Home > Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and of materials engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements and their mixtures, which are called alloys. 1 Extractive metallurgy
Extractive metallurgy is the practice of separating metals, usually in the form of a metal oxide, from their ore, and refining them into a pure metal. In order to convert a metal oxide to a metal, the metal oxide must be reduced either chemically or electrolytically.
2 Metallurgy in production engineering
Metallurgy, in production engineering, is concerned with the production of metallic components for use in consumer or engineering products. This involves the production of alloys, the shaping, the heat treatment and the surface treatment of the product. The task of the metallurgist is to achieve design criteria specified by the mechanical engineer, such as cost, weight, strengthThe tensile strength of a material is the maximum amount of tensile stress that it can be subjected to before it breaks. Tensile strength is an important concept in engineering, especially in the fields of material science, mechanical engineering and stru, toughnessToughness in material science and metallurgy, is the resistance to fracture of a material when suddenly stressed., hardnessIn materials science, hardness is the characteristic of a solid material expressing its resistance to permament deformation. There are three principal operational definitions of hardness: #Scratch hardness #Indentation hardness #Rebound, dynamic or absolu, corrosionCorrosion is the destructive reaction of a metal with another material, e. oxygen, or in an extreme pH environment (either acidic or basic). The corrosion product is a mix of oxide and salts of the original metal. Corrosion is the primary means by which m resistance and performance in extremes of temperatureTemperature is the physical property of a system which underlies the common notions of "hot" and "cold"; the material with the higher temperature is said to be hotter. General description The formal properties of temperature are studied in thermodynamics..
Common engineering metals are aluminiumAluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is the chemical element in the periodic table with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. A silvery and ductile member of the poor metal group of elements, aluminium is found primarily as the ore bauxite and, chromiumvanadium chromium manganese Cr Mo Full table General Name, Symbol, Numberchromium, Cr, 24 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 6 (VIB), 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Atomic properties Atomic weight 51. 9961 amu Atomic radius (calc., copperCopper is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. Notable characteristics Copper is a reddish-coloured metal, with a high electrical and thermal conductivity (among pure metals at room temperature, only silver, iron, magnesium, nickel, titanium and zinc. These are most often used as alloys. Much effort has been placed on understanding one very important alloy system, that of purified iron, which has carbon dissolved in it, better known as steel. Normal steel is used in low cost, high strength applications where weight and corrosion are not a problem. Stainless steel is used where resistance to corrosion is important. Aluminium alloys and magnesium alloys are used for applications where strength and lightness are required.
Most engineering metals are stronger than most plastics and are tougher than most ceramics. Composites of plastics and materials such as glass fibre and carbon fibre rival metals in applications requiring high tensile strength with little weight. Concrete rivals metals in applications requiring high compressive strength and resistance to the effects of water. Wood rivals metal in applications requiring low cost and availability of materials and low cost of construction.
The operating environment of the product is very important; a well-designed material will resist expected failure modes such as corrosion, stress concentration, metal fatigue, creep and environmental stress fracture . Ferrous metals and some aluminium alloys in water and especially in an electrolytic solution such as seawater, corrode quickly. Metals in cold or cryogenic conditions tend to lose their toughness becoming more brittle and prone to cracking. Metals under continual cyclic loading can suffer from metal fatigue. Metals under constant stress in hot conditions can creep.
