms slide to the left.
Source: B. Kenny, SAIT 2012

Dislocations allow slip to occur at much lower applied stress, because they act
like a wrinkle in the lattice structure. Imagine the force required to pull a rug
across the floor if the rug is lying flat. Now imagine pulling the same rug when it
contains a series of wrinkles (see Figure 6). The force required, or stress, is much
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 lower. Slip will be more difficult going in the vertical direction since atoms are no
longer lined up in a perfect crystal structure. This will result in the yield strength
being higher.

Figure 6: A high force is required to move a rug all at once. Slip along a
wrinkle (dislocation) can be easily moved. Source: SAIT 2012

As slip occurs, the dislocation movement can be impeded by lattice defects such
as substitutional atoms, interstitial elements and other dislocations. These lattice
defects act like hooks in the wrinkled rug, so that more force is required to
move the rug. When this occurs, an increased force is required to move the
dislocation, thus the materials resistance to a load becomes higher (the yield
strength of the material will increase).

Figure 7: A Load-Elongation Curve showing Elastic and Work-Hardening

Regions. Source: B. Kenny, SAIT 2012

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The shape of the curve in figure 7 is identical to a stress - strain curve. Stress is
calculated from Load divided by the original area. Strain is calculated from
elongation divided by the original length. The strength of the material is usually
measured by the yield strength or by the Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS). The
UTS is the maximum stress to cause failure. The yield strength is the amount of
stress to cause permanent change in shape (usually set at 0.2% plastic
deformation). The elastic limit is similar to the yield strength except it is defined
as when the first atomic bonds break and reform during slip. It is rarely used in
engineering since it is extremely difficult to measure accurately; however, it is
sometimes used when the yield strength is meant.

Yield strength= Yield load/ Cross Sectional Area

UTS= Ultimate Tensile Strength= Maximum load

Cross sectional Area

During cold working, more dislocations are created in all directions. The strength
of the material increases as the increased number of dislocations impede each
other (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bxVuMASRi4&NR=1 ), cold working
(such as bending, rolling, drawing, etc.) will cause the metal to increase in
strength and hardness. This results in work hardening (also known as strain
strengthening). Work hardening is a common method used to increase the strength
of metals. Figure 7 illustrates the portion of the load-elongation curve where
work hardening occurs. Work hardening only occurs above the yield as the metal
is worked and causes the yield strength to increase. Elastically straining a metal
(below the yield strength), will not harden the metal since no permanent work is
done. It should be pointed out that cold rolling would reduce the cross-sectional
area of the part, which effectively increases the UTS.

A negative effect of work hardening is that the material loses ductility, so there is
a limit to the amount of work hardening that a material can undergo before it
becomes brittle and fractures (cracks) occur.

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 Exercise One
1. Elastic deformation will allow metals to return to their original shape.
a. True
b. False

2. In metals, plastic deformation is the result of:

a. Molecules slipping past each other
b. Atomic planes moving past each other
c. Distortion of the crystal structure
d. Elastic strain

3. Plastic deformation is defined as .

4. What is slip and why does it occur in metals?

5. Dislocations allow slip to occur more easily:

a. True
b. False

6. Name the lattice defects, which impede dislocation movement and help
increase strength.

7. Plastic deformation occurs:

a. Below the elastic limit
b. If the part returns to its original shape when the load is released.
c. Always in tension.
d. When atomic bonds break and reform.

8. Describe the effect of work hardening on strength and ductility.

9. ______materials show only elastic deformation prior to fracture.

10. Materials which undergo some plastic deformation are ______ .

11. As a result of plastic deformation, the yield strength of metals often

increases. This is called ______ .

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OBJECTIVE TWO
When you complete this section you will be able to:

1. Explain the response of different lattice structures to plastic deformation.

2. Discuss the processes of hot and cold working.

Learning Activities
Complete each of the following Learning Activities:
1. Read Discussion Two.
2. Complete Exercise Two.
3. Compare Exercise Two answers at the end of this module.

