PIA TRAINING CENTRE (PTC) Module 6 – MATERIALS & HARDWARE

Category - B2 Sub Module 6.1 – Aircraft Materials - Ferrous Metals

MODULE 6: MATERIALS AND HARDWARE

Sub Module 6.1 - AIRCRAFT MATERIALS - FERROUS METALS
Sub Module 6.2 - AIRCRAFT MATERIALS – NON-FERROUS METALS
Sub Module 6.3 - AIRCRAFT MATERIALS – COMPOSITE AND NON-METALLIC
Sub Module 6.4 - CORROSION
Sub Module 6.5 - FASTENERS
Sub Module 6.6 – PIPES AND UNIONS
Sub Module 6.7 - SPRINGS
Sub Module 6.8 - BEARINGS
Sub Module 6.9 - TRANSMISSION
Sub Module 6.10 – CONTROL CABLES
Sub Module 6.11 – ELECTRICAL CABLES AND CONNECTORS

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List of Amendments

Sub-Module &
Amendment No. Issue Date: Date Inserted: Inserted By: Date Removed: Removed By:
Pages:

Issue 01, Rev-00 All 31 March 2014

Issue 01, Rev-01 All 30Nov 2017

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Category - B2 Sub Module 6.1 – Aircraft Materials - Ferrous Metals

MODULE 6
Sub Module 6.1

AIRCRAFT MATERIALS - FERROUS METALS

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Table of Contents

MATERIALS INTRODUCTION....................................................1
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF METALS ...............................1
HEAT-TREATMENT OF CARBON STEELS ..............................5
TESTING OF MATERIALS ..........................................................9

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MATERIALS INTRODUCTION
The variety of materials and hardware used in aircraft
engineering is vast, and this module will only deal with a broad
group of materials, their main characteristics, identification and
uses. These materials can be classed into the three main
categories of Ferrous Metals, Non-Ferrous Metals and Non-
Metallic materials.
Additionally, combinations (Composites) of many of these
materials will be found, in use, in the aerospace industry.
The usefulness of any materials may be enhanced as a result of
the addition of other materials that alter the basic characteristics
to suit the specific requirements of the aircraft designer.
A metal’s usefulness is governed principally by the physical
properties it possesses. Those properties depend upon the
composition of the metal, which can be changed considerably
by alloying it with other metals and by heat-treatment. The
strength and hardness of steel, for example, can be intensified
by increasing its carbon content, adding alloying metals such as
Nickel and Tungsten, or by heating the steel until red-hot and
then cooling it rapidly.
Apart from the basic requirement of more and more strength
from metals, other, less obvious characteristics can also be
added or improved upon, when such features as permanent
magnetism, corrosion resistance and high-strength whilst
operating at elevated temperatures, are desired.
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Composites make up a large part of the construction of modern
aircraft. In the early days, composites and plastics were limited
to non-structural, internal cosmetic panels, small fairings and
other minor parts. Today there are many large aircraft, which
have major structural and load-carrying parts manufactured
from composites. Composite materials, in addition to
maintaining or increasing component strength, contribute to the
important factor of weight saving. There are also many modern
light aircraft that are almost totally manufactured from
composites and contain little metal at all.
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF METALS
The various properties of metals can be assessed, by accurate
laboratory tests on sample pieces. The terminology, associated
with these properties, is outlined in the following paragraphs.
Brittleness
The tendency of the metal to shatter, without significant
deformation. It will shatter under a sudden, low stress but will
resist a slowly-applied, higher load.
Conductivity
The ability of a metal to conduct heat, (thermal conductivity) and
electricity. Silver and copper are excellent thermal and electrical
conductors.
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Ductility Plasticity

The property of being able to be permanently extended by a
tensile force. It is measured during a tensile, or stretching, test,
when the amount of stretch (elongation), for a given applied
load, provides an indication of a metal’s ductility.
Elasticity
The ability of a metal to return to its original shape and size after
the removal of any distorting force. The ‘Elastic Limit’ is the
greatest force that can be applied without permanent distortion.
Hardness
The ability of a metal to resist wear and penetration. It is
measured by pressing a hardened steel ball or diamond point
into the metal’s surface. The diameter or depth of the resulting
indentation provides an indication of the metal’s hardness.
Malleability
The ease, with which the metal can be forged, rolled and
extruded without fracture. Stresses, induced into the metal, by
the forming processes, have to be subsequently relieved by
heat-treatment. Hot metal is more malleable than cool metal.
The ability to retain a deformation after the load producing it has
been removed. Plasticity is, in fact, the opposite of elasticity.
Tenacity
The property of a metal to resist deformation when subjected to
a tensile load. It is proportional to the maximum stress required
to cause the metal to fracture.
Toughness
The ability of a metal to resist suddenly applied loads. A metal’s
toughness is tested by impact with a swinging pendulum of
known mass.
Strength
There are several different measurements of the strength of a
metal, as may be seen from the following sub-paragraphs
Tensile Strength
The ability to resist tension forces applied to the metal.
Yield Strength

