Essay On Alloys

1. An alloy is a homogenous mixture of a metal with one or more other elements which are usually other metals.

The purpose of making alloys is to alter or enhance a metal’s chemical and physical properties in order to use the alloy for a specific function. For example, alloys can be made to enhance the hardness, magnetism, tensile strength and corrosion resistance of a metal. The harder alloy can replace the use of another metal that does not have the required and ideal characteristics for a particular function.

2.

Alloy of Iron: Mild Steel Alloy of Copper: Cupro-nickel

Composition Mainly of iron with < 0.2% carbon. 70% copper and 30% nickel

Use To make car bodies Seawater Pipe work

Why alloying the metal makes it more suitable for the use. By adding carbon, the steel becomes harder and stronger and is more corrosion resistant than iron. Steel is malleable, and thus is easily welded and shaped into the forms needed to create car bodies. The cost of steel is low compared to metals like aluminium, which can also be used for car bodies but is expensive. Steel is plentiful and cheap. These properties make steel a suitable material for car bodies. By alloying copper – with the addition of nickel, cupro-nickel alloys have improved strength and corrosion resistance. The alloy’s high resistance to bio-fouling and corrosion, especially sea water, makes it a suitable material to make pipes for seawater systems.

3. TIMELINE OF THE DISCOVERY OF METALS

4. Copper, gold and silver were the some of the first metals that man discovered and used. The order of discovery is closely connected with their reactivities. The less reactive the metal, the easier it is to extract as it requires less energy, and th...

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...ry, people did not have the resources or technology to mass produce it. Aluminium was very expensive due to the difficulty of attaining pure aluminium and it was even more expensive than gold ($115 per pound = 454 grams).

- aluminium’s softness limited its extensive use.

The metal’s softness limited it to applications such as jewellery and tableware. In 1906, a German metallurgist, Alfred Wilm, made an alloy of aluminium and discovered a method of strengthening aluminium. He combined a small amount of copper with aluminium and heated it to a high temperature and cooled it quickly. The alloy of aluminium was softer than before, but it became considerably strong after a few day due to precipitation hardening. Light, easily sculpted and durable, aluminium was used extensively in the 20th century and became invaluable in aviation, engineering and other transportations.