Description:FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to additives that strengthens ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, endowing them with higher strength and ductility. The additive contains micron and nanosized particles homogenously dispersed within a carrier metal. The additive when incorporated into alloys, enhances their mechanical properties, providing superior strength, ductility, toughness, hardness and corrosion resistance. The present invention also relates to a method of preparation of novel additives. The present invention further relates to a method of incorporating the novel additive in metal alloys. The invention aims to revolutionize metal industry and more specifically the construction and automobile industries by offering a more robust and durable material for structural applications.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART OF THE INVENTION
The strength and ductility of traditional ferrous and non-ferrous alloys are often mediocre. Therefore, various alloying elements are incorporated during the alloy-making process to enhance their performance. The addition of alloying elements alters an alloy's microstructure, thereby improving its mechanical properties, including toughness, strength, and hardness.

Carbon, a crucial alloying element, is often used to strengthen alloys. It enhances mechanical properties by forming solid solutions with iron atoms, thereby increasing hardness and strength. Alloy grades vary from low carbon to high carbon, depending on the carbon content in case of steel.

Manganese is frequently added to enhance an alloy's strength, hardness, and wear resistance. It modifies the grain structure of iron and forms solid solutions, which improve the finished alloy's mechanical properties. Manganese acts as a deoxidizer and desulfurizer, improving workability and strength. Manganese is a common component in structural steels. Chromium is crucial in stainless steel as it imparts resistance to wear, corrosion, and hardness. Transition metals such as chromium, vanadium, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, and titanium form carbides and other compounds that strengthen and fortify steel. Hence, these metals are commonly used in high-strength low alloy (HSLA) steels. Moreover, these elements stabilize the austenitic phase, especially at lower temperatures. Stainless steels typically contain 10% to 30% chromium. Nickel is added to steel to enhance ductility, corrosion resistance, and toughness. Nickel improves the steel's mechanical properties, especially at lower temperatures. Molybdenum and tungsten increase steel's strength, hardness, and creep resistance, particularly at high temperatures. Tungsten is beneficial for tool steels and high-speed steels, providing excellent cutting and abrasion resistance. Vanadium is added to steel to boost its tensile strength, wear resistance, and toughness. Vanadium forms carbides, refining the grain structure and preventing grain growth, which results in finer microstructures and improved mechanical properties. Vanadium is frequently used in tool steels.

Elements such as silicon, zinc, magnesium, copper, and manganese are added to non-ferrous alloys for various structural and automotive applications. Copper enhances electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance. Alloys with magnesium have a higher strength-to-weight ratio and are frequently used to increase the hardness and strength of aluminum alloys. Silicon increases fluidity of molten metal during casting and enhances the strength and wear resistance of aluminum alloys. Zinc improves corrosion resistance and is often used in zinc-aluminum alloys for their superior casting properties. These elements are carefully incorporated into non-ferrous alloys to achieve specific performance attributes essential for structural and automotive applications. For example, aluminum alloys containing silicon and magnesium are commonly used in vehicle body panels due to their lightweight design and corrosion resistance. Similarly, brass and other copper-based alloys are utilized in automotive components for their electrical conductivity and machinability. These elements when added in appropriate proportions, significantly enhance the mechanical properties of alloys, making them suitable for various industrial applications. The selection of alloying elements depends on the desired properties and the intended use of the final product.

Traditional ferrous and non-ferrous alloys used in construction, exhibit certain limitations in terms of strength and corrosion resistance. However, the reinforcement with micro and nanoparticles provides remarkable enhancement in both mechanical strength and corrosion resistance of these alloys.

Recently developed novel and eco-friendly techniques fully enhance the properties of high-strength alloys without compromising on toughness, heat resistance, corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance, or plasticity. Research indicates that micro and nanoparticles can replace carbides, expensive alloying elements like rare earth metals, and traditional semi-coherent intermetallic compounds as alloying additives. Moreover, the incorporation process is simpler and more cost-effective compared to conventional methods.
Significant research efforts are being directed towards the potential application of high-performance cast steels reinforced with micro and nanoparticles in major engineering projects.

Nanoparticles not only enhance the field of high-strength alloys but also impact the valence electron criteria and lattice matching within the alloy. Current methods for incorporating nanoparticles into alloys include additive manufacturing, in-situ reaction, and ex-situ nanoparticle addition. The foremost strengthening mechanisms for alloys include solution strengthening, dislocation strengthening, grain refinement, second-phase dispersion, and phase transition.

