Metallurgical Materials-The Science Behind Building Strong and Durable Structures

The strength and durability of any product are influenced by the material it is made from. Choosing the right materials can help optimize performance, fabrication, and economy for any given application.

Metallurgical engineers use their knowledge of metallurgical materials to select appropriate alloys for specific applications. They also determine if an alloy can be improved by heat treatment or other processing techniques.

• Common metallurgical properties are strength and stiffness (yield and ultimate tensile strength), hardness, and resistance to plastic deformation and corrosion. These properties are primarily determined by the chemical composition of the raw material and its internal structure, like grain size or crystal structure.

• Steel and its various alloys are popular for their strength to weight ratio, and their low cost. However, other engineering metals can be used in a variety of applications.

• Some of these materials are more durable and have higher resistance to corrosion than steel. These include aluminum, nickel, titanium and copper alloys, among others.

• Besides strength, other important metallurgical properties include density, toughness, impact resistance and temperature weakening. These are generally measured in a variety of ways including Brinell, Rockwell, and Vickers testing.

• The extraction of metals from ores is another key area of metallurgy. Several types of extractive metallurgy include hydrometallurgy, which involves using water-based liquids to break down ores into their elements, and pyrometallurgy, which is a process that causes physical or chemical transformation to allow valuable metals to be recovered.