Discussion Two
Metals are made up of many crystals (or grains). The planes of atoms within each
of these grains have a different orientation. As slip (deformation) moves from one
grain to the next, the direction of slip changes. Slip within a grain, and from one
grain to another, will occur more easily when the crystals have:
1. Many close-packed planes. Atoms are close packed within a plane when
the spacing between atoms is as tight as possible. With a small distance
between atom planes, there will be lower force required for slip to occur.
Walking over rough ground is more difficult than over smooth ground with
no holes.
2. Many close-packed directions (easy slip directions).
3. The shearing force is applied parallel to one of the preferred slip directions.

A combination of close-packed (slip) plane and direction is referred to as a slip

system. The more slip systems that a lattice structure has, the more likely slip is to
occur. Less stress is required to cause slip. The ease with which slip can occur
determines the properties such as strength, toughness and ductility.
BCC metals, such as iron, have high strength with moderate ductility since
they have no close-packing atom planes.
FCC metals, such as aluminum, are relatively weak with excellent
ductility since there are many close-pack easy slip directions.
HCP metals, such as titanium, have high strength but low ductility (so
crack easily when cold worked). HCP crystals cannot deform in the
vertical direction.

During plastic deformation of metal, cold working occurs. The grains elongate in
the direction of rolling but the volume remains the same. The micrographs in
figure 8 show how the shape of the grains is affected by the amount of work.

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 During cold working, there is a great deal of internal stress (residual stresses from
dislocations stretching the atomic bonds). When atomic bonds are stretched there
will be an increase in hardness and strength. Unfortunately, there will also be a
reduction in ductility and toughness, which can lead to cracking. Stretched atomic
bonds also lead to increased corrosion rates since the atoms more easily react with
the environment. The part may also distort during service or machining. Since the
grains at the surface are worked more than the center, the surface will be in
compression while the center is in tension. When the surface is machined away
the part will bend.

Source B. Kenny, SAIT Polytechnic, 2012

Figure 8: Cold rolling elongates the grains in the Rolling Direction. When
the plate thickness is reduced by 50%, the length of the grains will double,
but the grain volume does not change. Source: B. Kenny, SAIT 2012

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During cold work, the plastic deformation occurs at a temperature well below the
recrystallization temperature and the atoms cannot move around easily to make
perfect crystals. If theres too much cold work then all the ductility will be used
up and cracks will be created. Once cracks occur they cannot be healed.

Figure 8: Cold work (e.g. rolling) increases the strength (both UTS and
Yield). 50% cold work means the cross sectional area of the plate has been
reduced by during rolling. Source: B. Kenny, SAIT 2012

Annealing refers to many different types of heat treatments. Theyre all similar
as they use controlled heating and cooling to restore ductility. Figure 9 shows
three types of annealing: recovery, recrystallization, and grain growth. It also
shows effect of temperature on some the mechanical properties (strength,
hardness, toughness and ductility). Some thermal treatments such as
recrystallization anneal may be performed to also refine the grain size.

Recovery anneal (or stress relief anneal) is a low temperature anneal (slightly
less than 1/2 of the melting point in Kelvin), which allows some movement of
dislocations into tighter bunches. This allows much of the space lattice to be stress
free. This relief of internal stress:
Increases the ductility without significantly changing the yield strength
Makes the part more dimensionally stable for machining
Is less prone to stress corrosion cracking (SCC)
Improves fatigue resistance

Recrystallization anneal (or process anneal) uses temperature slightly higher

than 1/2 MP (melting point). The internal stresses caused by the lattice distortion
(dislocations) are relieved and new grains are created (nucleated) within the old
distorted grain. In this way, a refined (smaller) grain size is achieved compared to
the original casting. Elimination of internal stress (no stretch between atoms),
dramatically improves ductility with a corresponding loss of strength and
hardness. For recrystallization to occur, the metal must have:
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 Sufficient cold work (minimum 10 percent). A second anneal only grows
the grains since there is no internal stress (energy) to cause grains to form.
Sufficient temperature. Above 1/2 melting point (Kelvin), the atoms can
move from their stressed positions to form new grains (perfect unstressed
crystals).
Sufficient time. At higher temperatures, less time is required since the
atoms are more mobile.