Grain refinement is the only mechanism that simultaneously increases an alloy's strength and toughness. Although second-phase strengthening enhances strength, it is accompanied by reducing toughness and flexibility. This occurs because the second phase amplifies the frequency of dislocation and interaction with the reduction in mobile dislocations. The addition of fine second-phase particles may mitigate the reduction in toughness and prevent the formation of coarse microstructures, through refinement of grains and anchoring of grain boundaries. Therefore, second-phase dispersion strengthening, along with grain refinement, is the most recommended technique for strengthening alloys.
However, specialized technology is required to achieve second-phase dispersion strengthening and grain refinement. The second phase is introduced or precipitated into the steel matrix through reinforcement, alloying, heat treatment, and the addition of nucleating agents. It is challenging to incorporate micro and nanoparticles into molten steel, as they tend to agglomerate and float, thereby preventing a homogenous dispersion. Furthermore, it is critical to identify and synthesize nanoparticles amenable to the alloying process.
It is evident that current high-strength alloy manufacturing utilizes semi-coherent intermetallic precipitates and metal carbides. In many cases, the said alloying elements belong to the class of expensive and rare materials that are environmentally unsustainable to obtain from natural reserves. Consequently, a critical direction for research is to identify and synthesize a new class of sustainable alloying additives containing micron and nanoparticles that aid in the creation of high-strength alloys. Furthermore, there is a strong need to provide strategies for the incorporation of said micron and nano-particles for the effective strengthening of alloys.
The discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles, and the like is included in this specification solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or all of these matters formed part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.
OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION
 A primary objective of the present invention is to induce superior physico-chemical and mechanical properties in an alloy without significantly changing its material composition.
 Another objective of the present invention is to develop an additive that induces physico-chemical and mechanical properties of the target alloy.
 One objective of the present invention is to replace environmentally unsustainable alloying additives such as rare earth elements with more sustainable additives such as micron and nanosized particles.
 Another objective of the present invention is to provide grain refinement in alloys.
 Another objective of the present invention is to get Austenitic phase stabilization in ferrous alloys.
 Another objective of the present invention is to enhance the tensile strength and ductility of ferrous and nonferrous alloys
 Another objective of the present invention is to increase the hardness and wear resistance of ferrous and nonferrous alloys
 Another objective of the present invention is to improve the fatigue resistance of ferrous and nonferrous alloys.
 Another objective of the present invention is to improve the elongation of ferrous and nonferrous alloys.
 Another objective of the present invention is to improve mechanical properties at lower carbon equivalent value of ferrous alloys.
 Another objective of the present invention is to improve the weldability of TMT bars.
 Another objective of the present invention is to design and refine the microstructure of ferrous and nonferrous alloys as desired to prevent crack propagation.
 Another objective of the present invention is to provide ferrous and nonferrous alloy with thermal stability.
 Another objective of the present invention is to provide ferrous and nonferrous alloy with improved corrosion resistance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to additives for strengthening ferrous and non-ferrous alloys. The alloying additive comprises at least 5% w/w of micro and nanoparticles selected from metals, metal oxides, metal carbides, ceramics, and carbon-based materials. This alloying additive is incorporated in the target metal or alloy for enhancing its strength and ductility. In addition, the finished metal/alloy possesses enhanced tensile strength, increased hardness, improved fatigue resistance, refined and desired microstructure, thermal stability, enhanced wear resistance improved corrosion resistance. The additive ensures incorporation of micro and nanoparticles within the alloy matrix. The inclusion of micro and nanoparticles enhances the physico-chemical and mechanical properties of ferrous and nonferrous alloys, providing superior strength, ductility, and corrosion resistance.
The alloying additive comprising at least 5% w/w of micro and nanoparticles selected from metal oxides, metal carbides, ceramics, carbon-based materials. The additive is added to the target alloy in a proportion of not more than 0.01 - 2 % w/w.
In an embodiment the alloying additive comprising manganese at least 50 – 90 %, silicon 0.5 -20 %, phosphorous 0.02-0.5 %, sulphur 0.02-0.5 %, carbon 0.01-2 %, micro & nanoparticles 5-20 % w/w and remaining is iron.
In another embodiment the alloying additive comprising aluminium 75-95 %, micro and nanoparticles 5-20 % w/w and remaining other metals as per their series if required.
The alloying additive reinforces target alloys selected from ferrous and non-ferrous alloys to enhance their functional and physico-chemical properties. The alloying additive enhances corrosion resistance, seismic resistance, tensile strength, ductility, and yield strength of target alloy by at least 10 %. The alloying additive is added to molten phase of target alloy before casting it into corresponding preforms.
The present invention also relates to the method of preparation of alloying additive incorporating of micro and nanoparticles for strengthening of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys.
The present invention also relates to the method of preparation of micro and nanoparticles used in preparation of alloying additive, which are used for strengthening of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys.
The present invention further relates to a method of using the alloying additive for strengthening of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys. The invention aims to revolutionize the construction and automobile industry by offering robust and durable alloys.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS:
For a complete understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention, reference is now made to the detailed description of the invention along with the accompanying figures and in which:
