STUDY NOTES

A/C MATERIALS

Introduction

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The selection of the correct material for a specific repair job demands familiarity
with the most common physical properties of various metals.
Various properties
 Hardness
 Brittleness
 Malleability
 Ductility
 Elasticity
 Toughness
 Density
 Fusibility
 Contraction & Expansion
Hardness
 Hardness refers to the ability of a material to resist abrasion, penetration,
cutting action, or permanent distortion
Hardness and strength are closely associated properties of metals.
Brittleness
 Brittleness is the property of a metal which allows little bending or
deformation without shattering. A brittle metal is apt to break or crack
without change of shape.
 Cast iron, cast aluminum, and very hard steel are the examples of brittleness

Fracture of an Aluminum Crank Arm. Bright:

Brittle fracture. Dark: Fatigue fracture.

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 Breakage of material due to tensile load
Malleability
 A metal which can be hammered, rolled, or pressed into various shapes
without racking, breaking, or leaving some other detrimental effect, is said to
be malleable.
 Copper is an example of a malleable metal.
Ductility
 Ductility is the property of a metal which permits it to be permanently
drawn, bent, or twisted into various shapes without breaking.
 This property is essential for metals used in making wire and tubing.
 Ductility is similar to malleability.
 Aluminum alloys, Chrome molybdenum steel

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Elasticity
 Elasticity is that property that enables a metal to return to its original size
and shape when the force which causes the change of shape is removed.
 This property is extremely valuable because it would be highly undesirable to
have a part permanently distorted after an applied load was removed.
 Elastic limit: Each metal has a point known as the elastic limit, beyond which
it cannot be loaded without causing permanent distortion
 Spring steel has got good elastic property
Toughness
 A material which possesses toughness will withstand tearing or shearing and
may be stretched or otherwise deformed without breaking.
Fusibility
 Fusibility is the ability of a metal to become liquid by the application of heat.
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  Metals are fused in welding.
 Steels fuse around 2,600 °F
 Aluminum alloys at approximately 1,100 °F.
Conductivity:
 Conductivity is the property which enables a metal to carry heat or
electricity.
Thermal Expansion:
 Thermal expansion refers to contraction and expansion that are reactions
produced in metals as the result of heating or cooling.
HEAT TREATMENT TERMS
 WHAT IS HEAT TREATMENT?
Any process which involves controlled heating & cooling of metals to develop
certain desirable characteristics is called heat treatment CRITICAL RANGE
 It is applicable to steel , refers to the range of temperature b/n 1300o F and
16000 F .when steel passes through this temperature range , its internal
structure is altered .
 Rapid cooling of the metal through this range of temperature will prevent
the normal change of the structure, & unusual properties will be possessed
by the material so treated.
ANNEALING
 What is annealing?
 Process of heating of steel above critical range, holding at that temperature
until it is uniformly heated & the grain is refined, and then cooling it very
slowly.
 Annealing is used to induce ductility, soften material, relieve internal
stresses, refine the structure by making it homogeneous, and improve cold
working properties.
What is normalizing?
 It is similar to annealing, but the steel is allowed to cool in still air-a method
that is somewhat faster than annealing cooling.

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  Normalizing is applicable to steel
 It relieves internal strain , softens the metal somewhat less than annealing
 It increases the strength of steel about 20% greater than annealed steel.
 Hardening of steel is done by heating the metal above the critical range and
then quenching it.
 Al alloys are hardened by heating to a temperature above 900o f and
quenching.
QUENCHING
 quenching is the immersion of heated metal in a liquid, usually either oil or
water, to accelerate the cooling.
TEMPERING
 It is the reheating of the hardened steel to a temp. below the critical range,
followed by cooling as desired.
 Tempering is sometimes referred to as “drawing”.
CARBURIZING
 Addition of carbon to steel by heating at a high temp. while in contact with a
carbonaceous material in either solid, liquid, or gaseous form.
STEEL & ITS ALLOYS
 The base of all steels is iron which, when combined with carbon and other
elements in varying amounts, gives a wide range of physical properties.
Classification of steels
 In order to classify better grade of steel used
 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
 American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) have formulated numerical index
system which is generally used.
 Some other authorities who issues specifications are
 The Navy Department
 Army Air Services
PLAIN CARBON STEELS

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  The most important element in steel is carbon. Classifications of iron &
steel are based on the percentage of carbon present.
TYPE OF STEEL CARBON CARBON IN % on %
Wrought iron Trace to 0.08%
Low carbon steel 0.10% to 0.30%
Medium carbon steel 0.30% to 0.70%
High carbon steel 0.70% to 2.2 %
Cast iron 2.2% to 4.5%

