Name: Gareth Kudakwashe Mashingaidze

Reg Number: R1918199X

Programme: Metallurgical Engineering

Level: 1.2

Assignment Number: 1

Lecturer: Mr K. Mafema

Module: Material Science

Date: 11/07/2022
Question 1

Pauli’s exclusion principle states that no two electrons in an atom can have identical values for
all of their four quantum numbers. Two atoms can be in the same orbital can have the same
principal quantum number, orbital angular momentum quantum number, and magnetic quantum
number, but cannot have the same electron spin quantum number because two electrons in the
same sub orbital should always spin in opposite directions.

Question 2

A slip system is displacement or dislocation of a part of a crystal in relation to another part along
the crystal planes and direction. The parallel movement of two neighboring crystals regions
relative to each other across some plane or planes is called slip. A slip system is a type of a
plastic deformation. A slip system describes the set of symmetrically identical slip planes and
associated family of slip directions for which dislocation motion can easily occur and lead to
plastic deformation. An external force makes part of the crystal lattice glide along each other,
changing the materials geometry. The preferred plane with specified directions along which the
dislocation motion occurs is called the slip plane.

Question 3

Frenkel Defects – It is a type of point defect in the molecule of a crystalline solid where an atom
or ion is moved out of its own lattice site making that site vacant while occupying another
intermediary vacant site on the same crystal.

Schottky Defects – It is a type of a point defect which occurs when oppositely charged ions
vacate their positions in the crystal lattice causing an imperfection in the solid. It is found in
highly ionic compounds that have similarly sized anions and cations.
Question 5

The main difference between polymorphism and allotropy is that polymorphism occurs in
chemical compounds whilst allotropy occurs in chemical elements.

Allotropy- It is the existence of a chemical element in two or more forms which may differ in
the arrangement of atoms in crystalline solids or in the occurrence of molecules that contain
different numbers of atoms. Allotropes contain atoms of the same element that are bound
together in different ways. For example, diamond, graphite and fullerenes are all allotropes of
carbon; whilst dioxygen, ozone and tetraoxygen are allotropes of oxygen.

Polymorphism – It is the existence of a solid material in more than one form or crystal structure.
Polymorphism can be found in any crystalline structure such as polymers, minerals and metals.
The variation of conditions during the crystallization process is the main reason of the
occurrence of polymorphism in crystalline materials. There are different forms of
polymorphism;

• Packing polymorphism – depends on the difference in crystal packing.

• Conformational polymorphism – the presence of different conformers of the same
molecule
• Pseudo polymorphism – the presence of different crystal types as a result of hydration or
solvation.

Question 6
Vickers Hardness Test – This is one of the oldest hardness testing methods, and has a wide
hardness scale, making it suitable to use for the hardness testing of most metals and welds. The
Vickers hardness test uses a 136° pyramidal diamond indenter that forms a square indent. The
load is applied for a time of 10 to 15 seconds. The two axes of the diamond shaped indentation
measured in millimeters, and are then averaged to give the dimension, d, and the hardness is
determined, based on a calibration for different kilogram loads, P. The indentation produced by
the Vickers test is relatively small, and therefore, it is extremely useful in testing the hardness of
small parts or sections and very thin objects like foils for example. In recent years, Vickers
hardness testing has been used to determine the mechanical properties of surface coatings.

Knoop Hardness Test - The diamond indenter used in the Knoop test is in the shape of an
elongated four-sided pyramid, with the angle between two of the opposite faces being
approximately 170° and the angle between the other two being 130°. The indenter is pressed into
the material under loads that are often less than one kilogram and the indenter leaves a four-sided
impression about 0.01 to 0.1 mm in size. The length of the impression is approximately seven
times the width, and the depth is almost a thirtieth of the length. Given such dimensions, the area
of the impression under load can be calculated after measuring only the length of the longest side
with the aid of a calibrated microscope. The final Knoop hardness ,HK, is derived from the
following formula:

HK = 14.229(F/D2)

with F being the applied load (measured in kilograms-force) and D2 being the area of the
indentation measured in square millimetres.

Since the Knoop indentation is rather long and narrow and only penetrates to a shallow depth,
the Knoop method is suitable for testing very thin layers like aluminium foil, as well as hard and
brittle materials, such as glass and ceramics. The deeper Vickers indentation can cause cracks
around the edges of the test indent in these materials, which can be avoided with the shallower
Knoop indentation.

Question 7

i. Grain size reduction – This is a technique of strengthening materials by the reduction in size
of the grains of the material. Grain boundaries act as obstacles to dislocation motion. When the
grains of the material are reduced in size, there will be more grain boundaries in the material per
unit volume, meaning there will be more obstacles to dislocation motion. The increase in grain
boundaries will make the dislocation motion along a slip plane relatively low. This in turn will
make the material more resistant to plastic deformation hence making it stronger.

ii. Solid Solution Strengthening – The introduction of a substitutional or interstitial solute atom
in a solid solution will cause the solvent atoms to shift from their natural organized arrangement
so that they can accommodate the solute atom. A strain field will develop around the solute atom
because of the difference in size of the atoms, and this strain field will interact with the strain
field of a dislocation. The interaction of the strain fields causes an obstruction in the motion of
the dislocation, and this in turn will increase the strength of the material.
iii. Strain Hardening – A material is subjected to a tensile stress, and this tensile stress is
applied to a value above the yield stress of the material. When the yields stress of the material is
passed, the material will start to deform plastically. The tensile stress is removed before the
material fractures. If a retest is done on the deformed sample, it will be observed that the yield
stress of the deformed sample will be higher than the yield stress of the original sample. The
yield stress of the deformed sample will equal the stress at which we removed the tensile stress
on the deformed sample.
ueshon
a) 345 ma

30m

nay C. A
(34510). (130 x10")
44 350N

b) L 76mn

Sne ng ms E=

Shrain E

345xlo
lo3 1O P
S

3.35 1O
AL E.L
3.36 103) (76)
O.2S46mm
conun Lensh Lmay L AL 76+0.2546 16.2
&uestion
Consider e BCC Unt C n

Usin Tianale NOP

20
(P)

using 1nangle NPG

(NQ)(aP)(P

Bul N = 4 , R bena aloric adius

Also ( )
4R)a2a

4 R

SHaN
References

William D. Callister, David G. Rethwisch. Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction

9th Edition, Wiley; 9 edition (December 4, 2013)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grain_boundary_strengthening. Accessed 10 July 2022

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Knoop hardness". Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Jul.

2010, https://www.britannica.com/science/Knoop-hardness. Accessed 08 July 2022.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Vickers hardness". Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Dec.

2018, https://www.britannica.com/science/Vickers-hardness. Accessed 08 July 2022.