The elastic properties of a metal reflect the response of the interatomic forces between the atoms concerned to an applied stress. Since the bonding forces vary with crystallographic orientation the elastic properties of metal single crystals may be highly anisotropic. However, polycrystalline metals and alloys with a randomly oriented grain structure behave isotropically. Table 15.1 lists elastic constants for polycrystalline metals and alloys in an isotropic condition. Any preferred orientation or texture resulting from rolling, drawing or extrusion, for example, will result in departures from the listed values to a degree that depends upon the elastic anisotropy of the individual crystals (which may be deduced from the single crystal elastic constants of Tables 15.2 to 15.6 that follow) and the nature and extent of the preferred orientation.Since the elastic properties are determined by the aggregate response of the interatomic forces between all the atoms in the metal, the presence of small quantities of solute atoms in dilute alloys or their rearrangement by heat treatment will have relatively little effect on the absolute values of their elastic constants. Consequently, the elastic constants of all the plain carbon and low alloy steels will be approximately the same unless some preferred orientation is present. Similarly with Cu-, Al-and Ni-base dilute alloys, etc. In the case of concentrated alloys there may be larger variations in elastic moduli, especially where there is a drastic change in the relative proportions of different phases in a multiphase alloy. In the case of ideal solid solutions the elastic moduli vary linearly with atom fraction. The elastic moduli of non-ideal solid solutions may show positive or negative deviations from linearity. Ordering produces an increase in elastic moduli.Increase in temperature causes a gradual decrease in elastic moduli. The decrease is fairly linear over wider ranges of temperature but sharply increases in magnitude as the melting point is approached. Discontinuities are observed at structural transformations.Ferromagnetic materials having a high degree of domain mobility may exhibit considerably higher elastic moduli below the Curie point in the presence of a high magnetic field. The lower elastic moduli in the absence of a magnetic field are due to magnetostrictive dimensional changes caused by stress-induced domain movement.
15-1
15-2Elastic properties, damping capacity and shape memory alloys TaNe 15.