The ability to resist deformation. After the metal yields, it is said

to have passed its yield point.

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Shear Strength IRON

The ability to resist side-cutting loads - such as those, imposed
on the shank of a rivet, when the materials it is joining attempt
to move apart in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis of the
rivet.
Bearing Strength
The ability of a metal to withstand a crushing force.
AIRCRAFT MATERIALS - FERROUS
Any alloy containing iron as its main constituent is called a
ferrous metal. The most common ferrous metal, in aircraft
construction is steel, which is an alloy of iron with a controlled
amount of carbon added.
Iron is one of the most common elements in the Earth's crust. It
comprises approximately 5% compared with aluminums at 8%.
Iron is never found naturally in its metallic state, but as iron ores
which only contain in the range of 25% to 60% iron and are
mined in open-cast or open-pit mines. Iron has a great affinity
for oxygen.
Iron is a chemical element that is fairly soft, malleable and
ductile in its pure form. It is silvery-white in colour and quite
heavy, having a density of 7870 kgm-3. Unfortunately, it
combines well with oxygen, producing iron oxide, which is more
commonly known as rust. Iron usually has other materials
added to improve its properties.
The first smelt from the raw ore is poured into troughs (which
are said to resemble piglets suckling on a sow) and the iron is
referred to as ‘pig iron’. The pig iron is then re-melted to give
cast irons.

CAST IRON

Cast Iron normally contains over two percent carbon and some
silicon. It has few aircraft applications, excepting where its
hardness and porosity are required, such as in piston rings and
valve guides.

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STEEL
It should be noted that the British Standards Institute (BS) has a
Steel is essentially an alloy of iron and less than 2.5% carbon, different classification system.
usually with a few impurities. (In practice, most steels do not
have more than 1.5% carbon). 1xxx Carbon Steels
10xx Plain Carbon Steels
Steel is produced by refining pig iron (removing excess carbon 2xxx Nickel Steels
and other unwanted impurities). 3xxx Nickel Chromium Steels
40xx Molybdenum Steels
The high-quality steels, used in aircraft construction, are usually 41xx Chromium Molybdenum Steels
produced in electric furnaces, which allow better control, than 5xxx Chromium Steels
do gas furnaces, when alloying. The carbon electrodes produce 6xxx Chromium Vanadium
an intense arc and the steel, when molten, can have impurities
removed and measured amounts of alloying materials added. Table 01

CLASSIFICATION OF STEELS

The (American) Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has

classified steel alloys with a four-digit numerical index system.
As mall extract from the SAE classification system is shown in
Table 01, where it can be seen, for example, that one common
steel alloy is identified by the designation SAE 1030. The first
digit identifies it as a Carbon-Steel, while the second digit shows
that it is a Plain Carbon-Steel. The last two digits denote the
percentage of carbon in the steel (0.30%).

