Lecture 1

Introduction to Metallography
Hot and Cold Rolled Steel

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2-G04

What is Metallurgy?
Metallurgy is the study of
the behavior, structure,
properties and composition of
metals and alloys

Metallurgy is one of five

materials sciences
branches
Reference: Metallurgy, B.J. Moniz, American Technical Publishers Inc., fig. 1-1

What is the Difference Between

Metals and Alloys?

Metals refer strictly to the metallic

elements found in the periodic
table. Examples: Fe, Ni, Mn
Alloys are materials that are
composed of two or more chemical
elements, of which, one of the
elements is a metallic element

Reference: Metallurgy, B.J. Moniz, American Technical Publishers Inc., fig. 1-6

What is Ferrous Metallurgy?

Ferrous metallurgy involves
processes and alloys based on the
chemical element Fe or iron
Most steels and cast irons (alloys)
contain more than 90% iron

Metallography

What is Metallography?
Metallography is basically the
study of the structures and
constitution of metals and alloys,
using metallurgical microscopes
and magnifications, so that the
physical and mechanical properties
of an alloy can be related to its
observed microstructure.

What is the Objective of

Metallography?

Examining the internal structure of

solids will help determine both the
properties of the solid and how that
solid will perform in a given
application
Metallography studies the
interrelationship between structural
characteristics and mechanical
properties of metals and alloys

Materials
Characterization

Reference: Wikipedia, materials science tetrahedron

In What Areas is Metallography

Used?
Materials Development (R & D)
Incoming Inspection (Q.A.)
Failure Analysis
Production & Manufacturing Control

What is Metallographic
Examination?

Metallographic examination is
the study of the microstructure of
metals and alloys by making use
of both the light microscope and
the metallograph to make
photomicrographs
Metallographs are optical,
metallurgy microscopes, capable
of photographing the images of

What Do Photomicrographs Look

Like?

Reference: Principals of Metallurgy, L. Carl Love, Reston Publishing Company, fig. 5-28

What Does Metallographic

Examination Reveal?
The examination of microstructure
reveals;
Grain size
Crystalline structure
Defects
Impurities
Effects of heat treatment &
mechanical processes

Whats the Difference Between

Macrostructure and Microstructure?

Macro is the prefix from a similar

Greek word meaning large
Micro is a prefix from a Greek word
meaning small
Macrostructures may be seen by
the human eye; example: cracks,
porosity
Microstructures require the aid of a
microscope, at various magnifications

What Does
Microstructure Show?
Microstructure reveals the
microscopic arrangement of phases
within a metal

Microstructures are visible at high

magnifications and may show the
shape and size of the grain structure,
as well as the phase types and their
relative distribution
26

27

Macrograph

What is a Phase?
A Phase is any feature that is
physically or crystallographically
distinct and usually visible under a
metallurgical microscope
example: figure 7.46 contains two
phase types; ferrite and pearlite

 The micro structure of many metallic

materials consists of many grains.

30

What are Grains?

A grain or crystal is a portion of a solid
alloy which has external boundaries and a
regular internal atomic lattice arrangement
In fig. 7.46 there are a total of 29 grains or
crystals in the microstructure
Crystal or grain structure exhibits a
definite geometric
arrangement of
atoms bonded together in three
dimensions

What are Grain

Boundaries?
Grain boundaries are the narrow
surfaces along which adjacent grains or
crystals meet

32

What are Grain

Boundaries?
This is a region of mismatch, or a
transition zone which is not aligned
with either grain
Refer to fig. 7.46

Reference: Metallurgy, B.J. Moniz, American Technical

Publishers, fig.4-14

How Do We Get to See a True

Microstructure?
Experience has indicated that
success in microscopic study
depends largely upon the care taken
in the preparation of the specimen
The ultimate objective is to produce
a flat, scratch-free, mirror-like surface

How Do We Prepare a
Microstructure?
Preparation of metallographic
specimens generally requires five major
sequential operations:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Sectioning
Mounting
Grinding
Polishing
Etching

Specimen Selection &

Orientation

Reference: Metallurgy, B. J. Moniz, American Technical Publishers, Fig. 5-1

1. Sectioning
The most widely used sectioning device
used in metallographic labs is the
abrasive cutoff machine
Abrasive cutoff wheels are used to obtain
specimens that are close to final size
Hard abrasive wheels are used for cutting
soft alloys, while soft abrasive wheels are
used for cutting hard materials
A good general purpose cutoff wheel is a
medium hard silicon carbide cutoff wheel

Abrasive Cutoff Wheels

Why Use Wet Cutting?

Cutoff wheels use coolant at the
cutting surface to prevent
overheating, as well as producing a
smooth surface finish
Overheating a specimen alters the
microstructure

2. Mounting
Small specimens generally require
mounting so that the specimen is
supported in a stable medium for
grinding and polishing
The specimen is
permanently
encased
in resin, which
provides a flat

Reference: Metallurgy, B.J. Moniz, American Technical

Publishing Inc.

