TERM PAPER

Term Paper Title: Course Code: Course Instructor: Course Tutor (if applicable): Date of Allotment: Date of Submission: Students Roll Number: Section Number: Declaration: I declare that this TERM PAPER is my individual work. I have not copied from any other students work or from any other source except where due acknowledgment is made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been typed for me by any other person. Students Signature: _____________ Evaluators comments: ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Marks obtained: ___________ out of ____________ Evaluators signature: _____________ 25th JAN, 2012 21st FEB, 2012 RJM002A18 JM002 METAL AND ALLOY COOLING CURVES MEC045T SIMRAN DUTT SHARMA

INDEX
Sr. no. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

TOPIC Introduction Cooling curve and terminology Interpretation of cooling curve Cooling curve Discussion of cooling curve Types of cooling curve Cooling curve of pure metals Cooling curve of alloy Factors that can influence the cooling curve Importance of cooling curve Cooling curve and casting

Page No. 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 8 11 11 12

INTRODUCTION
Matter can exist in 3 physical states: Solid, Liquid and Gas. It can undergo a change its state of matter when heat is supplied or released from it. The changes in the state of the substances can be explained using the kinetic theory model. Most substances go through a phase change when heated or cooled. Molecules of a substance are held together in either the solid, liquid, or gaseous phase by intermolecular forces. During a phase transition of a given medium certain properties of the medium change, often discontinuously, as a result of some external condition, such as temperature, pressure, and others. The temperature vs. time plot can be drawn for the transitions. All substances have a heating and cooling curve. These curves show the three phase changes: Heating curve: solid to liquid to gas. Cooling curve: gas to liquid to solid. A cooling curve is a diagram or graph that provides a pictorial representation of the change of state or phase of a substance as it cools. It's a plot of temperature vs. time, and it allows an "overview" of the process.

OVERVIEW:
Metals and alloys are sometimes characterized using cooling curves. The material is heated till molten then allowed to cool and a plot of temperature against time is recorded. For a pure metal the cooling curve displays a distinct plateau region at the melting point (T m) indicating that temperature remains constant over a period of time during crystallization. With few exceptions, the cooling curves for alloys show no such plateau region. Crystallization begins at temperature T1, and is complete at temperature T2. Hence crystallization takes place over a range of temperatures.

For a binary solid solution alloy of two metals, A and B, in which the melting point of metal A is greater than that of metal B, the rst material to crystallize, at just below temperature T 1, will be rich in the higher melting point metal A, whilst the last material to crystallize, at a temperature just above T2, is rich in the lower melting point metal B. Each alloy grain can be envisaged a shaving a concentration gradient of metals; the higher melting metal being concentrated close to the nucleus and the lower melting metal close to the grain boundaries. The material is said to have a cored structure. Such coring may inuence corrosion resistance since electrolytic cells may be set up on the surface of the alloy between areas of different alloy composition. If a series of cooling curves for alloys of different composition within a given alloy system are available a phase diagram can be constructed from which many important predictions regarding coring and other structural variations can be made.

Cooling Curves and terminology

UndercoolingThe temperature to which the liquid metal must cool below the equilibrium freezing temperature before nucleation occurs. RecalescenceThe increase in temperature of an undercooled liquid metal as a result of the liberation of heat during nucleation is Recalescence. Thermal arrestA plateau on the cooling curve during the solidification of a material caused by the evolution of the latent heat of fusion during solidification. Total solidification timeThe time required for the casting to solidify completely after the casting has been poured. Local solidification timeThe time required for a particular location in a casting to solidify once nucleation has begun.

Interpretation of cooling curves

The melting temperature of any pure material (a one-component system) at constant pressure is a single unique temperature. The liquid and solid phases exist together in equilibrium only at this temperature. When cooled, the temperature of the molten material will steadily decrease until the melting point is reached. At this point the material will start to crystallize, leading to the evolution of latent heat at the solid liquid interface, maintaining a constant temperature across the material. Once solidification is complete, steady cooling resumes. The arrest in cooling during solidification allows the melting point of the material to be identified on a timetemperature curve. Most systems consisting of two or more components exhibit a temperature range over which the solid and liquid phases are in equilibrium. The liquidus (TL) is the temperature above which the system is entirely liquid. The solidus (TS) is the temperature below which the system is completely solid. Between these two points the liquid and solid phases are in equilibrium. When the liquidus temperature is reached, solidification begins and there is a reduction in cooling rate caused by latent heat evolution and a consequent reduction in the gradient of the cooling curve. When cooling a material of eutectic composition, solidification of the whole sample takes place at a single temperature. This results in a cooling curve similar in shape to that of a single-component system with the system solidifying at its eutectic temperature.

Cooling Curve

States of matter: P-Q: Gas Q-R: Gas and Liquid R-S: Liquid S-T: Liquid and Solid T-U: Solid U-V: Solid

T1 is the condensation point; T2 is the freezing point T3 is room temperature. During Q-R and S-T, the temperature remains unchanged because the energy produced during the formation of bonds is equal to the heat energy released to the surroundings during cooling. During Q-R, the heat energy released is called the latent heat of vaporization. During S-T, the heat energy released is called the latent heat of fusion.

Discussion of cooling curve:

P-Q The particles in the gas lose their kinetic energy and move slower. The temperature decreases. Heat is lost/released to the surroundings

Q-R Heat given out to the surroundings is balanced by the heat energy released as the particles attract one another to form a liquid. Its temperature remains constant. The substance exists in liquid and gaseous states. R-S The particles in the liquid lose their kinetic energy and move slower. The temperature decreases. Heat is lost/ released to the surroundings. S-T Heat given out to the surroundings is balanced by the heat energy released as the particles attract one another to form a solid. Its temperature remains constant. The substance exists in liquid and solid states.

