DEPARTMENT OF

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

III-SEMESTER
ENGINEERING METALLURGY

CHAPTER NO. 6
TESTING OF MATERIALS
&
POWDER METALLURGY

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 CHAPTER 6:- SYLLABUS

1 . Principles of hardness measurement,

2 Hardness Test – Brinell, Rockwell,

3 Non-destructive tests – Ultrasound Test

4 Die Penetration Test

5 Radiography test

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 CHAPTER 6:- SYLLABUS
Powder metallurgy – Introduction, metal powder &
6 . its production
Powder metallurgy Processes
7
Advantages, limitations & application of powder
8 metallurgy,.

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 CHAPTER-6 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE / COURSE OUTCOME

The student will be able to:

1 Understand the hardness testing methods.

Understand different non-destructive tests & powder
2 metallurgy with applications.

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LECTURE 1:- HARDNESS TEST

Hardness is defined as the property of materials by virtue of

which it resists the scratching, abrasion, indentation, plastic
deformation, penetration, cutting etc.

 Hardness is not a fundamental property of material.

 but rather a composite one including yield strength, work

hardening, tensile strength, modulus elasticity & others.

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LECTURE 1:- HARDNESS TEST

 Hardness depends on grain size, yield strength, tensile

strength, ductility, alloying elements etc.

 Various machine-parts & structures such as gears,

axles, rails etc require hardness .

 Hard materials show good resistance to wear.

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LECTURE 1:- HARDNESS TEST

 There are various methods for the measurement of

hardness, based on different principles

such as scratch resistance, rebound , indentation

resistance etc.

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LECTURE 1:- HARDNESS TEST

 The most commonly used test is based on indentation

resistance, in which indenter is pressed in to the surface of
the material by a slowly applied known load.

 The extent of resulting penetration is the measure of

hardness.

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LECTURE 2:- BRINNEL HARDNESS TEST

 Brinell hardness test is more accurate than other

hardness test due to more area of contact between
indenter & specimen.

 In this test, a hardened steel ball of specified diameter

(e.g. 2.5 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm etc) is used.

 Bigger the diameter, higher is the accuracy. Selection of

ball diameter depends on type of materials to be tested.

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LECTURE 2:- BRINNEL HARDNESS TEST

By using following formula Brinnel hardness number

(BHN) is calculated –

BHN =2×W / ( P D ) (D - √ D2 - d2 )

Where
W = Load on indenter in kg.
D = Diameter of steel ball in mm.
d = Average diameter of indentation in mm.

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LECTURE 2:- BRINNEL HARDNESS TEST

Advantages :

1. The relatively large size Brinnel indentation covers

more area of the material and gives the average
hardness

2. Surface scratches and roughness have less

influence on the Brinnel Test.

Disadvantages :
1. The test is not suited for small size objects or parts
subjected to fatigue.
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LECTURE 2:- BRINNEL HARDNESS TEST

Applications :

Non – ferrous alloys, Steels and cast irons.

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LECTURE 2:- BRINNEL HARDNESS TEST

• Due to its higher strength and ductility it shows

dimensional stability at higher temp.

• It can be used for furnace doors, crank shafts etc

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LECTURE 2:- ROCKWELL TEST

 Rockwell hardness test is the most used & versatile of

hardness test.

 This test is used for various materials.

 Various Rockwell scales i.e A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, K, L,

M,P,R,S,V have been designed to suit the various
requirements.

 Among these A,B,C, are most common.

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LECTURE 2:- ROCKWELL TEST

Scale A - Cemented carbide, thin sheet, shallow case

hardened steel, case carburized surfaces.

Scale B - Aluminium alloys, Copper alloys, malleable iron,

Unhardened steel etc. in rolled, drawn, extruded or cast
metal

Scale C – Hard cast iron, Pearlitic Malleable iron, steel,

deep case hardened steel, titanium, material harder than
100 HRB

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LECTURE 2:- ROCKWELL TEST

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LECTURE 2:- ROCKWELL TEST

PROCEDURE :

1) Keep the lever at position A.

