Aluminum

With nitrogen or oxygen, aluminum forms a fine dispersion that limits grain growth

A deoxidizer that results in excellent toughness because of the resulting fine grain size

Forms a surface hardened layer by (relatively) low temperature diffusion of nitrogen (nitriding)

Aluminium is the most widely used non-ferrous metal. Global production of aluminium in 2005 was 31.9 million tonnes. It exceeded that of any other metal except iron (837.5 million tonnes). Forecast for 2012 is 4245 million tonnes, driven by rising Chinese output.

Aluminium is almost always alloyed, which markedly improves its mechanical properties, especially when tempered. For example, the common aluminium foils and beverage cans are alloys of 92% to 99% aluminium. The main alloying agents are copper, zinc, magnesium, manganese, and silicon (e.g., duralumin) and the levels of these other metals are in the range of a few percent by weight.

Chromium

Provides a moderate contribution to hardenability up to about 1% Mildly resists softening during tempering Provides elevated temperature strength and resistance to oxidation With high carbon, provides abrasion resistance The strengthening effect of forming stable metal carbides at the grain boundaries and the strong increase in corrosion resistance made chromium an important alloying material for steel. The high speed tool steels contain between 3 and 5% chromium. Stainless steel, the main corrosion-proof metal alloy, is formed when chromium is added to iron in sufficient concentrations, usually above 11%. For its formation, ferrochromium is added to the molten iron. Also nickel-based alloys increase in strength due to the formation of discrete, stable metal carbide particles at the grain boundaries. For example, Inconel 718 contains 18.6% chromium. Because of the excellent high temperature properties of these nickel superalloys, they are used in jet engines and gas turbines in lieu of common structural materials.

Cobalt

- Resist softening at elevated temperatures.

Cobalt-based superalloys consume most of the produced cobalt. The temperature stability of these alloys makes them suitable for use in turbine blades for gas turbines and jet aircraft engines, though nickelbased single crystal alloys surpass them in this regard. Cobalt-based alloys are also corrosion and wearresistant. This makes them useful in the medical field, where cobalt is often used (along with titanium) for orthopedic implants that do not wear down over time. The development of the wear-resistant cobalt alloys started in the first decade of the 19th century with the stellite alloys, which are cobalt-chromium alloys with varying tungsten and carbon content. The formation of chromium and tungsten carbides makes them very hard and wear resistant. Special cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloys like Vitallium are used for prosthetic parts such as hip and knee replacements. Cobalt alloys are also used for dental prosthetics, where they are useful to avoid allergies to nickel. Some high speed steels also use cobalt to increase heat and wear-resistance. The special alloys of aluminium, nickel, cobalt and iron, known as Alnico, and of samarium and cobalt (samarium-cobalt magnet) are used in permanent magnets. It is also alloyed with 95% platinum for jewelry purposes, yielding an alloy that is suitable for fine detailed casting and is also slightly magnetic.

Copper

Improves resistance to atmospheric corrosion in the 0.20-0.50% range Decreases the ability to hot work steels due to migration to grain boundaries Numerous copper alloys exist, many with important uses. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc and bronze usually refers to copper-tin alloys, but can refer to any alloy of copper such as aluminium bronze. Copper is one of the most important constituents of carat silver and gold alloys and carat solders used in the jewelry industry, modifying the color, hardness and melting point of the resulting alloys.

The alloy of copper and nickel, called cupronickel, is used in low-denomination statuarycoins, often for the outer cladding. The US 5-cent coin called nickel consists of 75% copper and 25% nickel and has a homogeneous composition. The 90% copper/10% nickel alloy is remarkable by its resistance to corrosion and is used in various parts being exposed to seawater. Alloys of copper with aluminium (about 7%) have a pleasant golden color and are used in decorations. Copper alloys with tin are part of lead-free solders. Copper alloys are metal alloys that have copper as their principal component. They have high resistance against corrosion. The best known traditional types are bronze, where tin is a significant addition, and brass, using zinc instead. Both these are imprecise terms, and today the term copper alloy tends to be substituted, especially by museums.

Lead

Does not dissolve in steel and improves machinability

Can cause liquid metal embrittlement at temperatures near its melting point

Lead is used in applications where its low melting point, ductility and high density is an advantage. The low melting point makes casting of lead easy, and therefore small arms ammunition and shotgun pellets can be cast with minimal technical equipment. It is also inexpensive and denser than other common metals.