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HEAT-TREATMENT OF CARBON STEELS
If straight carbon steel is progressively heated from cold, a
steady rise in temperature occurs. However, at approximately
700˚C, there is a reduction in the rate of temperature rise (a
‘hesitation’), even though the heating is continued. This
hesitation starts at 700˚C and finishes at up to 200˚C higher
(depending on the percentage of carbon present) and,
eventually, the temperature rise speeds up and the rate of rise
is similar to that which occurred before the hesitation.
The start of the hesitation is known as the ‘lower critical point’
and the end is called the ‘upper critical point’, and the
phenomenon of the temperature response is due to a change in
the crystalline structure of the steel in between the two critical
points. If carbon steel is heated to just above its Upper Critical
Point the structure is called ‘Austenitic’.
The more carbon present, the harder the steel will be after
quenching. This rapid cooling causes a change in the
metallurgical structure and is called ‘Martensite’. Marten site is
extremely hard but is not suitable for most engineering
purposes due to it being very brittle. For most applications it is
necessary to carry out a further heat-treatment to reduce the
brittleness of the steel, and this is called ‘tempering’.to temper
hardened carbon steel it is necessary to heat it to a suitable
temperature below its Lower Critical Point followed by cooling
(usually quenching)
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ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS - HARDENING PROCESS
The effective hardening of carbon steels depends not only on
the amount of carbon present but also on very rapid cooling
from high temperature. The cooling rate mainly depends on the
cooling medium, the size of tank, and the mass of the object to
be cooled.
TEMPERING
Tempering is carried out to improve the toughness of hardened
steel whilst suffering only a modest drop in strength. Accurate
temperature measuring equipment, in addition to well-equipped
facilities, are required to do these procedures on aerospace
metals.
ANNEALING
The annealing of steel may be for one of the following purposes:
 To soften the steel for forming or to improve machinability.
 To relieve internal stresses induced by a previous process
(rolling, forging, or unequal cooling).
 To remove coarseness of grain.
Annealing is normally achieved on carbon steel by heating to
just above the Upper Critical Limit followed by very slow cooling.
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NORMALISING
This process is similar to annealing, except that the cooling is
done in still air. The end result, again, is a stress-free, soft
material with uniform fine grain structure.
SURFACE HARDENING OF STEELS
Unlike conventional through-hardening of steel, it is sometimes
desirable to retain a relatively tough (relatively less brittle) inner
core, coupled with a very hard surface
CARBURISING
This is the most common method of case-hardening low-carbon
steels and, basically, consists of heating the metal to
approximately 900 C, while the component is in contact with a
carbon-rich medium followed by a suitable heat-treatment.
NITRIDING
This process involves the absorption of nitrogen (instead of
carbon) into the surface of the steel. Suitable "Nitralloy" steels
are necessary for this process and they usually contain 1%
Aluminum, 1.5% Chromium and 0.2% Molybdenum.
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A special furnace is used and ammonia gas is circulated
through it. The furnace temperature of 500 C converts the
ammonia into a nitrogen-rich gas and forms hard iron nitride in
the surface of the steel.
ALLOYING ELEMENTS IN STEEL
As discussed earlier, iron has few practical uses in its pure
state. Adding small amounts of other materials to molten iron,
however, dramatically changes its properties. Some of the more
common alloying elements include carbon, sulphur, silicon,
phosphorus, nickel and chromium (also referred to as chrome
Carbon
Carbon is the most common alloying element found in steel.
When mixed with iron, compounds of iron carbide form and it is
the carbon in steel that allows it to be heat-treated to obtain
varying degrees of hardness, strength and toughness. The
greater the carbon content, then the more receptive the steel
becomes to heat-treatment and, while its strength and hardness
increases, its malleability and weld ability decreases.
Low-Carbon Steel
Low-carbon steels contain between 0.1% and 0.3 % carbon.
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Medium-Carbon Steel In the range of 1% - 5% there is a marked improvement in

strength (and hardness) without lowering ductility. This high-
These steels contain between 0.3% and 0.7 % carbon. strength, tough steel is widely used for highly stressed parts.

High-Carbon Steel
At about 25% nickel, the steel becomes highly corrosion-
The carbon content of these steels, ranges between 0.5% and resistant, heat-resistant and non-magnetic.
1.5 %

Sulphur At 36% nickel, a unique steel (known under its trade name as
‘Invar’) is created.
Sulphur causes steel to be brittle when rolled or forged and so it
must be removed during the refining process. NICKEL ALLOYS

Silicon When the amount of nickel present is predominant, then the

material becomes known as a Nickel Alloy, many of which are
When silicon is alloyed with steel, it acts as a hardener and,
used in small quantities, it also improves ductility. widely used in industry.

One of the most important nickel-based alloy groups is the

Phosphorus
Phosphorus raises the yield strength of steel and improves a
low-carbon steel’s resistance to atmospheric corrosion. The
steel tends to be brittle when cold, so no more than 0.05 %
phosphorus is normally used in steel production.
Nickel
Nickel is used extensively for alloying with steel as follows:
nimonics. These are a family of alloys, containing 50% - 80%
nickel, with the balance being mainly chromium (chrome) with
some titanium and aluminum.
Other ranges of nickel-based alloys come under the trade
names of Inconel and Hastelloy, which are also temperature-
resistant and corrosion-resistant.
Another common nickel alloy is Monel. This metal (68% nickel
and 29% copper, with iron, manganese, silicon and carbon) has
excellent resistance to both corrosion and chemical attack.