Types of cooling curves

Cooling curve of Pure Metals

Temperature remains constant while grains grow. Some metals undergo allotropic transformation in solid state.

Cooling curve of an Alloy

An alloy is a mixture of two or more metals. Mixtures of two metals are termed binary alloys, mixtures of three metals ternary alloys etc. The term alloy system refers to all possible compositions of an alloy. For example the silvercopper system refers to all alloys with compositions ranging between 100% silver and 100% copper. In the molten state metals usually show mutual solubility, one within another. When the molten mixture is cooled to below the melting point one of four things can occur. (1) The component metals may remain soluble in each other forming a solid solution. The solid solution may take one of three forms. It may be a random solid solution in which the component metal atoms occupy random sites in a common crystal lattice. Another possibility is the formation of an ordered solid solution in which component metal atoms occupy specic sites within a common crystal lattice. The third type of solid solution is the interstitial solid solution in which, for binary alloys, the primary lattice sites are occupied by one metal atom and the atoms of the second component do not occupy lattice sites but lie within the interstices of the lattice. This is normally found where the atomic radius of one component is much smaller than that of the other. Solid solutions are generally harder, stronger and have higher values of elastic limit than the pure metals from which they are derived. This explains why pure metals are rarely used. The hardening effect, known as solution hardening, is thought to be due to the

fact that atoms of different atomic radii within the same lattice form a mechanical resistance to the movement of dislocations along slip planes. (2) The component metals may be completely insoluble in the solid state. Examination of a binary alloy of two metals, A and B, showing this behavior reveals the presence of some areas containing pure metal A and others containing pure metal B. This type of alloy is susceptible to electrolytic corrosion, particularly if the component metals have widely differing electrochemical potentials. Complete insolubility of two metals is rarely encountered in practice. (3) The two metals may be partially soluble in the solid state. For metals A and B two distinct phases exist within the solid state. One phase consists of a solid solution of metal B in metal A, whilst the other phase consists of a solid solution of A in B. There is a limit to the solubility of the two metals one within the other in each of the two types of grain. The solubility is temperature dependent and normally decreases markedly as the temperature is reduced from the melting point down to room temperature. These partially soluble solid solutions are far more commonly encountered than the completely insoluble material covered in the previous paragraph.
(4) If the two metals show a particular afnity for one another they may form intermetallic

com-pounds with precise chemical formulation (e.g.Ag3Sn). Since intermetallic compounds have specic valence requirements there are fewer crystal imperfections and the potential for movement along slip planes is reduced. Such materials there-fore tend to be relatively hard and brittle with low ductility.

Most alloys have properties which are specic to the particular system being considered. The general principles discussed for metals however, also hold true for most alloy systems. Hence, the grain size of alloys can be controlled by the rate of cooling from the melt. Alloys can be work hardened and they undergo recrystallization and grain growth under the correct conditions.

The alloys normally solidify in a temperature range. Below the temperature at which the alloy begins to solidify and the temperature when it is completely solidified the alloy is in a "pasty" state gradually becoming stiffer as the lower limit of the solidification range is approached. Therefore, for any alloy there is a definite temperature at which solidification begins and an equally definite point where it ends. These two points are known as the "arrest points". As two metals may be alloyed in many different compositions, the cooling curves for all these alloys will be different.

Figure 6.1

Figure 6.2

Figure 6.1 a. Cooling curve for a pure metal that has not been well inoculated.

b. Cooling curve for a well inoculated pure metal. Figure 6.2 a. Phase diagram for alloy b. Cooling curve for alloy

Factors that can influence the cooling curve:

The initial temperature of the cooling substance, often called the "pouring temperature," The temperature of the environment into which the substance is poured. Pressure and the Volume of the cooling substance.

Importance of cooling curves:

Cooling curves is used to find phase transition temperature and to draw phase diagram. Cooling curves is used to evaluate quench severity. Cooling curves can be used to determine the liquidus and solidus temperatures. It also describes a balance between the evolution of heat in the object and the heat transfer away from the object. Cooling curves are important in controlling the quality of a casting. The most important part of the cooling curve is the cooling rate which affects the microstructure and properties.

Cooling curve and casting:

Casting is a manufacturing process by which a liquid material (usually metal and polymers) is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process. In a casting process, the material is first heated to completely melt and then poured into a cavity of the mold. As soon as the molten metal is in the mold, it begins to cool. When the temperature drops below the freezing point (melting point) of the material, solidification starts. Solidification involves a change of phase of the material and differs depending on whether the material is a pure element or an alloy. A pure metal solidifies at a constant temperature, which is its melting point (freezing point). For alloys, the solidification occurs over a temperature range depending upon the composition. As temperature drops, solidification begins at a temperature indicated by liquidus and is completed when the solidus is reached. It is also of interest to examine the metallic grain formation and growth during the solidification process. The metal which forms the initial skin has been rapidly cooled by extraction of heat through the mold wall. This causes the grains to be fine, equiaxed, and randomly oriented. As cooling continues, further grain formation and growth occur in a direction away from the heat transfer and dendrite structure generated. Cooling curves are important in controlling the quality of a casting. The most important part of the cooling curve is the cooling rate which affects the microstructure and properties. An area of the casting which is cooled quickly will have a fine grain structure and an area which cools slowly will have a coarse grain structure.