Because of its high density and resistance from corrosion, lead is used for the ballast keel of sailboats. Its high density allows it to counterbalance the heeling effect of wind on the sails while at the same time occupying a small volume and thus offering the least underwater resistance. For the same reason it is used in scuba diving weight belts to counteract the diver's natural buoyancy and that of his equipment. It does not have the weight-to-volume ratio of many heavy metals, but its low cost increases its use in these and other applications.

Manganese

Provides a moderate contribution to hardenability up to about 2% Promotes retained austenite on quenching Forms sulfides for improved machinability Produces a high carbon austenitic steel Produces a Cr-Ni-Mn austenitic steel (200 series stainless) that competes with the 300 series stainless steels

Increases strength and reduces ductility in ferritic steels Is a deoxidizer and promotes hot workability The second large application for manganese is as alloying agent for aluminium. Aluminium with a manganese content of roughly 1.5% has an increased resistance against corrosion due to the formation of grains absorbing impurities which would lead to galvanic corrosion. The corrosion-resistant aluminium alloys 3004 and 3104 with a manganese content of 0.8 to 1.5% are the alloys used for most of the beverage cans. Before year 2000, in excess of 1.6 million tonnes have been used of those alloys; with a content of 1% manganese, this amount would need 16,000 tonnes of manganese.

Molybdenum

Contributes greatly to hardenability up to about 1% Contributes deep hardening Increases elevated temperature strength and creep resistance Improves corrosion resistance in stainless steels, particularly in chloride environments Minimizes the tendency toward temper embrittlement in alloy steels in the 0.15 to 0.30% range Molybdenum is also used in steel alloys for its high corrosion resistance [31][35] and weldability. Molybdenum contributes further corrosion resistance to "chrome-moly" type300 stainless steels (high-chromium steels that are corrosion-resistant already due to their chromium content, but in reality "chrome-moly" is not a type-300 stainless, but instead a 41xx series that is not stainless) and especially so in the so-called superaustenitic stainless steels (such as alloy AL-6XN). Molybdenum acts by increasing lattice strain, thus increasing the energy required to dissolve out iron atoms from the surface. Because of its lower density and more stable price, molybdenum is sometimes used instead of tungsten.[31] An example is the 'M' series of high-speed steels such as M2, M4 and M42 as substitution for the 'T' steel series which contain tungsten. Molybdenum can be implemented both as an alloying agent and as a flame-resistant coating for other metals. Although its melting point is 2,623 C(4,753 F), molybdenum rapidly oxidizes at temperatures above 760 C (1,400 F) making it better-suited for use in vacuum

Nickel

Provides a moderate contribution to hardenability Tends to promote retained austenite with medium and high carbon content Strengthens unhardened steels by solid solution Makes high chromium steels austenitic Provides toughness in ferritic-pearlitic steels Nickel is used in many specific and recognizable industrial and consumer products, includingstainless steel, alnico magnets, coinage, rechargeable batteries, electric guitar strings, microphone capsules, and special alloys. It is also used for plating and as a green tint in glass. Nickel is preeminently an alloy metal, and its chief use is in the nickel steels and nickel cast irons, of which there are many varieties. It is also widely used in many other alloys, such as nickel brasses and bronzes, and alloys with copper, chromium, aluminium, lead, cobalt, silver, and gold (Inconel, Incoloy, Monel, Nimonic).

Phosphorus

Provides a high contribution to hardenability Promotes retained austenite Strengthens carbon steels but severely reduces toughness and ductility Improves corrosion resistance Improves machinability is high sulfur steels Decreases ductility with medium and high carbon steels Contributes to temper embrittlement Phosphorus is also an important component in steel production, in the making of phosphor bronze, and in many other related products. Phosphorus is added to metallic copper during its smelting process to react with oxygen present as an impurity in copper and to produce oxygen-free copper or phosphoruscontaining copper (CuOFP) alloys with a higher thermal and electrical conductivity than normal copper.

Silicon

Provides a moderate increase in hardenability Hardens ferrite, more than manganese but less than phosphorus, up to about 1% Increases the strength of quenched and tempered steels Provides some oxidation resistance at elevated temperatures Is a general purposes deoxidizer, at about 0.05% in rimmed steels and 0.15-0.30% in fully killed steels Elemental silicon is added to molten cast iron as ferrosilicon or silicocalcium alloys to improve performance in casting thin sections, and to prevent the formation of cementite where exposed to outside air. The presence of elemental silicon in molten iron acts as a sink for oxygen, so that the steel carbon content, which must be kept within narrow limits for each type of steel, can be more closely controlled. Ferrosilicon production and use is a monitor of the steel industry, and although this form of elemental silicon is impure, it accounts for 80% of the world's use of free silicon.