 Note : carbon above 2.2% is uncombined with the iron and is present in the
form of graphite. Which makes it brittle?
ALLOY STEELS
 The metals commonly used as alloys in steel are nickel, chromium,
Molybdenum, vanadium, and tungsten, titanium and columbium.
 Combination of two alloying elements such as chromium-nickel & chromium-
molybdenum are also present.
 Combination of three alloying elements such as chromium-nickel -
molybdenum are also present.
SAE STEEL NUMBERING SYSTEM
 A numeral index system is used to identify the compositions of the SAE
steels.
 The first digit indicates the type to which the steel belongs
 “1”-indicates a carbon steel
 “2”-indicates a nickel steel
 “3”-indicates nickel-chromium steels
 The second digit indicates approx. % of the predominant alloying element.
 The last 2 or 3 digits indicates average carbon content in 100th of 1%

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SAE steel numbering system

Type of steel Numerals{digits}

Carbon steel 1xxx
Manganese steel 13xx
Nickel steel 2xxx
Nickel –chromium steel 3xxx
Molybdenum steel 4xxx
Chromium steel 5xxx
Chromium-vanadium steel 6xxx
Nickel-chromium- 8xxx
molybdenum steel
Silicon-manganese steel 9xxx

Spark Testing of ferrous metals

 Spark testing is a common means of identifying various ferrous metals. In this
test the piece of iron or steel is held against a revolving grinding stone and
the metal is identified by the sparks thrown off.
 Each ferrous metal has its own peculiar spark characteristics. The spark
streams vary from a few tiny shafts to a shower of sparks several feet in
length.
 Wrought iron produces long shafts that are straw colored as they leave the
stone and white at the end.
 Cast iron sparks are red as they leave the stone and turn to a straw color.
 Low carbon steels give off long, straight shafts having a few white sprigs.
 As the carbon content of the steel increases, the number of sprigs along each
shaft increases and the stream becomes whiter in color.
 Nickel steel causes the spark stream to contain small white blocks of light
within the main burst.

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Types, Characteristics, and Uses of Alloyed Steels
Carbon
 Steel containing carbon in percentages ranging from 0.10 to 0.30 percent is
classed as low carbon steel.

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  Steels of this grade are used for making such items as safety wire, certain
nuts, cable bushings, or threaded rod ends
Medium carbon steel
 Steel containing carbon in percentages ranging from 0.30 to 0.50 percent is
classed as medium carbon steel.
 This steel is especially adaptable for machining or forging, and where surface
hardness is desirable.
 Certain rod ends and light forgings are made from SAE 1035 steel.
Effects of Carbon
 Higher the carbon content of steel is, the greater will be the ultimate
strength, the hardness, and the heat treatment range.
 At the same time, the ductility, malleability, toughness, impact resistance
and weld ability will be reduced with the increase in carbon.
Manganese
 Primary purpose of Mn is to deoxidize and desulphurize the steel to produce
a clean, tough metal.
Effects of Manganese
 It deoxidizes by eliminating ferrous oxide, which is harmful impurity.
 Excess Mn increases hardness and toughness of steel.
 It has a property known as “Penetration Hardness” means in heat treatment
of large sections, the hardness is not merely on the surface but penetrates
the core as well. The presence of manganese will greatly improve the
forgings qualities of the steel by reducing the brittleness at forgings and
rolling temperatures.
 Mn more than 1% will increase the brittleness of metal.
 Manganese steel with 13% of Mn. Is exceptionally hard and ductile, but it is
too hard to cut.
Examples
 Tail skid shoes
 Rock crusher jaws

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  Rail road curves
Note : it has the interesting property of being nonmagnetic.
Silicon
 Very small amount, not more than 0.3 % of silicon, is present in steel.
 It has got good deoxidizing property.
 It also increases the ductility of metal.
 It produces the sound metal.
 Silco-manganese steel has good impact resistance.
Nickel
 It is a white metal almost as bright as silver.
Effects of Nickel
 In pure state it is malleable, ductile, weldable.
 It does not corrode quickly.
 It dissolves easily in steel at any proportion.
 3 %to 5% of nickel is available in nickel steel.
 It increases the strength, yield point, and hardness without affecting the
ductility.
 It slows down the critical rate of hardening which, in turns increase the depth
of hardening.
 It reduces the warpage.
 It increases the corrosion resistance of the steel.
 It is one of the principle constituent of stainless steel.
Chromium
 It is hard gray metal with a high melting point.
Effects of chromium
 It imparts hardness, strength, wear resistance and corrosion resistance to
steel.
 It increases the magnetic property, due to which cr-steel is used for magnets.
 It possesses excellent penetration hardness.