2) Select suitable indenter according to type of material &

corresponding scale.

3) Place the job on testing table

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LECTURE 2:- ROCKWELL TEST

4) Turn the hand wheel to raise the job, making contact

with penetrator and continue turning until the long hand of
the dial gauge has made two & half turn.

Then it stops at ‘0’. Continue turning further, until the small

hand reaches red spot at ‘3’.

This is automatic zero setting & manual adjustment is not

necessary.

5) Turn the lever from position ‘A’ to position ‘B’ so that the
total load act.

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LECTURE 2:- ROCKWELL TEST

6) When the long pointer of dial gauge reaches a steady

position, take the lever back to position ‘A’ slowly.

7) Read the figure against long pointer. Outer black scale is

used for Rockwell A & C.

The inner red scale should be used for Rockwell B.

8) Turn back the hand wheel & remove the job.

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LECTURE 3:- Basic Principles of Ultrasonic Testing

 Ultrasonic Testing (UT) uses high frequency sound

energy to conduct examinations and make measurements.

 Ultrasonic inspection can be used for flaw

detection/evaluation, dimensional measurements, material
characterization, and more.

 To illustrate the general inspection principle, a typical

pulse/echo inspection configuration as illustrated below will
be used.

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LECTURE 3:- Basic Principles of Ultrasonic Testing

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LECTURE 3:- Basic Principles of Ultrasonic Testing

Ultrasonic Inspection is a very useful and versatile NDT

method.

Some of the advantages of ultrasonic inspection that are

often cited include:

It is sensitive to both surface and subsurface discontinuities.

The depth of penetration for flaw detection or measurement

is superior to other NDT methods.

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LECTURE 3:- Basic Principles of Ultrasonic Testing

Only single-sided access is needed when the pulse-echo

technique is used.

It is highly accurate in determining reflector position and

estimating size and shape.

Minimal part preparation is required.

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LECTURE 3:- Basic Principles of Ultrasonic Testing

Electronic equipment provides instantaneous results.

Detailed images can be produced with automated

systems.

It has other uses, such as thickness measurement, in

addition to flaw detection.

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LECTURE 4:- Basic Principles of Dye Penetrant Testing

 Dye penetrant testing examines the surface of an item

(non destructively) for surface-breaking flaws, such as
cracks.

 A liquid penetrant is applied to the surface and left to

soak.

 The liquid is drawn into any cracks via capillary action.

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LECTURE 4:- Basic Principles of Dye Penetrant Testing

 The liquid is typically brightly colored or a fluorescent

(under UV light) dye.

 After the soak time has expired, the excess penetrant

is wiped from off and a developer is applied.

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LECTURE 4:- Basic Principles of Dye Penetrant Testing

 The developer is usually a dry white powder (for

example chalk powder) suspension that is spayed on the
component.

 The developer is drawn out of the crack by reverse

capillary action.

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LECTURE 4:- Basic Principles of Dye Penetrant Testing

 Resulting in a colored indication on the surface that is

broader than the actual flaw, and therefore, much more
visible.

 This technique can be used to detect surface flaws on

essentially any non-porous material.

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LECTURE 5:- Radiographic Testing (RT)

 Radiographic Testing (RT), , is a (NDT) method of

inspecting materials for hidden flaws by using the ability
of short wavelength electromagnetic radiation(high
energy photons) to penetrate various materials.

 Either an X-ray machine like Co-60 or in rarer cases

Cs-167 are used in a x ray computer
tomography machine as a source of photons.

 Neutron radiographic testing (NR) is a variant of

radiographic testing which uses neutrons instead of
photons to penetrate materials.

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LECTURE 5:- Radiographic Testing (RT)

 This can see very different things from X-rays,

because neutrons can pass with ease through lead and
steel but are stopped by plastics, water and oils.

 Since the amount of radiation emerging from the

opposite side of the material can be detected and
measured,

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LECTURE 5:- Radiographic Testing (RT)

 Variations in this amount (or intensity) of radiation are

used to determine thickness or composition of material.

