An introduction to the most revolutionary materials of all time

Metals
IRON

Steel
Metals changed the way our ancestors made their tools..and they defined a new era comprising of the iron, copper and bronze ages.And they continued to enter into our daily lives.. Today we cant even imagine our world without them. And the metal which has taken the world by storm is IRON. From a nifty paper clip to the steel girders supporting the mammoth modern skyscrapers, iron has been involved in all.Iron makes up a huge array of modern products. especially carbon-rich, commercial iron, which we call steel.Even if the product isnt made of iron/steel ,you can bet that it was involved in designing producing or distributing it! If you had to name the technologies that had the greatest effect on modern society, the refining of the heavy metal element iron would have to be near the top.

Aluminum

PROPERTIES OF IRON

o Iron especially its pure form STEEL is very Strong in bearing loads. o Is easily relatively easy to shape into various forms if heated properly o Iron can withstand sufficiently high temperatures o Iron can be created easily and cheaply compared to other metals. o Iron is present abundantly in earths crust to satisfy the modern needs of building and more. The only real problem with iron and steel is that it RUSTS.

Production of Iron & Steel

Three Raw materials are required to produce MOLTEN IRON: IRON ORE FLUX MATERIAL COKE

PIG IRON- AN INTRODUCTION

THE CRUDE IMPURE FORM OF IRON IS KNOWN AS PIG IRON. CONTAINS 92 -93% IRON 3 -4.5% CARBON {GRAPHITE & CEMENTITE Fe3C} REST Si ,P,S Mn BASICALLY A RAW MATERIAL FOR FURTHER IN MANUFACTURE OF CAST , WROUGHT IRON AND STEEL

General Properties of PIG IRON: Can be hardened but cant tempered. It can not be magnetized. It can not be welded or riveted. It does not rust. It is difficult to bend. It is hard and brittle. It is neither ductile nor malleable . It melts easily . It possesses high compression strength but it is weak in tension and shear.

Types of PIG IRON

1.WHITE PIG: Also known as the forge pig.It is produced when the furnace is not provided with sufficient fuel or when the raw materials are burnt at low temperature or when the fuel contains a higher % of sulphur. As it contains more combined carbon hence it is unfit for superior castings. It is used in the manufacture of Wrought iron. 2. GREY PIG: known as the foundry pig.it is produced when the furnace is provided with sufficient fuel and raw materials and burnt at very high temperatures. This is a soft variety of pig and is used in manufacture of CAST Iron castings . 3.BESSEMER PIG: This is obtained from haematite ores.It should be free from copper,Phosphorus and sulphur.The presence of silicon and manganese in small amounts improves quality. This pig is used in manufacture of steel by Bessemer or acid open hearth process

4. MOTTLED PIG: This variety of pig lies somewhere between grey pig and white pig.It is stringer and it contains a large proportion of combined carbon.It is unfit for light and ornamental castings.It is used for heavy foundry castings

Cast iron
The cast-iron is manufactured by remelting pig-iron with coke and limestone. This remelting is done in a furnace known" as the cupola furnace. Composition of cast-iron: 2 to 4 per cent of carbon. In addition, it contains the various impurities such as manganese, phosphorus, silicon and sulphur. oThe manganese makes cast-iron brittle and hard. Its amount should therefore be kept below 0.75 per cent or so. oThe phosphorus increases fluidity of cast-iron. It also makes cast-iron brittle. oThe silicon combines with part of iron and forms a solid solution. it decreases shrinkage and ensures softer and better castings. oThe sulphur makes cast-iron brittle and hard. It also does not allow smooth cooling in sand moulds.

Types of cast iron

Grey cast-iron White cast-iron Mottled cast-iron Chilled cast-iron Malleable cast-iron Toughened cast-iron.
o Grey cast-iron: This is prepared from grey pig iron. Its color is grey It is soft and it melts readily. It is somewhat weak in strength. It is extensively used for making castings. o White cast-iron: Its color is silvery white. It is hard and it melts with difficulty. o Mottled cast-iron: It is an intermediate variety between grey cast-iron and white cast-iron. o Chilled cast-iron: The chilling consists of making some portion of cast-iron hard and other portion soft. o Malleable cast-iron: The composition of this variety of cast-iron is so adjusted that it becomes malleable. It is done by extracting a portion of carbon from castiron. It is used for railway equipment, automobiles, pipe fittings, agricultural implements, door fastenings, hinges, etc. , o Toughened cast-iron: This variety of cast-iron is obtained by melting cast-iron with wrought-iron scrap.

Advantages and uses of Cast Iron

Advantages cheap Low melting point Fluid easy to cast, especially advantageous into large complex shapes Excellent bearing properties Excellent damping properties (ability to absorb noise and vibration) Can be heat threatened it cannot be magnetized. It does not rust easily, It is hard, but it is brittle also. Its melting temperature is about 1250C It is weak in tension and strong in compression.
Uses of cast-iron: The use of cast-iron is not recommended in horizontal direction The cast-iron cracks and snaps suddenly when subjected to the shocks For making cisterns, water pipes, gas pipes and sewers, manhole covers and sanitary fittings. For making ornamental castings such as brackets, gates, lamp posts, spiral staircases, etc. For preparing agricultural implements. rail chairs, carriage wheels, etc

Cast-iron architecture
Structural use
Cast iron has been used for centuries, and was used occasionally in architecture in the pre-modern period. It was in eighteenth century Britain that new production methods first allowed cast iron to be produced cheaply enough and in large enough quantities to regularly be used in large building projects. One of the first important projects was The Iron Bridge in Shropshire. The quality of the iron used in the bridge is not high, and nearly 80 brittle cracks are visible in the present structure.

