MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS

1 The quality that is required from any material depends on its use: it's obvious that wires and springs can't be manufactured out of the same metal as the former must possess ductility and the latter elasticity. Aluminium will certainly not do for a drill but is advisable for electricity. Thus a designer must estimate the loads that a piece will carry and determine which material, shape and size is best suited.

2 External forces can effect solid materials in different ways, but basically their effects can be divided into three categories: compression, tension and shear. A material is said to be stressed when an external force tends to cause it to change shape. Sometimes the force applied is so strong that the shape is actually permanently altered: the piece is said to be strained i.e. distorted.

3 Tests performed on specimens enable to determine their mechanical properties. Hardness, for instance, is measured by applying a constant vertical load onto a test area (Brinell test). Tensile tests are carried out by exerting a progressively increased increased load to a specimen, until elongation and finally fracture happens. It's also possible to determine how tough a material is by means of an Izod test : a pendulum hits the specimen with a given kinetic energy at a given speed, and the energy absorbed in bending the specimen indicates its toughness.

4 The natural properties of materials can sometimes be widely altered by various treatments. Thus corrosion, which attacks metals in particular, can be reduced by applying paint or by electrical treatment such as electro-plating. Metallic elements can also be added so as to improve the original properties: nickel added to steel increases toughness and ductility, whereas brass (a copper and zinc alloy) is much stronger than copper though less ductile.

5 The properties of ferrous metals depend on the amount of carbon that they contain. Cast iron contains approximately 3% carbon whereas in steel the proportion ranges from 0.1 to 1.5%. Depending on the exact percentage of carbon and of various other metals which have been added, alloy steel can exhibit such different properties as ductility, hardness, elasticity or plasticity.

6 Moreover, heating metals, either during or after shaping, provides them with new physical or mechanical properties: atoms are arranged as 3-D shapes ( called crystals) which determine the properties. When heated, the structure of some crystals (especially iron) is changed, thus resulting in different properties. The basic operation consists

in heating steel (for instance) up to a determined temperature and cooling it down more or less slowly depending on the result to be achieved.

COMPREHENSION

: answer the questions

1 - When choosing a material, what must a designer always think about ? -According to the text, which properties should wires possess ? What about springs ? -What can aluminium be used for ? -As a result, how does a designer choose a material ? 2 - What are the effects of external forces on materials ? -What is the definition of 'stress' ? -What has caused a piece to be strained ? 3 - List the tests mentioned in the paragraph. -What are these tests for ? 4 and 5 - What can you say about the following summary ? Various techniques enable us to alter a material properties: painting or plating develop corrosion resistance, as well as alloying which also increases toughness and ductility. Ferrous metals may contain various proportions of carbon, which gives them varying qualities. 6 - How can metals be supplied with new properties ? -Which basic operations must then be carried out ? -Explain briefly the relationship between the properties and the chemical structure of a metal.

LANGUAGE STUDY
1 - Definitions *Toughness can be defined as the ability to resist / withstand repeated bendings (adjective : tough). *A material which can be easily drawn into wires exhibits / possesses the property of ductility (adjective : ductile). *A material which easily breaks when subjected to impacts or elongation is said to be brittle (noun : brittleness). Using the same structures, make definitions and give the corresponding noun or adjective.

-malleability - can be easily given a new shape by hammering -hardness - resistance to scratching or indentation -elasticity - ability to return to its original shape -plasticity - does not return to its original shape -stiff (adjective) - resistance to deflection, in the case of springs -density - ratio between mass and volume -fusiblility - the material can easily melt

2 - Look at the following table.

Temperature annealing 800 C

Cooling very slow quenching = immediate cooling in oil or water slow

New properties ductile + soft + tough + ductile+ hard hard + hard + ductile -

tempering hardening normalizing

250 C 800 C 800 C

a/ When /if normalized, steel acquires / gains increased hardness and decreased ductility. Make similar sentences with the other three operations. b/ annealing : * after the metal is heated (= after heating the metal) up to 800 C, it is very slowly cooled down. * before the metal is very slowly cooled down (= before very slowly cooling the metal down), it is heated up to 800 C. Make similar sets of sentences for each of the other three operations.

3 - Transform as in the example : If we add chromium to steel, corrosion-resisting properties are improved. --> Adding chromium to steel results in / brings about improved corrosion-resisting properties.

-If we add nickel to steel, ductility and toughness are increased. -If we quench a piece, hardness and strength are improved. -If we anneal steal, ductility is incresaed. -When we use tin to coat another metal, corrosion-resisting properties are enhanced (=improved). -If we vary the proportion of carbon , steel will possess quite different properties.

4 - Transform as in the example : If you add chromium TO steel, it'll resist corrosion. -->Steel TO WHICH chromium is added will resist corrosion. -If you incorporate chromium INTO steel, it'll withstand corrosion. -> Steel... -If you apply a high load TO a piece, it'll break. --> a piece... -If a rivet is submitted TO a shear force, the latter can break the rivet. --> a shear force ... -If you exert a tensile force ON an elastic material, it'll return to its original shape. --> an elastic material ...

5 - Fill in the blanks with a preposition (or []) Brass is made ... zinc and copper. Painting iron prevents it ... rusting. The properties of steel depend ... the amount of carbon it contains . Quenching consists ... cooling metals in water . Cast iron is not capable ... resisting impacts. Copper can be drawn ... wires . When heated, steel is provided ... new properties. Painting steel helps it to resist ... corrosion. When a material is subjected ... a tensile load, it tends to extend. Adding certain properties ... steel or removing some ... it may be done by heating it.

6 - Turn into the passive - See Figure 1 (Note: don't forget to download figure 1. See below.) If two forces act on body, each force exerts an influence on it. Each separate effect produces a total effect which we can represent as a vector: we call this vector the'resultant'. Thus we can draw a parallelogram, in which the diagonal represents the resultant of the two forces. If we add E to the system, it produces equilibrium, so that we say E is the equilibrant.

7 -a/ Look at Fig. 2 and write a description of the steel tensile test. You may use the following expressions:

as the applied force increases - a rise in the extension proportional to - return to its original shape - if the load is removed - up to point M - general extension continues until phenomenon called 'waisting' ( cross-sectional area becomes narrower) - notice that the load - elongation continues until - break at a load of x KN. b/ write a similar descrption of the copper tensile test. (Don't forget to download figures 1 and 2 (just below). Click on the right mouse-button and choose 'save' in the menu.)

This document comes from Gearing Up a coursebook by Jean-Claude Viel published by Hachette - France.

Contributed by Jean-Claude Viel

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