The properties of silicon itself can be used to modify alloys. Silicon's importance in aluminum casting is that a significantly high amount (12%) of silicon in aluminum forms a eutectic mixture which solidifies with very little thermal contraction. This greatly reduces tearing and cracks formed from stress as casting alloys cool to solidity. Silicon also significantly improves the hardness and thus wear-resistance of aluminum. Silicon is an important constituent of electrical steel, modifying its resistivity and ferromagnetic properties.Metallurgical grade silicon is silicon of 9599% purity. About 55% of the world consumption of metallurgical purity silicon goes for production of aluminum-silicon alloys for aluminum part casts, mainly for use in the automotive industry. The reason for the high silicon use in these alloys is noted above. Much of the rest of metallurgical-grade silicon is used by the chemical industry for production of the important industrial product fumed silica. The remainder is used in production of other fine chemicals such as silanes and some types of silicones.

Tin

Tin in combination with other elements forms a wide variety of useful alloys. Tin is most commonly alloyed with copper. Pewter is 8599% tin; Babbitt metal has a high percentage of tin as well. Bronze is mostly copper (12% tin), while addition of phosphorus gives phosphor bronze. Bell metal is also a copper-tin alloy, containing 22% tin. Tin has also sometimes been used in coinage; for example, it once formed a single figure percentage of the American and Canadian pennies. Because copper is often the major metal in such coins, and zinc is sometimes present as well, these could technically be called bronze and/or brass alloys. The niobium-tin compound Nb3Sn is commercially used as wires for superconducting magnets, due to the material's high critical temperature (18 K) and critical magnetic field (25 T). A superconducting magnet weighing only a couple of kilograms is capable of producing magnetic fields comparable to a conventional electromagnet weighing tons. A addition of a few percent tin is commonly used in zirconium alloys for the cladding of nuclear fuel.

Most metal pipes in a pipe organ are made of varying amounts of a tin/lead alloy, with 50%/50% being the most common. The amount of tin in the pipe defines the pipe's tone, since tin is the most tonally resonant of all metals. When a tin/lead alloy cools, the lead cools slightly faster and produces a mottled or spotted effect. This metal alloy is referred to as spotted metal. Major advantages of using tin for pipes include its appearance, its workability, and resistance to corrosion.

Titanium

Produces carbide particles that restrict grain growth Reduces martensite hardness by removing carbon from solution Removes carbon from solution in austenitic stainless steels preventing grain boundary deterioration by chromium carbide formation Inhibits austenite formation in high chromium steels Acts as a deoxidizer by combining with oxygen and nitrogen Titanium can be alloyed with iron, aluminium, vanadium, molybdenum, among other elements, to produce strong lightweight alloys for aerospace (jet engines, missiles, andspacecraft), military, industrial process (chemicals and petro-chemicals, desalination plants, pulp, and paper), automotive, agri-food, medical prostheses, orthopedic implants, dental and endodontic instruments and files, dental implants, sporting goods, jewelry,mobile phones, and other applications. The two most useful properties of the metal form are corrosion resistance and the highest strength-toweight ratio of any metal. In its unalloyed condition, titanium is as strong as some steels, but 45% lighter. There are two allotropic forms and five naturally occurring isotopes of this element, 46Ti through 50Ti, with 48Ti being the most abundant (73.8%). Titanium's properties are chemically and physically similar to zirconium, because both of them have the same number of valence electrons and are in the samegroup in the periodic table.

Tungsten

Decreases softening during tempering Forms abrasion resistant carbides Promotes elevated temperature hardness Provides some creep resistance The hardness and density of tungsten are applied in obtaining heavy metal alloys. A good example is high speed steel, which can contain as much as 18% tungsten. Tungsten's high melting point makes tungsten a good material for applications like rocket nozzles, for example in the UGM-27 Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile. Super alloys containing tungsten, such as Hastelloy and Stellite, are used in turbine blades and wear-resistant parts and coatings.