Figure 1: Illustrates DLS of nanoparticles
Figure 2: Illustrates Test results for Type-1 of alloying additives (elongation, yield and tensile strength)
Figure 3: Test results for Type-2 of alloying additives (elongation, yield and tensile strength)
Figure 4: Illustrates transmission electron micrograph of nanoparticles used for incorporation in the alloying additive.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The making and using of various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below as; it should be appreciated that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention and do not delimit the scope of the invention.
To facilitate the understanding of this invention, a number of terms are defined below. Terms defined herein have meanings as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the areas relevant to the present invention. Terms such as "a", "an" and "the" are not intended to refer to only a singular entity but include the general class of which a specific example may be used for illustration. The terminology herein is used to describe specific embodiments of the invention, but their usage does not delimit the invention, except as outlined in the claims.
The term “Steel,” as used herein, refers to all grades of steels. The term “reinforced,” as used herein, refers to dictionary meaning strengthen by additional assistance, material, or support make stronger. As used herewith, the term “tensile strength” refers to the maximum stress that a material can bear before breaking when it is allowed to be stretched or pulled and is used interchangeably herewith. As used herewith, the term “fatigue resistance” refers to the ability of the mixture to resist fracture or cracking failure under repeated loading conditions. As used herewith, the term “wear resistance” refers to a material's ability to resist material loss by some mechanical action.
Alloys are commonly used in the construction and automotive industries for various structural purposes. Some of the key applications of alloy include steel in building construction, bridges and flyovers, infrastructure projects, industrial structures, foundations, roads and pavements, pre-engineered buildings, and water retaining structures. Alloys provide necessary strength and durability to the structural framework, including columns, beams, slabs, strength needed to support heavy machinery and withstand industrial loads, load-bearing capacity and resistance to dynamic forces, structural stability and longevity, integrity of these large-scale constructions, safety against natural forces, necessary strength and flexibility to support the vertical load and resist lateral forces such as wind and earthquakes, and the necessary strength to withstand the pressure exerted by stored water. Hence, for all such functions and desired properties of alloys, its necessary to have an alloy with increased strength, tensile strength, corrosion resistance, thermal stability. However, the existing ferrous and nonferrous alloys possess limited ductility, limited tensile strength, low hardness, lack fatigue resistance, comprise coarse microstructure, limited thermal stability, and are vulnerable to wear and corrosion.
The current invention provides a solution to obtain strengthened ferrous and nonferrous alloys by incorporation of micro and nano particles. The invention provides a cost effective and facile method for strengthening alloys by use of the invented alloying additive.
The current invention is an alloying additive. Its preparation includes uniform mixing of micro and nano particles within a carrier materials like transition metals and their alloys. The mixture is blended with a binder and formed into granules, briquettes, bricks, pellets and ingots of compact and uniform size. The compact forms are then dried to ensure removal of moisture and better storage.
This prepared additive is incorporated into molten ferrous and non-ferrous materials to significantly enhance their mechanical properties.
In one of the embodiments, an iron melt is prepared in a furnace at 1600 degrees Celsius and then transferred to a ladle. The additive containing the reinforced particles is added into the melt in the ladle. Gas purging ensures homogeneous mixing throughout the melt, which helps evenly distribute the reinforced particles within the molten steel. After achieving a uniform mixture, the melt is transferred to a continuous casting machine to form billets. These billets are then rolled to the desired sizes, ranging from 8 mm to 32 mm. This process results in high-quality TMT bars with significantly enhanced mechanical properties due to the addition of the reinforced particles. The results for one dimension (20 mm) of TMT bar embodiment are presented in the tables 3 and 4. The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such as specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modifications. However, all such modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the claims. The present invention is further described with the help of the following examples, which are given by way of illustration all the parts, percentage and ratios are by weight unless otherwise indicated and therefore should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention in any manner.
EXAMPLES:
Examples 1: Method of preparation of the Micro and Nano Particles
Micro & Nano Particles are prepared by method, such as precipitation, ionization, ball milling, sol-gel synthesis, thermal vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, electrochemical synthesis, natural environmental processes.
Example 2: Method of preparation of alloying additive:
Its preparation includes uniform mixing of micro and nano particles within a carrier materials like transition metals and their alloys. The mixture is blended with a binder to create defined solid forms like granules, briquettes, bricks, pellets and ingots of uniform size. The solid form is dried to remove moisture content.
Example 3: Method of incorporation of additives in target ferrous and nonferrous alloys:
Weighed quantities of alloying additive are added to the ladle as granules, followed by pouring molten steel and subsequently continuous casting into billet forms. The billet forms may be further drawn into desired structures of TMT Bars, flat bars, pipes, sheets, angles, wires, I-beams, H-beams, and Star-beams.
Example 4: Composition of additive for ferrous alloys
The following composition is used for preparation of additive for ferrous alloys:
Table 1:
Sr. No. Constituent Unit %
1. Manganese 50 – 90
2. Silicon 0.5 -18
3. Phosphorous 0.02-0.05
4. Sulphur 0.02-0.05
5. Carbon 0.01-0.5
6. Micro & Nanoparticles 5-20
7. Iron Remaining

