Real Materials

� Inclusions in a structural steel component can significantly reduce its mechanical properties. The photograph shows casting slag from a steel ingot that was incorporated into a steel component used for pressure vessel applications.
� Inclusions in metals are frequently oxides, sulfides, etc., that are insoluble in the molten metal, and become trapped in the metal during the solidification process.
� The difference between the elastic properties of the inclusion and the metal matrix causes stress concentration at the interface during mechanical deformation.

From: Barrett, Nix, and Tetelman,
"The Principles of Engineering Materials"
Prentice Hall (1973)