Figure 9: The effect of temperature on the mechanical properties. There

dramatic changes at MP (K). Source: B. Kenny, SAIT, 2012

Grain growth anneal may be used when the metal is required to be as soft as
possible or when high temperature creep strength is necessary. Grain growth
occurs when the metal is heated very high or for very long. Higher temperatures
allow atom movement to occur more easily. A few grains grow and occupy the
space of their neighboring grains while others get fat as they consume their
neighbours, which reduce the amount of high-energy grain boundaries. Grain
growth is usually not desirable for most applications since both the strength and

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toughness are reduced. For more information on grain growth anneal, go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac_ca_NeRnw&NR=1

Hot working occurs above the recrystallization temperature, which means that
spontaneous recrystallization of the grains occurs during the working process.
Figure 10 illustrates the steps that occur during hot working. One of the
disadvantages of hot worked steel is that a heavy oxide scale (mill scale) forms as
the surface burns. Other alloys (e.g., aluminium) hot work at lower temperatures
and do not form heavy oxides.

Source B. Kenny, SAIT Polytechnic, 2012

Figure 10: The Hot Working (rolling) Process Produces Grains Smaller than
the Original

Advantages of cold working (cold finished) compared to hot working:

Strength is increased
Close dimensional tolerances (no thermal shrinkage)
Good surface finish (no oxide scale on steel)
Chips form more easily during machining (free machining), due to low
ductility

Advantages of hot working compared to cold working:

Ductility remains high, as some metals can only be hot worked; (e.g., HCP
metals).
Easy to form (e.g., small motors and rollers).
No annealing step during processing (e.g., rolling).
Slightly more corrosion resistant (especially for stress corrosion cracking).

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 Exercise Two
1. Internal stresses caused by cold working can be removed by:
a. Quenching
b. Annealing
c. Machining
d. Peening

2. After cold working the grains are:

a. Elongated in the forming direction
b. Columnar and oriented in similar directions
c. Equiax and randomly oriented
d. Cubic

3. Cold finished (cold worked) steel is:

a. Immersed in dry ice to stabilize structure
b. Quenched from high temperature into cold water
c. Face centered cubic at low temperature (below 0C)
d. Deformed below the recrystallization temperature

4. An advantage of cold work over the cheaper hot work is that:

a. The metal remains softer and is easier to deform
b. The grain size becomes smaller
c. Heavy oxides do not form
d. Internal stress improves corrosion resistance

5. The ___ process is used to completely remove work hardening.

a. Stress analysis
b. Recrystallization
c. Normalizing
d. Carburizing

6. ___ time at the recrystallization temperature makes the grains larger.

a. Longer
b. Shorter

7. Give two reasons why heavily cold worked metals are often recrystallization
annealed.

8. Describe the mechanical property characteristics commonly associated with

the three common lattice structures.

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OBJECTIVE THREE
When you complete this objective you will be able to:
Describe the basic processes involved in modern steelmaking.

Learning Activities
Complete each of the following Learning Activities:
1. Read Discussion Three.
2. Complete Exercise Three.
3. Compare Exercise Three answers to the answers at the end of this
module.
Discussion Three
Figure 11 shows a flow chart outlining a typical sequence for reducing iron ore
into pig iron and then subsequently oxidizing the carbon to low levels to create
steel.

Steelmaking
Pig iron is produced when iron ore (iron oxide) is reduced with coke (coal which
has been heated to remove extra hydrogen), and limestone (flux to help remove
impurities) in the blast furnace. A hot blast of air gives good contact between the
coke, limestone and iron ore. Pig iron is of little use due to the high impurity
content and very high carbon content senses so brittle. Some cast irons may be
produced directly in this way but generally cast irons require further refining in a
cupola furnace.

The basic oxygen furnace (BOF) is the common type of steel making furnace
used to change pig iron into steel by adding oxygen and limestone (basic
compound). Since limestone (calcium carbonate) is basic, it reacts and removes
acidic impurities (S and P). Supersonic velocity oxygen is blown over the surface
of the molten pig iron and the carbon is burned, which lowers the carbon
content to make steel. Gases, especially oxygen, will dissolve and contaminate the
molten steel at this point.

The molten steel is transferred to a ladle metallurgy facility (LMF) which

provides final purification and fine tuning of both the composition and the
temperature of the molten metal. In the LMF:
Alloy additions are made
Dissolved gases can be removed (H,O,N) by vacuum degassing

The molten steel is solidified by either continuous or ingot casting.

