The course aims to give the students high specialization in materials and damage phenomena. It concentrates on ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, focusing the attention on the relation among the metallurgical and the microstructural characteristics and the mechanical properties, the toughness and the corrosion resistance. The topics are explained and discussed both according to the technical literature, both by examples of industrial cases. Didactic visits in some metallurgical and mechanical plants are planned to enable the students to match the theoretical aspects with the practical ones.

In terms of acquired knowledge and understanding, students will be able to:

• describe the most important metallurgic aspects of special steels, stainless steels and non-ferrous alloys
• associate the microstructural features to the mechanical performance of materials
• discuss the main metallurgical aspects of hot forming
• identify and describe the damage phenomenon related to components failure.

Concerning the ability to apply the acquired knowledge and understanding, students will be able to:  

• apply the metallurgical knowledge to the failure analysis of mechanical components
• relate the desired mechanical and corrosion properties to the correct microstructure
• modify the production parameters to obtain specific requirements

Through practical activities and visits to industrial plants, students will also acquire the skills to formulate a judgment about the metallurgical aspects of a production process also explaining the modifications required to satisfy specific requirements.

Furthermore, through the assigned activities and group projects, students will gain the ability to autonomously analyse and understand the reasons of a service problem and to investigate it by a specific experimental plan aiming to propose possible solutions.

Finally, students will improve their communication skills, being able to formulate correct and precise oral and written technical reports.

Module 1

Topic 1.1 – Theoretical cohesive strength. Types of fracture in metals. Microscopic aspects and mechanisms of fracture. Macroscopic features and morphology of fracture.

Topic 1.2 - Traditional and innovative methods for studying the tough-brittle behaviour of metallic materials (impact test, fracture mechanics).

Topic 1.3 - Fundamental issues on fracture mechanics.

Topic 1.4 - Metallurgical factors affecting transition temperature. Influence of the alloying elements.

Topic 1.5 - Embrittlement phenomena (temper embrittlement, strain aging embrittlement, environment induced embrittlement).

Module 2

Topic 2.1 - Fatigue failure. Fracture mechanics applied to fatigue.

Topic 2.2 - Morphology of the fracture surface, influence of the chemical composition, of the microstructure, of the surface conditions and of the environmental conditions.

Topic 2.3 - Corrosion fatigue. Fretting fatigue. Thermal fatigue. Examples of failure analysis.

Module 3

Topic 3.1 - Wear damage of mechanical parts.

Topic 3.2 - Wear mechanisms: adhesive wear, tribo-oxidation, abrasive wear, contact fatigue.

Topic 3.3 - Wear processes: sliding, rolling, fretting, erosion.

Topic 3.4 - Wear tests. Engineering methods for prevention.

Topic 3.5 - Surface engineering: thermo-chemical treatments, surface coatings.

Module 4

Topic 4.1 - The high-temperature materials problem: creep and stress rupture.

Topic 4.2 – High and low temperature creep. Engineering creep data and effect of metallurgical variables.

Topic 4.3 – Stress relaxation.

Module 5

Topic 5.1 - Mechanical behaviour of metals during forming.

Topic 5.2 - Recovery, static and dynamic recrystallization. Grain growth.

Module 6

Topic 6.1 - Failure analysis: visual examination, optical and electronic microscope analyses.

Topic 6.2 - Presentation of real cases of failure analysis.

Students must have acquired the following skills and knowledge: basic principles of physical metallurgy, the equilibrium diagrams and the Fe-C diagram, the steel heat treatments and the CCT and TTT curves, the main mechanical tests and the fundamentals of steelmaking.

Students will pass the course after successfully take an oral exam consisting in the discussion and solution of problems by mean of the acquired metallurgical expertise. Via this exam it will be possible to test students’ knowledge of the course contents, their ability to apply the studied topics to determine the cause of components failure, their ability to apply the metallurgy knowledge to modify the mechanical performance of a component in order to satisfy specific requirements and finally their communication effectiveness.

Final Grading

To pass the course, students must successfully pass the oral exam.