 Penetrating radiations are those restricted to that part

of the electromagnetic spectrum of wavelength less than
about 10 nanometers

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LECTURE 5:- Radiographic Testing (RT)

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LECTURE 5:- Powder Metallurgy
Why Powder Metallurgy is Important?

 PM parts can be mass produced to net shape or near

net shape

 PM process wastes very little material - ~ 3%

 PM parts can be made with a specified level of porosity,

to produce porous metal parts

– Filters, oil-impregnated bearings and gears

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LECTURE 5:- Powder Metallurgy

 Difficult to fabricate parts can be shaped by powder

metallurgy

– Tungsten filaments for incandescent lamp bulbs are

made by PM

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LECTURE 5:- Powder Metallurgy

 Certain alloy combinations and cermets can only be

made by PM.

 PM production can be automated for economical

production

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LECTURE 5:- Powder Metallurgy

• Problems in storing and handling metal powders

– Degradation over time, fire hazards with certain metals

• Limitations on part geometry because metal powders do

not readily flow well

• Variations in density may be a problem, especially for

complex geometries

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LECTURE 6:- Production of Metallic Powders

Any metal can be made into powder form

• Three principal methods by which metallic powders are

commercially produced
1. Atomization
2. Chemical
3. Electrolytic

• In addition, mechanical milling is occasionally used to

reduce powder sizes

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LECTURE 6:- Production of Metallic Powders

Gas Atomization Method

High velocity gas stream flows through expansion nozzle,

siphoning molten metal and spraying it into container

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LECTURE 6:- Production of Metallic Powders

Gas Atomization Method

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LECTURE 6:- Conventional Press and Sinter Steps

1. Blending and mixing of powders

2. Compaction - pressing into desired shape

3. Sintering - heating to temperature below melting point

to cause solid-state bonding of particles and
strengthening of part .

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LECTURE 6:- Conventional Press and Sinter Steps

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LECTURE 6:- Blending and Mixing of Powders

The starting powders must be homogenized

• Blending - powders of the same chemistry but possibly

different particle sizes are intermingled.

– Different particle sizes are often blended to reduce

porosity

• Mixing - powders of different chemistries are combined

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LECTURE 7:- Compaction

High pressure to form the powders into the required

Shape.

• Conventional compaction method is pressing, in which

opposing punches squeeze the powders contained in a
die.

• The workpart after pressing is called a green compact.

• The green strength of the part should be adequate for

handling

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LECTURE 7:- Sintering

Heat treatment to bond the metallic particles, thereby

increasing strength and hardness

• Usually carried out at 70% to 90% of the metal's melting

point (absolute scale)

• The primary driving force for sintering is reduction of

surface energy

• Part shrinkage occurs during sintering due to pore size

reduction

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LECTURE 8:- Limitations and Disadvantages

• High tooling and equipment costs

• Metallic powders are expensive

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LECTURE 8:- Limitations and Disadvantages

• Problems in storing and handling metal powders

– Degradation over time, fire hazards with certain metals

• Limitations on part geometry because metal powders do

not readily flow well

• Variations in density may be a problem, especially for

complex geometries

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LECTURE 8:- PM Applications

1. Gears, bearings, sprockets, fasteners, electrical

contacts, cutting tools, and various machinery parts.

2. Advantage of PM: parts can be made to near net

shape or net shape.

3. When produced in large quantities, gears and bearings

are ideal for PM because:

– Their geometries are defined in two dimensions

– There is a need for porosity in the part to serve as a
reservoir for lubricant
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 References Books:
1. Introduction to Engineering Metallurgy by Dr. B K
Agrawal, Tata McGraw-Hill

2. Introduction to Physical Metallurgy by Avner, Tata

McGraw-Hill

3. Engineering Materials & Metallurgy, Srinivasan,

Tata Mc-Graw Hill

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LECTURE 8:-

THANK YOU
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