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Normally Monel does not respond to heat treatment but, when Nickel-Chrome Steel and its Alloys
alloyed with a small amount of aluminum (2% - 4%), it can be
hardened to double its strength. This version is known as This term is used when the amount of nickel present is greater
‘K-Monel’. than the chrome content. A wide range of such steels exists, but
the low nickel-chrome alloys are suitable for through-hardening
Chromium (Chrome) or case-hardening. The nickel content is around 3%-5% and the
chrome ranges from 0.5%-1.5%.
When small amounts of chrome are added to steel, the strength
and hardness increases, but there is some loss of ductility.1.5%
chrome, in a high-carbon (1%) steel, results in a very hard
material which is used extensively for instrument pivots and in
ball and roller bearings. Low chrome (1.5%-3%) steels are used
for high tensile fasteners and are suitable for nitriding.

Steels containing 12% or more chrome, are very corrosion-

resistant. Stainless (SS) Steels or Corrosion Resistant Steels
(CRS) come into this category. One particular stainless steel is
designated ‘18/8 Stainless’, which contains approximately 18%
chrome and 8% nickel.

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TESTING OF MATERIALS

The mechanical properties of a material must be known before

that material can be incorporated into any design. Mechanical
property data is compiled from extensive material testing.
Various tests are used to determine the actual values of
material properties under different loading applications and test
conditions.

HARDNESS TESTING

The hardness of materials is found by measuring their

resistance to indentation. Various methods are used, but the
most common are those of the Brinell, Vickers and Rockwell
Hardness Tests.

BRINELL HARDNESS TEST

In the Brinell Hardness Test, a hardened steel ball is forced into

the surface of a prepared specimen, using a calibrated force, for
a specified time. The diameter of the resulting indentation is
then measured accurately, using a graduated microscope and,
thus, the area of the indentation is calculated. The hardness
number is determined by reference to a Brinell Hardness
Number (BHN) chart.

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Fig. 02 (a) Brinell hardness tester Fig. 02(b) Brinell hardness tester

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VICKERS TEST ROCKWELLTEST

The Vickers Hardness Test is similar to the Brinell test but uses
a square-based diamond pyramid indenter. The diagonals, of
the indentation, are accurately measured, by a special
microscope, and the Hardness Value (HV) is again determined
by reference to a chart.
The Rockwell Hardness Test also uses indentation as its basis,
but two types of indenter are used. A conical diamond indenter
is employed for hard materials and a steel ball is used for soft
materials. The hardness number, when using the steel ball, is
referred to as Rockwell B (e.g. RB 80) and the diamond
hardness number is known as Rockwell C (e.g. RC 65).

Fig. 03 Vickers hardness tester Fig. 04 (a) Rockwell hardness tester

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Note: Whereas Brinell and Vickers hardness values are based

upon the area of indentation, the Rockwell values are based
upon the depth of the indentation.

No precise relationship exists between the various hardness

numbers, but approximate relationships have been compiled.
Some comparative values between Brinell Vickers and Rockwell
are shown in Table 02.

COMPARATIVE HARDNESS VALUES

MATERIAL BHN HV ROCKWELL

Aluminium 100 100 B 57

alloy

Mild steel 130 130 B 73

Cutting tools 650 697 C 60

Table 02

Fig. 04 (b) Rockwell hardness tester

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TENSILE TESTING
Tensile testing is the most widely-used mechanical test. It
involves applying a steadily increasing load to a test specimen,
causing it to stretch until it eventually fractures. Accurate
measurements are taken of the load and extension, and the
results are used to determine the strength of the material. To
ensure uniformity of test results, the test specimens used must
conform to standard dimensions and finish as laid down by the
appropriate Standards Authority (BSI, DIN, ISO etc).
Note: The units of Stress may be quoted in the old British
Imperial (and American) units of lbf/in2, tonf/in2 (also psi and tsi),
or the European and SI units such as kN/m2, MN/m2 and kPa or
MPa.
FATIGUE TESTING
An experiment, conducted in 1861, found that a wrought iron
girder, which could safely sustain a mass of 12 tons, broke
when a mass of only 3 tons was raised and lowered on the
girder some 3x106 times.

