Solidsolutions • A solid solution occurs when we alloy two metals and they are completely soluble in each other. If a solid solution alloy is viewed under a microscope only one type of crystal can be seen just like a pure metal. Solid solution alloys have similar properties to pure metals but with greater strength but are not as good as electrical conductors. The usual forms of solid solution are.
Substitutional Solidsolution • The name of this solid solution tells you exactly what happens as atoms of the parent metal ( or solvent metal) are replaced or substituted by atoms of the alloying metal (solute metal) In this case, the atoms of the two metals in the alloy, are of similar size.
Interstitial solidsolution • In interstitial solid solutions the atoms of the parent or solvent metal are bigger than the atoms of the alloying or solute metal. In this case, the smaller atoms fit into interstices i.e spaces between the larger atoms.
Single Crystals • A single crystal, also called monocrystal, is a crystalline solid in which the crystal lattice of the entire sample is continuous and unbroken to the edges of the sample, with no grain boundaries. The opposite of a single crystal sample is an amorphous structure where the atomic position is limited to short range order only. In between the two extremes exist polycrystalline and paracrystalline phases, which are made up of a number of smaller crystals known as crystallites. Because of a variety of entropic effects on the microstructure of solids, including the distorting effects of impurities and the mobility of crystallographic defects and dislocations, single crystals of meaningful size are exceedingly rare in nature, and can also be difficult to produce in the laboratory under controlled conditions
Polycrystalline Materials • Polycrystalline materials are solids that are composed of many crystallites of varying size and orientation. The variation in direction can be random (called random texture) or directed, possibly due to growth and processing conditions. Fiber texture is an example of the latter. • Almost all common metals, and many ceramics are polycrystalline. The crystallites are often referred to as grains, however, powder grains are a different context. Powder grains can themselves be composed of smaller polycrystalline grains. • Polycrystalline is the structure of a solid material that, when cooled, form crystallite grains at different points within it. Where these crystallite grains meet is known as grain boundaries.
Designing a Sensor to Measure Volume Change
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