Vanadium

Provides a significant increase in hardenability up to about 0.05% Promotes fine austenite grain size Resists softening during tempering Approximately 85% of vanadium produced is used as ferrovanadium or as a steel additive. The considerable increase of strength in steel containing small amounts of vanadium was discovered in the beginning of the 20th century. Vanadium forms stable nitrides and carbides, resulting in a significant increase in the strength of the steel. From that time on vanadium steel was used for applications in axles, bicycle frames, crankshafts, gears, and other critical components. There are two groups of vanadium containing steel alloy groups. Vanadium high-carbon steel alloys contain 0.15% to 0.25% vanadium and high speed tool steels (HSS) have a vanadium content of 1% to 5%. For high speed tool steels, hardness above HRC 60 can be achieved. HSS steel is used in surgical instruments and tools.

Vanadium stabilizes the beta form of titanium and increases the strength and temperature stability of titanium. Mixed with aluminium in titanium alloys it is used in jet engines and high-speed airframes. One of the common alloys is Titanium 6AL-4V, a titanium alloy with 6% aluminium and 4% vanadium.

Zinc

A widely used alloy which contains zinc is brass, in which copper is alloyed with anywhere from 3% to 45% zinc, depending upon the type of brass. Brass is generally more ductile and stronger than copper and has superior corrosion resistance. These properties make it useful in communication equipment, hardware, musical instruments, and water valves. Other widely used alloys that contain zinc include nickel silver, typewriter metal, soft and aluminium solder, and commercial bronze. Zinc is also used in contemporary pipe organs as a substitute for the traditional lead/tin alloy in pipes. Alloys of 8588% zinc, 410% copper, and 28% aluminium find limited use in certain types of machine bearings. Zinc is the primary metal used in making American one cent coins since 1982. The zinc core is coated with a thin layer of copper to give the impression of a copper coin. In 1994, 33,200 tonnes (36,600 short tons) of zinc were used to produce 13.6 billion pennies in the United States. Alloys of primarily zinc with small amounts of copper, aluminium, and magnesium are useful in die casting as well as spin casting, especially in the automotive, electrical, and hardware industries. These alloys are marketed under the name Zamak. An example of this is zinc aluminium. The low melting point together with the low viscosity of the alloy makes the production of small and intricate shapes possible. The low working temperature leads to rapid cooling of the cast products and therefore fast assembly is possible. Another alloy, marketed under the brand name Prestal, contains 78% zinc and 22% aluminium and is reported to be nearly as strong as steel but as malleable as plastic. This super plasticity of the alloy allows it to be molded using die casts made of ceramics and cement. Similar alloys with the addition of a small amount of lead can be cold-rolled into sheets. An alloy of 96% zinc and 4% aluminium is used to make stamping dies for low production run applications for which ferrous metal dies would be too expensive. In building facades, roofs or other applications in which zinc is used as sheet metal and for methods such as deep drawing, roll forming or bending, zinc alloys with titanium and copper are used. Unalloyed zinc is too brittle for these kinds of manufacturing processes. As a dense, inexpensive, easily worked material, zinc is used as a lead replacement. In the wake of lead concerns, zinc appears in weights for various applications ranging from fishing to tire balances and flywheels. Cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) is a semiconductive alloy that can be divided into an array of small sensing devices. These devices are similar to an integrated circuit and can detect the energy of incoming gamma ray photons. When placed behind an absorbing mask, the CZT sensor array can also be used to determine the direction of the rays.

Zirconium

Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr,atomic number 40 and atomic mass of 91.224. The name of zirconium is taken from the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. It is a lustrous, grey-white, strong transition metal that resembles titanium. Zirconium is mainly used as a refractory and opacifier, although minor amounts are used as alloying agent for its strong resistance to corrosion. Zirconium forms a variety of inorganic and organometallic compounds such as zirconium dioxide and zirconocene dichloride, respectively. Five isotopes occur naturally, three of which are stable. Zirconium compounds have no biological role.

A small fraction of the zircon is converted to the metal, which finds various niche applications. Because of zirconium's excellent resistance to corrosion, it is often used as an alloying agent in materials that are exposed to aggressive environments, such as surgical appliances, light filaments and watch cases. The high reactivity of zirconium toward oxygen, apparent only at high temperatures, is the basis of some specialised applications as explosive primers and as getters in vacuum tubes. The same behavior is probably the basis of the use of Zr nano-particles as pyrophoric material in explosive weapons such as the BLU-97/B Combined Effects Bomb for incendiary effect.