Physical classification of alloys

Jan 13,2023

According to the name of the main metal with large content in the alloy, it is classified as a certain alloy. For example, the copper alloy with high content of copper mainly maintains the properties of copper.

Alloy type

(1) Mixed alloy (eutectic mixture): when the liquid alloy is solidified, each component of the alloy is crystallized separately, such as solder, bismuth cadmium alloy, etc;

(2) Solid melt alloy: alloy that forms solid solution when liquid alloy solidifies, such as gold and silver alloy;

(3) Metal intermetallic alloy, an alloy whose components form compounds with each other, such as brass composed of copper and zinc( β- Brass γ- Brass and ε- Brass), etc.

Many properties of alloys are superior to pure metals, so alloys are mostly used in application materials (see ferroalloys and stainless steels).

General property of alloy

Each type of alloy has the following properties:

(1) The melting point of most alloys is lower than that of any constituent metal in their components;

(2) The hardness is generally greater than that of any metal in its components; (Special case: sodium-potassium alloy is liquid and is used as thermal conductivity agent in atomic reactor)

(3) The conductivity and thermal conductivity of the alloy are lower than that of any component metal. This property of alloy can be used to manufacture materials with high resistance and high thermal resistance. It can also manufacture materials with special properties.

(4) Some have strong corrosion resistance (such as stainless steel), such as adding 15% chromium and 9% nickel into iron to obtain a corrosion resistant stainless steel, which is suitable for chemical industry.