Department of Mechanical Engineering, Unit Catalogue 2010/11 |
ME30311: Metals and alloys |
 Credits:
| 6 |
| Level:
| Honours |
| Period: | This unit is available in... |
| Semester 1 |
| Assessment:
| CW 20%, EX 80% |
| Supplementary Assessment: | ME30311 Re-Assessment Examination (where allowed by programme regulations) |
| Requisites:
| |
| Description:
| Aims: To give a systematic understanding of some key aspects of the principles of alloy constitution and show their application to the thermal and mechanical treatment of engineering alloys. Learning Outcomes: After taking this unit the student should be able to: Identify common types of alloy phases, analyse their characteristics, interpret binary phase diagrams, explain the effects of heat treatment of steel, aluminium and titanium alloys, describe and comment upon the 'shape-memory' process. Skills: Facilitated - intellectual, practical, key. Content: The properties and structure of metals, dislocations and strengthening methods of metals including solid solution strengthening, precipitation hardening, grain size (Hall-Petch) and cold work using high strength alloy steels, aluminium alloys and titanium alloys as specific examples. Solid solutions, intermetallics and phase structure. Phase diagrams of binary alloys, invariant reactions. Equilibrium structures, use of tie lines and the lever rule. Departures from equilibrium, coring, quenching, hardenability, tempering. Shape memory alloys. Recovery, recrystallisation and grain growth. Precipitation hardening of Al-4%Cu. Low, medium and high alloys steels. |