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 Source B. Kenny, SAIT, 2006
Figure 11: Iron Ore to Steelmaking

Continuous casting (Con-cast) reduces some of the problems associated with

ingot casting (non-homogeneous composition, shrinkage and gas porosity, etc.).
This process solidifies molten metal into a long continuous strand, as illustrated in
Figure 12.

During continuous casting:

Molten metal is poured into the top of a water cooled ring mold.
Cooling is controlled so that the surface of the bar has solidified before the
metal exits the bottom of the mold.
Further cooling occurs by water sprays.
The solidified metal is cut to length (slabs, ingots or billets) for further
processing (e.g., hot rolling).

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 Source B. Kenny, SAIT, 2012
Figure 12: Continuous Caster (con-cast)

Instead of continuous casting, molten metal may be poured into a mold or other
container to produce an ingot casting. Since the molten metal is confined by the
mold, two types of porosity can occur:
Gas (release of dissolved carbon monoxide, oxygen, nitrogen, etc.)
Shrinkage (thermal)

To reduce the gas porosity, the molten metal may be treated to remove dissolved
oxygen, which produces killed steels. Rimmed steels are not degassed. Semi-
killed steel is partially deoxidized.

Large ingots may also be cast. Figure 13 shows the three basic types of cast steel
(killed, semi-killed or rimmed).

Killed steels have been fully deoxidized by the addition of aluminum or

ferrosilicon to the molten metal. Silicon and aluminum have a high affinity for
oxygen and will react to form solid oxides (SiO2, Al2O3), so carbon monoxide or
oxygen bubbles do not evolve during solidification (steel appears dead). These
solid oxides usually float to the surface of the molten metal however they may

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 be present as inclusions evenly dispersed throughout the steel ingot.

Killed steels:
Are common for high strength and alloy steels (pressure vessels).
Have little porosity (no bubbles form, so it lies still in the mold during
freezing).
High shrinkage (piping) at the top of the ingot, which will be cropped off.

Semi-killed steels have been partially deoxidized by addition of either aluminum

or ferrosilicon. The characteristics of semi-killed steels fall in between killed and
rimmed steels. Most grades of structural steels are semi-killed.

Rimmed steels undergo no or very little deoxidization before solidification. The

solubility of gas in liquid steel is twenty times that in solid steel, so gases which
were dissolved will form porosity (bubbles) during freezing. These steels are used
for low strength applications, which will be heavily hot-worked (e.g., thin sheet,
such as can stock). Hot rolling can usually weld the gas pores shut.

The characteristics of rimmed steel:

Molten steel bubbles vigorously in the mold during freezing
Gross porosity and blowholes
Low carbon rim at the ingot surface (carbon segregates to the center)
Little shrinkage. The soft, ductile rim provides easier rolling. The gas
holes may fuse together from the high heat and pressure during hot-
rolling.

Source B. Kenny, SAIT, 2012

Figure 13: Types of Cast Steel Ingots

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 Source B. Kenny, SAIT, 2012
Figure 14: The Electric Arc Furnace shown in the upright position where
scrap is melted.

Many steelmakers do not make steel from pig iron, but instead melt scrap in large
electric arc furnaces (Figure 14), which melts the steel rapidly. Using scrap as the
starting material reduces costs and mills can be setup near their customers. High
quality steels, such as stainless steels, are often produced in electric arc furnaces
since the furnace can be sealed and argon used as an inert cover gas. Since oxygen
is excluded from the molten steel surface, the inclusion content can be maintained
at very low levels.

Figure 14 shows the furnace and the upright position. Prior to pouring the steel,
the furnace is tilted to the right to skim off the slag and impurities that float to the
top of the molten steel. The furnace is then tilted to the left to pour the refined
steel into the ladle for subsequent casting.

Once the metal has solidified, it is then homogenize annealed to minimize coring
and segregation. It is then worked to shape; Figure 15 illustrates the possible
processing routes. These routes (amount of hot or cold working, heating times,
cooling rates, etc.) affect the microstructure and mechanical properties of the final
product.