Example 5: Composition of additive for nonferrous alloys
The following composition is used for preparation of additive for nonferrous alloys:
Table 2:
Sr. no. Constituent Unit %
1. Aluminium (Al) 75-95
2. Micro & Nanoparticles 5-20
3. Other metals As per the Al-series

Example 6: Composition of nanoparticles incorporated in the additives
The alloying additives comprising plurality of nanoparticles selected from of TiO2, ZnO, CuO, AgO, NiO, SiO2, Fe2O3, Fe3O4 ZrO2, MgO, ZrO2, MnO2, CeO2, TiB2, B4C, W4MoC, Co3MO3, Ti2C, ZrC, Nb4C3, Ta4C3, V8C7, NbC, CNT, C60, graphene, diamond nanoparticle, cobalt nanoparticle, nickel nanoparticle.
The alloying additives comprising binding agent selected from organic binding agents comprising epoxy resin, polyurethanes, PVA, PAA, cellulose derivatives, phallic resins, PVB and inorganic binding agents comprising silica-based binders such as colloidal silica, sodium silicate and phosphate-based binders, alumina based binders, bentonite.
Example 7: Results
The finished alloy depicts following results when the additives of the present invention and method of preparation of present invention are used in its preparation.
TYPE – 1 Material:
In a recent study, the production of TMT steel bars using the raw material Type-1 of the present invention has demonstrated the achievement of desired strength properties. We manufactured a mild steel TMT bar fortified with a bespoke alloying additive (Type-1). The strength properties of the TMT bar were tested using a universal testing machine, and the results show significant enhancement in mechanical properties of TMT bar. The recorded tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation of the three replicate samples of fortified and unfortified bars were as follows:
Fortified bars: tensile strength of 745.85 N/mm², 767.45 N/mm², and 750.1 N/mm²; yield strength of 660.62 N/mm², 690.12 N/mm², and 659.23 N/mm²; and elongation of 18.2%, 18%, and 18.3%.
Unfortified bars: tensile strength of 659.84 N/mm², 662.18 N/mm², and 651.85 N/mm²; yield strength of 569.23 N/mm², 580.16 N/mm², and 576.24 N/mm²; and elongation of 18.2%, 16.8%, and 17%.
These results reflect the superior performance of the raw material Type-1, with improvements in tensile strength (T.S.) and yield strength (Y.S.) of at least 13.03% and 14.4%, respectively, without significantly compromising on elongation (Elong.). This demonstrates the production of high-quality TMT steel bars with superior mechanical properties.
Table 3:

