Metallurgy Interview Question:

What affect would increasing the charpy impact toughness on an object have on the surface of an object it strikes if all else remains the same? Would it cause more damage to the object it strikes?

Submitted by: Administrator

Charpy toughness is a measure of the metals ability to resist tearing or to absorb energy during an impact. Generally, we achieve that by altering the microstructure to be more ductile. In the quenched and tempered alloys (steels) for example, that involves tempering to convert the hard brittle martensite to softer more ductile bainite or a ferrite carbide mixture. Therefore, we are making a softer metal; therefore, if it affects another object it would tend to deform more. There would be less damage to the object being struck because the striking object would deform more and distribute its load across more of the surface of the object being struck.
Submitted by: Administrator