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 Figure 15: Steel Production Routes

For further information see the following videos:

Steelmaking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=9l7JqonyoKA&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hlfqggGOZw&feature=related (1944)

Continuous Casting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-72gc6I-_E&feature=related

Exercise Three
1. Pig iron is of little practical use because .
2. Molten steel is solidified using either .
3. Killed steels are .
4. Semi-killed steels are .
5. An electric arc furnace is used to .

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Exercise One Answers
1. a. True. Elastic deformation occurs below the yield limit of the material and
when the load is removed the material returns to its original shape (e.g., stretching
an elastic band.)
2. b. Atomic planes moving past each other
3. Plastic deformation results in a permanent change in shape caused by planes of
atoms moving past each other. (The forces required to cause planes of atoms to
slip past each other is much less than the forces required causing the material to
fracture.) Note: (a)) and (c) are incorrect answers, since metals do not contain
molecules and elastic deformation also causes distortion.
4. Slip is the sliding of adjacent planes of atoms over one another when a load is
applied. Slip occurs in metals because the required forces to cause slip are much
lower than those required to cause fracture.
5. a. True (Dislocations are like a wrinkle in an area rug, which makes it easier to
move.)
6. Lattice defects include interstitial atoms, substitutional atoms and dislocations.
7. d. When atomic bonds break and reform
8. Work hardening increases strength and decreases ductility.
9. Brittle (Materials showing little or no plastic deformation before failure.)
10. Ductile (Materials showing some plastic deformation or necking before
failure.)
11. Work hardening or strain hardening

Exercise Two Answers

1. b. Annealing. The first stage of recrystallization annealing reduces internal
residual stresses caused by the distortion of the atomic bonds.
2. a. Elongated in the forming direction.
Cold working is a plastic deformation process which results in a permanent
change in shape of the material. On the microscopic scale this is seen as
elongated grains. The volume and density of the grains does not change.
3. d. Deformed below the recrystallization temperature
Deformation above the recrystallization temperature is called hot working
where plastic deformation of the grains is accompanied by spontaneous
recrystallization of the grains.

4. c. Heavy oxides do not form.

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 The steel surface reacts with the surrounding air and forms scale (oxides) at
the temperatures used for hot working.

5. b. Recrystallization
Recrystallization restores ductility by allowing nucleation of new grains to
occur.

6. a. Longer
The longer the material is left at the elevated temperature, the more atoms will
move into their ideal lattice locations. Some grains will cannibalize their
neighbours and become fat.

7. Heavily cold worked materials are recrystallized (process annealed), to restore

ductility and to refine the grain size. In this way ductility is increased and, the
metal can be worked further towards the final shape. The strength and
toughness is higher for small-grained metals compared to large grain size
castings.

8. BCC is strong due to the ability to impede dislocation movement (lack of

close packed planes for easy slip to occur), and less ductile when compared
with FCC structures.
FCC is weak due to favourable conditions for slip (dislocations move easily
within the lattice) and more ductile than BCC or HCP metals.
HCP is strong due to the ability to impede dislocation movement (lack of slip
systems so slip does not occur easily) and more brittle than either FCC or
BCC metals.

Exercise Three Answers

1. Pig iron has high amounts of carbon and impurities so it is very brittle.
2. Ingot or continuous casting.
3. Killed steels are fully deoxidized, which suppresses the formation of oxygen
bubbles in the mold. Aluminum and /or silicon added ties up the oxygen in the
steel (This may result in higher inclusion (oxides) content in the solidified
steel.)
4. Semi-killed steels are only partially deoxidized and therefore the formation of
some gas is allowed in the mold. They have more porosity then killed steels
due to the formation of gas bubbles during solidification.
5. An electric arc furnace is used to melt scrap or used to make high quality
steels.

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Assignment
1. Ductility is measured by or .
2. Briefly explain the difference in behavior between a brittle material and a
ductile material as each undergoes plastic deformation.
3. Sketch and label a typical Stress-Strain curve and indicate the work hardening
region.
4. Why do we not require a recrystallization anneal after the hot working
process?
5. What forms on the steel surface during hot working?
6. State four advantages of cold-rolling compared to the cheaper hot-rolling.

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