TYPE – 2 Material:
The recent study of producing TMT steel bars using raw material Type-2 of the present invention has yielded excellent results to obtain desired elongation. We manufactured TMT steel bars fortified with a bespoke alloying additive (Type-2). The samples were tested under a Universal Testing Machine (UTM) as per Indian standards. A minimum of three samples of both nano-fortified and unfortified controlled bars were tested, and the results consistently show that the yield strength and tensile strength are slightly improved in the nano-fortified bars compared to the unfortified bars. Moreover, the elongation has been significantly improved in the nano-fortified bars compared to the unfortified bars.
The tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation of three consecutive steel bars of Proto9 and Control were measured as follows:
Fortified bars: Tensile strength of 695 N/mm², 680.99 N/mm², and 698.77 N/mm²; yield strength of 608.88 N/mm², 602.54 N/mm², and 610.24 N/mm²; elongation of 19.7%, 19.6%, and 19.8%.
Unfortified bars: Tensile strength of 671.77 N/mm², 657.25 N/mm², and 675.45 N/mm²; yield strength of 582.54 N/mm², 575.17 N/mm², and 585.17 N/mm²; elongation of 16.7%, 17%, and 16.8%.
These results reflect the superior performance of the nano-fortified alloying additive, with an enhancement in elongation by at least 15%, while maintaining tensile strength and yield strength. This demonstrates the ability to produce high-quality TMT steel bars with superior mechanical properties using the nano-fortified alloying additive.
Table 4:

All of the compositions and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the compositions and methods of this invention have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the compositions and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of the invention. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
, Claims:We Claim:
1. An alloying additive for strengthening ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, wherein the additive comprising at least 5% w/w of micro and nanoparticles selected from metal oxides, metal carbides, ceramics, carbon-based materials.
2. The alloying additive as claimed in claim 1, wherein the additive is added to the target alloy in a proportion of 0.01 - 2 % w/w.
3. The alloying additive as claimed in claim 1, wherein the additive comprising manganese 50 – 90%, silicon 0.5 -20%, phosphorous 0.02-1%, sulphur 0.02-1%, carbon 0.01-3 %, micro & nanoparticles 5-20 % w/w and remaining is iron.
4. The alloying additive as claimed in claim 1, wherein the additive comprising aluminium 86-95 % and micro and nanoparticles 5-20 % w/w.
5. The alloying additive as claimed in claim 1, wherein the additive comprising plurality of nanoparticles selected from of TiO2, ZnO, CuO, AgO, NiO, SiO2, Fe2O3, ZrO2, MgO, ZrO2, MnO2, CeO2, TiB2, B4C, W4MoC, Co3MO3, Ti2C, ZrC, Nb4C3, Ta4C3, V8C7, NbC, carbon nanotube, C60, graphene, diamond nanoparticle, cobalt nanoparticle, nickel nanoparticle.

6. The alloying additive as claimed in claim 1, wherein the additives reinforce target alloys selected from ferrous and non-ferrous alloys to enhance their functional performance without changing the chemical composition of the alloys.
7. The alloying additive as claimed in claim 1, wherein the incorporation of the alloying additive enhances the corrosion resistance, tensile strength, ductility, malleability, and yield strength of the target alloy by at least 10 %.
8. The alloying additive as claimed in claim 1, wherein the additive is added to molten phase of the target alloy before casting it into corresponding preforms.
9. A method of preparation of alloying additives comprising:
(a) mixing micro and nanoparticles within a carrier material selected from alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, transition metals, rare earth metals, metalloids, mineral ores, mineral alloys and ceramic compounds,
(b) the mixture is blended with a binder to create defined solid forms like granules, briquettes, bricks, pellets and ingots of uniform size, and
(c) the solid form cured to ensure moisture removal and hardening.
10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein binders are selected from organic binding agents comprising epoxy resin, polyurethanes, PVA, PAA, cellulose derivatives, phenolic resins, PVB and inorganic binding agents comprising silica-based binders such as colloidal silica, sodium silicate and phosphate-based binders, alumina-based binder, bentonite.
11. A method of preparation of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys comprising addition of 0.01-2% w/w of alloying additive comprising nanoparticles, wherein the additive is added to the molten phase of target alloy before casting it into corresponding preforms.