Architectural use
In the 1850's the cheapness and availability of cast iron led James Bogardus of New York City to advocate and design buildings using cast iron components. Cast iron could be forged into a wide array of shapes and designs, Cast iron also became the standard support structure in the construction of greenhouses, and this type of design led to the monumental Crystal Palace built in London in 1851. Designed by Joseph A street in SoHo inand cast iron structure Paxton, the glass New York City showing a number of nineteenth was much imitated around the world. century industrial structures withmodern In the late nineteenth century cast-iron facades steel was developed, and it proved far more suitable to cast iron for structural and support purposes

Wrought Iron
Wrought iron has been used in building from the earliest days of civilization that dates from the Middle Ages. The demand for higher dynamic loads in bridges and warehouse buildings, and the ever greater spans of train sheds towards the end of the nineteenth century, led the designers of buildings to acquire the technology developed to build ships of iron, and create beams of riveted wrought iron rolled sections. By the turn of the century this had led to buildings completely framed in wrought iron, and later steel, and cast iron was once again relegated to an ornamental role.

Properties of Wrought Iron

Manufactured by melting & refining iron to a high degree of purity ductility is lower than steel tensile strength is lower can be molded easily

good resistance to corrosion used to make pipes, corrugated sheets, grills, bars, chains can be cold worked, forged and welded like steel

Uses of Wrought Iron

Wrought iron is characterized especially in old sample ,by the presence of fine stringers or filaments of slag entrapped in the metal. Wrought iron does not rust particularly quickly When used outdoors. it has largely been replaced by mild steel for wrought iron gates and blacksmithing rivets chains ornamental iron work railway coupling water and steam pipes steel (as raw material) bolt, horse shoe bars ,nuts handrails strap for timber roof trusses roofing sheets etc

Mechanical Treatment of Steel

Purpose of giving mechanical treatment to the steel is to give desired shapes to the ingots so as make steel available in market forms. the treatment of steel may be hot working or cold working. DRAWING This operation is carried out to reduce the crosssection and to increase the length proportionately. Metal is drawn through dies or specially shaped tools. This process is used to prepare wires and rods.
PRESSING Its a slow process and is carried out by press. Here no shock is involved. It have a punch and a die. Metal is placed on the die and then punch is lowered on the die with a great pressure. Useful for producing large number of similar engineering articles. ROLLING Carried out in special prepared rolling mills. The ingots, while still red hot, are passed in succession through different rollers. Until article of desired shape is obtained. Here various shapes such as angels, channels, flats, joists, rails, etc are manufactured.

FORGING Carried out by repeated blows under a power hammer or a press. Metal is heated above critical temp. range. Then placed over anvil and subjected to blows of hammer. The density of metal is increased and grain size is improved. By this process bolts, cramps, etc. are manufactured. This can be done in two ways :1. Forged free- here the steel is free to spread in all direction. 2. Die-forged- here the steel flows in a die under the blow of hammer to fill inside the die. These parts have very accurate dimensions.

Heat Treatment of Steel

It is possible to alter the properties of steel by heating and cooling steel under controlled conditions
ANNEALING Here steel is made soft so that it can be worked up on easily. Tensile strength reduces and ductility increases. The steel to be annealed is heated to the desired temp. which is about 50 to 55 degree C above the critical temp. The it is kept at that temp. for certain time as per the metal requirement. Then it allowed to cool in that furnace slowly in which it was heated.
TEMPERING The hardened steel is in a stressed condition and is very brittle so it has to be tampered before taking it in use. After being quenched while hardening, the article is again heated but below the critical temp. Temperature is maintained for certain time period. Then the article is allowed to cool in still air.By tampering:1.Ductility strength and toughness improves. 2.Hardness and wear resistance increases. 3.Reduce brittleness and relive internal stress.

Heat Treatment Of STEEL

HARDNING Just reverse of annealing. Steel is made hard . By just changing the rate of cooling, this process of cooling is known as quenching. The steel is rapidly cooled. Common mediums for quenching are oil, water, air and molten salts. NORMALIZING It is done to restore steel structure to normal condition. This make material reasonably ductile without affecting its strength. Here steel is heated at a temp. 40 to 50 degree C higher then critical temp. And is allowed to cool in still air at room temp.

Properties of Steel
Properties of MILD STEEL
Can be easily hardened & tempered. Can be magnetized permanently. Cannot be readily forged & welded. Has granular structure. Is not easily attacked by salt water. Tougher and more elastic than mild steel. Rusts easily and rapidly. Melting pt.-1300 oC. Specific gravity-7.90. Ultimate compressive strength140 to 200kN/cm2. Ultimate shear strength110kN/cm2. Ultimate tensile strength-80 to 110 kN/cm2.

Properties of HARD STEEL

Can be magnetized permanently. Can be readily forged and welded. Cannot be easily hardened and tempered. Has fibrous structure. Malleable and ductile. Is not easily attacked by salt water. Tougher & more elastic than wrought iron. Rusts easily and rapidly. Melting pt.-1400 oC. Specific gravity-7.80. Ultimate compressive strength80 to 120kN/cm2. Ultimate tensile & shear strengths-60 to 80 kN/cm2. Used for all types of structural works.

FABRICATION
Fabrication is process by which we make required shape of available section, bar ,& sheets which ,will be further utilize to make finish product like window frame ,panel, etc.

By machine TYPE 1 Manually TYPE 2

AVALIBILTITY
MARKET RATES
TYPE Hollow section()
Bars

LEADING BRAND
RS/Kg 35-40

30
30

sheets

Aluminum section (Roorki) (Hindalco)

Binding wire Almeria slotted angle 2m long

150 174
42 25/m

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