Mounting
Mounting is usually performed in a
mounting press
Mounting presses encapsulate
the specimen with a
thermosetting resin (Bakelite) under
pressure and at an
elevated
temperature
The combination of elevated
temperature and pressure cures the
Reference: Metallurgy, B.J. Moniz, fig. 5-5

3. Grinding
Grinding is the most important
operation in specimen preparation
Grinding minimizes mechanical
surface damage caused by the
sectioning operation
Grinding is accomplished by
abrading the specimen surface
through a sequence of operations
using progressively finer abrasive grit

Coarse Grinding
Coarse grinding should commence
with coarse grit size that will
establish an initial flat surface and
remove the effects of sectioning
within minutes
Grit sizes from 40 mesh through 150
mesh are regarded as coarse
abrasives
Coarse grinding also removes any
resin on the face of the specimen, or

Fine Grinding
Fine grinding prepares the mount for

the final stages of specimen preparation

by abrading the mount on a series of
successively finer
abrasive papers
Four-stage belt grinding starts with
240 grit
and finishes with 600 grit paper

Reference: Metallurgy, B.J. Moniz, American Technical

Publishing

Grinding Procedure
The mounted specimen is abraded
backward and forward without
rotation until all the grinding marks
from the previous coarser paper have
been eliminated
The amount of time spent on each
abrasive paper is increased as finer
grades of paper are used
The mount is thoroughly washed and
dried after fine grinding is completed

Grinding Procedure
The mount is rotated 90 between
successive papers and thoroughly
washed between papers to prevent
carryover of abrasive material

Reference: Metallurgy, B.J. Moniz, fig. 5-9, American Technical Publishers Inc.

4. Polishing
Polishing procedures lead to a flat,
scratch-free, mirror finish of the
specimen
Rough polishing is performed on a
series of rotating wheels covered
with a low-nap cloth
Successively finer grades of
diamond polishing
pastes
are
applied to each wheel
(45, 30, 6 and 1
Reference: Shenyang Auto-instrument Co., Ltd

Final Polishing
In final polishing, a .05 micron
aluminum oxide slurry in water is
applied to a medium-nap cloth
Final polishing is similar to rough
polishing, but during final polishing
very light hand pressure is applied to
the mount

5. Etching
Etching is the controlled selective
attack on a metal surface for the
purpose of revealing microstructural
detail
Etchants are chemical reagents that
dissolve crystallographic grains at
different rates, giving the as-polished
surface a relief appearance (various
shading effects)

Etching
Because of chemical attack
by the etching reagent,
the
grain
boundaries will appear
as valleys in the polished
surface
Light from the microscope
hitting the side of these
valleys will be
reflected out
of
the microscope, making the grain

Reference: Introduction to Physical

Metallurgy, S. Avner

Magnification
Magnification is
equal
to the product of
the objective lens
magnification
and the
eyepiece lens
magnification
100x means that
the image you
see is 100 times
larger than what

Reference: Introduction to Metallurgy, S. Avner, fig.

1-10

Hot and Cold Rolled

Steel

Rolling
Steel is usually purchased after it has
been mechanically deformed into a
desired shape such as a rod, bar, a
structural shape or rail
Rolling is the most widely used or
the deformation processes
Metal deformation processes
exploit a remarkable property of
metalstheir ability to flow
plastically in the solid state without

Metal is passed between two opposing

rollers, which exert compressive stresses,
reducing the metal thickness
Reference: University of Cambridge

Rolling
Rolling operations reduce the thickness or
change the cross section of a material
through compressive forces exerted by rolls
Rolling is often the first process that is used
to convert material into a finished wrought
product
Wrought products start off with metal
that has been cast into a form or shape
that is suitable for further processing into a
specific product i.e. sheet, wire
Thick starting stock can be rolled into
blooms, billets, or slabs

Basic Rolling Process

Metal is passed between two rolls that
rotate in opposite directions, the gap in the
roll being somewhat less than the thickness
of the entering metal
Friction along the contact interface acts to
propel the material forward
The metal is then squeezed and elongates
to compensate for the decrease in crosssectional area or thickness
The amount of deformation that can be
achieved in a single pass between a given
pair of rolls depends on the friction
conditions along the interface

Flowchart of Rolling Operations

Figure 16-1 Flow

chart for the
production of various
finished and semifinished steel shapes.
Note the abundance of
rolling operations.
(Courtesy of American
Iron and Steel Institute,
Washington, D.C.)

Hot Rolling
Hot rolling is the reduction of steel
ingot size by rollers rotating in opposite
directions and spaced at a distance
less than the steel entering them
Hot working is defined as the
process of simultaneous plastic
deformation and recrystallization when
heated above their recrystallization
temperature

Cold Rolling
Cold rolling is the passing of
unheated shapes through rollers at a
temperature that is below the
recrystallization temperature for that
alloy
The rolls are set at a distance from
each other of less than the size of
the steel entering them
Cold working is the plastic
deformation of the grains of steel ,

Cold Rolling

Reference: Metallurgy, B.J. Moniz, fig. 7-17

Cold Working
Cold Working is plastic deformation
by controlled mechanical operations
that is performed below the
recrystallization temperature for the
purpose of shaping a product
Plastic deformation increases the
strength of a metal and reduces its
ductility by a process known as strain
hardening or work hardening
Strain hardening leads to anistropy

Cold Working
Cold-worked metals contain residual
stresses
Residual stresses may present
problems, such as distortion, during
further processing or during operation
With increased cold working, the grains
elongate in the direction of working
The greater the cold working, the more
elongated the grains become, and the
more resistant the metal becomes to
further plastic deformation

The metal parallel to the direction of

the cold working exhibits an increase
in tensile strength and hardness
However the ductility (indicated by
percent elongation and percent
reduction in area) of the metal
decreases
Mechanical properties become
distinctly different in directions parallel
and perpendicular to the cold-working

Cold Working

Reference: Metallurgy, B.J. Moniz, fig.

7-17

Anisotropy
Anisotropy is a characteristic of
metal that exhibits different properties
when measured in different directions
in relation to the direction of cold
working
Anisotropy is desirable only if a coldworked metal is loaded in a way that
uses the increased strength developed
in a cold-working direction