The cross-section of the specimen may be round or rectangular,

It was also found that there was some mass, below 3 tons,
but the relationship between the cross-sectional area and a
which could be raised and lowered on to the beam, a colossal
specified "gauge length", of each specimen, is constant. The
number (infinite) of times, without causing any problem.
gauge length, is that portion of the parallel part of the specimen,
which is to be used for measuring the subsequent extension
Some years later, a German engineer (Wohler), did work in this
during and/or after the test.
direction and eventually developed a useful fatigue-testing
machine which bears his name and continues to be used in
TENSILE STRENGTH
industry. The machine uses a test piece, which is rotated in a
chuck and a force is applied at the free end, at right angles to
Tensile strength in a material is obtained by measuring the
the axis of rotation (refer to Fig. 05). The rotation thus produces
maximum load, which the test piece is able to sustain, and
a reversal of stress for every revolution of the test piece.
dividing that figure by the original cross-sectional area (c.s.a.) of
the specimen. The value derived from this simple calculation is
Various other types of fatigue testing are also used e.g. cyclic-
called STRESS.
torsional, tension-compression etc. Exhaustive fatigue testing,
Load (N) with various materials, has resulted in a better understanding of
Stress 
Original c.s.a. (mm 2 )

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the fatigue phenomenon and its implications from an Using a typical S-N curve, for a steel material, it can be seen
engineering viewpoint. that, if the stress is reduced, the steel will endure a greater
number of stress cycles. The graph also shows that a point is

eventually reached where the curve becomes virtually

horizontal, thus indicating that the material will endure an infinite
number of cycles at a particular stress level.

This limiting stress is called the ‘Fatigue Limit’ and, for steels,
the fatigue limit is generally in the region of 40% to 60% of the
value of the static, ultimate tensile strength (U.T.S.)

Stress

Fig. 05 Machine used for fatigue testing

S-N Curves
Fatigue Limit
One of the most useful end-products, from fatigue testing, is an 40 – 60 %
UTS
S-N curve, which shows, graphically, the relationship between
the amount of stress (S), applied to a material, and the number
of stress cycles (N), which can be tolerated before failure of the
material. Number of
Cycles (N)

Fig. 06 A S-N Curve for a Steel Material

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IMPACT TESTING

The impact test is designed to determine the toughness of a

material and the two most commonly used methods are those
using the ‘Charpy’ and ‘Izod’ impact-testing machines.

Both tests use notched-bar test pieces of standard dimensions,

which are struck by a fast-moving, weighted pendulum. The
energy, which is absorbed by the test piece on impact, will give
a measure of toughness. A brittle material will break easily and
will absorb little energy, so the swing of the pendulum (which is
recorded against a calibrated scale) will not be reduced
significantly. A tough material will, however, absorb
considerably more energy and thus greatly reduce the recorded
pendulum swing.
Test Piece

Fig. 07Impact Test

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OTHER FORMS OF MATERIAL TESTING CREEP IN METALS

Although some of the more important forms of material testing
have already been discussed, there are several other forms of
material testing to be considered, not least important of which
are those associated with Creep and Fatigue Testing.
CREEP
When a metallic material is suitably stressed, it undergoes
immediate elastic deformation. This is then followed by plastic
strain, which occurs in three stages.
 Primary Creep- begins at a relatively rapid rate, but then
decreases with time as strain-hardening sets in.

 Secondary Creep- the rate of strain is fairly uniform and

Creep can be defined as the continuing deformation, with the
at its lowest value.
passage of time, of materials subjected to prolonged stress.
This deformation is plastic and occurs even though the acting  Tertiary Creep- the rate of strain increases rapidly, finally
stress may be well below the yield stress of the material. leading to rupture. This final stage coincides with gross
necking of the component, prior to failure. The rate of
At temperatures below 0.4T (where T is the melting point of the creep is at a maximum in this phase.
material in Kelvin), the creep rate is very low, but, at higher
temperatures, it becomes more rapid. For this reason, creep is
commonly regarded as being a high-temperature phenomenon,
associated with super-heated steam plant and gas turbine
technology.

However, some of the soft, low-melting point materials will

creep significantly at, or a little above, ambient temperatures
and some aircraft materials may creep when subjected to over-
heat conditions.

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Fig 8 Stages of creep

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