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  It is used in conjunction with Ni, Mo & Vanadium. About 1% of cr is present
in these alloys, which are strong, hard, and have fair ductility.
 CRS contains large amounts of chromium.18-8 steel is the best example. In
which chromium is 18% and nickel is of 8%.
 Chromium alloys are also used where great wear resistance is required. The
Cr-Vn alloy is used for ball bearing, & tungsten-chromium alloy for high-
speed cutting tools.
Molybdenum
 It is a very effective alloying element.
 It improves the homogeneity of the metal & reduces the grain size.
Effects of Molybdenum
 It increases the elastic limit, the impact value, wear resistance and fatigue
strength.
 It improves the homogeneity of the metal & reduces the grain size.
Vanadium
 Vanadium is the most expensive of the alloying elements.
Effects of Vanadium
 It is deoxidizing agent, and improves the grain structure and fatigue strength.
 It increases the ultimate strength, yield point, toughness.
 It provides resistance to impact, vibration & stress reversal.
Tungsten
 They possess an interesting property known as “red hardness”
 A term sometimes associated with high speed steel because it has the
property of retaining sufficient hardness for cutting metals even when
heated to a temperature high enough to cause a dull redness. The tungsten
content has a significant influence on this property
 High-speed steel is a tungsten-chromium steel used for tools.
Titanium
 It is often added in small quantities to 18-8 CRS to reduce the embrittlement
at the operating temp. of exhaust stacks and collectors.

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Phosphorus
 It is an undesirable impurity limited in amount to not more than 0.05%.
 Phosphorus is responsible for cold shortness or brittleness when the metal is
cold.
Sulphur
 It is an undesirable impurity limited in amount to not more than 0.06%.
 The presence of sulphur renders steel brittle at rolling or forging
temperatures this condition of steel is said to “hot short”
Inconel -
 It is a nickel-chromium-iron alloy classified as non-ferrous because the iron
content is negligible.
 It is corrosion and heat resisting metal resembling stainless steel (corrosion
resistant steel, CRES) in appearance. Aircraft exhaust systems use both alloys
interchangeably.
 One method of identification is to use an electrochemical technique to find
out the nickel percentage
 Inconel has nickel content greater than 50 percent, and the electro-
chemical test detects nickel.
 The tensile strength of Inconel is 100,000 psi annealed, and 125,000 psi when
hard rolled.
 It is highly resistant to salt water and is able to withstand temperatures as
high as 1,600 °F
 Inconel welds readily and has working qualities quite similar to those of
corrosion resistant steels.
Electrochemical Test
 Prepare wiring assembly, and prepare two reagents (ammonium fluoride and
 dimethylglyoxime solutions) placing them in separate dedicated dropper
solution bottles.
Preparation of metal for testing

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 Before testing, you must thoroughly clean the metal in order for the
electrolytic deposit to take place. You may use nonmetallic hand scrubbing
pads or 320 to 600 grit “crocus cloth” to remove deposits and corrosion
products (thermal oxide).
Testing procedure
 Connect the alligator clip of the wiring assembly to the bare metal being
tested. Place one drop of a 0.05 percent reagent grade ammonium fluoride
solution in deionized water on the center of a 1 inch × 1 inch sheet of filter
paper.
 Firmly press the end of the aluminum rod over the center of the moist paper.
Maintain connection for 10 seconds while rocking the aluminum rod on the
filter paper. Ensure that the light emitting diode (LED) remains lit (indicating
good electrical contact and current flow) during this period.
 Disconnect the wiring assembly and set it aside.
 Remove the filter paper and examine it to determine that a light spot
appears where the connection was made.
 Deposit one drop of 1.0 percent solution of reagent grade dimethylglyoxime
in ethyl alcohol on the filter paper (same side that was in contact with the
test metal).
Identification
Colour Metal
Brown spot Stainless steel
Light pink Stainless steel
Bright pink Inconel

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 Nonferrous Aircraft Metals
 The term “nonferrous” refers to all metals which have elements other than
iron as their base or principal constituent.
 Aluminum, titanium, copper, and magnesium, as well as such alloyed metals
as Monel and babbit are coming under this group.
Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys
 It is a white lustrous metal in pure state.
 It stands second in the scale of malleability, sixth in ductility, and ranks high
in its resistance to corrosion.

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