MODULE II: Properties and Characteristics of

Materials

Lesson 1: Physical, Chemical, Electrical and Magnetic Properties

Lesson 2: Mechanical Properties

Lesson 3: Optical and Thermal Properties

Module 2
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MODULE 2
Nature of Materials

 INTRODUCTION

This module starts with the knowledge of materials and their

properties is of great significance for a design engineer. The machine
elements should be made of such a material which has properties suitable for
the conditions of operation. In addition to this, a design engineer must be
familiar with the effects which the manufacturing processes and heat
treatment have on the properties of the materials.
“Structure” is at this point a nebulous term that deserves some
explanation. In brief, the structure of a material usually relates to the
arrangement of its internal components. Subatomic structure involves
electrons within the individual atoms and interactions with their nuclei. On
an atomic level, structure encompasses the organization of atoms or
molecules relative to one another. The next larger structural realm, which
contains large groups of atoms that are normally agglomerated together, is
termed “microscopic,” meaning that which is subject to direct observation
using some type of microscope. Finally, structural elements that may be
viewed with the naked eye are termed “macroscopic.”
The notion of “property” deserves elaboration. While in service use,
all materials are exposed to external stimuli that evoke some type of
response. For example, a specimen subjected to forces will experience
deformation, or a polished metal surface will reflect light. A property is a
material trait in terms of the kind and magnitude of response to a specific
imposed stimulus. Generally, definitions of properties are made independent
of material shape and size.
Virtually all-important properties of solid materials may be grouped
into six different categories: mechanical, electrical, thermal, magnetic,
optical, and deteriorative. For each there is a characteristic type of stimulus
capable of provoking different responses. Mechanical properties relate
deformation to an applied load or force; examples include elastic modulus
and strength. For electrical properties, such as electrical conductivity and
dielectric constant, the stimulus is an electric field. The thermal behavior of
solids can be represented in terms of heat capacity and thermal conductivity.
Magnetic properties demonstrate the response of a material to the application
of a magnetic field. For optical properties, the stimulus is electromagnetic or
light radiation; index of refraction and reflectivity are representative optical
properties. Finally, deteriorative characteristics relate to the chemical
reactivity of materials.
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OBJECTIVES
After studying the module, you should be able to:

1. Identify the properties and characteristics of materials.

2. Explain the importance of each properties in terms of its usage.

 DIRECTIONS/ MODULE ORGANIZER

There are three lessons in the module. Read each lesson carefully then
answer the exercises/activities to find out how much you have benefited from
it. Work on these exercises carefully and submit your output to your subject
instructor through hard and/or softcopies where it is applicable.
In case you encounter difficulty, discuss this with your subject
instructor during the face-to-face meeting. If not contact your subject
instructor at the COE Faculty room or through online platforms.
Good luck and happy reading!!!
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Lesson 1

Physical, Chemical
 Properties, Electrical and
Magnetic Properties

1. Physical Properties:

Physical properties can be observed or measured without changing the

composition of matter. Physical properties are used to observe and describe
matter.

A. The Melting or Freezing Point:

I. The melting or freezing point of pure metal is defined as the
temperature at which the solid and liquid phases can exist in stable
equilibrium. When a metal is heated to melting point, the liquid phase
appears, and if more heat is supplied, the solid melts completely at
constant temperature.
II. The freezing of a pure liquid on the other hand, may exhibit the
phenomena of supercoiling, the liquid in some cases can be lowered
appreciably beyond the melting point without the appearance of
crystals. However, when crystals do not appear, the mass rapidly
assumes the normal temperature of the melting point.
III. The use of mercury in thermometers, manometers and other
instruments arises from its low melting point; the use of tungsten
filaments in incandescent high bulbs is possible because of its
extremely high melting point.
B. Boiling Point:
The boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which its vapor
pressure equals to one atmosphere. The boiling points of the metals except
mercury are high. The boiling point of zinc (907°C) and cadmium (865°C) are
sufficiently low so that in recovery of these metals from their ores the metals
are vaporized and condensed.
C. Density:
Mass per unit volume is termed as “density.” In metric system it is
stated in kg/m3. The low densities of aluminium and magnesium and of their
alloys make them particularly valuable in aeronautic and transportation
fields.
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D. Linear Co-Efficient of Expansion:

The linear coefficient of expansion of a solid is defined as the increase
in length, for each degree rise in temperature. These coefficients are
important when metals are to be exposed to a considerable range of
temperatures as in engine pistons, and other accurately fitting mechanisms.
E. Thermal Conductivity:
I. The thermal conductivity of a metal is defined as the number of
kilojoules of heat that would flow per second through a specimen one
sq. meter in cross-section and I meter in length when the temperature
gradient is 1°C. Silver and copper show the highest thermal
conductivities of all metals. Some metals like German silver exhibit
very low conductivity and hence find applications where heat losses by
metallic conduction should be kept to a minimum.
II. All metals are conductors of electricity; silver is the best conductor
and copper is next. It should be noted that while volume aluminum has
only 61% of the conductivity of copper, nevertheless weight for weight
aluminum because of its low density, shows a conductivity nearly twice
that of copper.
F. Electrical Resistivity:
The resistance of a metal is the reciprocal of its conductivity. The
electrical resistivity of a metal is the resistance of a specimen of 1 cm in
length and 1 sq. cm in cross-section. Since these values for metals are very
small if expressed in ohms, they are usually given in micro- ohms, where 1
micro-ohm = 10-6 ohm.

2. Chemical Properties of Materials:

A study of chemical properties of materials is necessary because most
of the engineering materials, when they come in contact with other
substances with which they can react, tend to suffer from chemical
deterioration.
The chemical properties describe the combining tendencies, corrosion
characteristics, reactivities, solubilities, etc., of substances.
Some of the chemical properties are:
(i) Corrosion resistance.
(ii) Chemical composition.
(iii) Acidity or alkalinity.
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Note:
Corrosion is a gradual, chemical or electrochemical attack on a metal
by its surroundings so that the metal is converted into an oxide, salt or some
other compound. It may be brought about by almost unlimited number of
factors or corrosive media such as air, industrial atmospheres, soils, acids,
bases and salt solutions. It may also occur at elevated temperature in media
which are inert when near or below room temperature.

3. Electrical Properties of Materials:

One of the important characteristics of the materials is their ability to
permit or resist the flow of electricity. Materials to be used in electrical
equipment’s can be selected on the basis of their properties, such as:
(i) Resistivity,
(ii) Conductivity,
(iii) Temperature coefficient of resistance,
(iv) Dielectric strength,
(v) Thermoelectricity, and
(vi) Other electrical properties.

(i) Resistivity:
It is a characteristic property of the material of which the conductor is
made. It is that electrical property of a material due to which, it impedes or
resists the flow of electricity through it.
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(ii) Conductivity:
The conductivity (σ) is the reciprocal of electrical resistivity.

(iii) Temperature Coefficient of Resistance:

It is usually employed to specify the variation of resistivity, ρ with t

(iv) Dielectric Strength:

It means the insulating capacity of a material against high voltages. A
material having high dielectric-strength can withstand sufficiently high
voltage field across it before it will breakdown and conduct. A dielectric is an
insulator.
(v) Thermoelectricity:
If two dissimilar metals are joined and this junction is then heated, a
small voltage in the millivolt range is produced, and this is known as
thermoelectric effect. Thermoelectric effect forms the basis of the
thermocouple operation.
Other Electrical Properties of Materials:

Other electrical properties of materials are:

Electrochemical phenomena—as in storage batteries
Electrophysical effects—as in contact potentials
Electro-mechanical effects—as in radars
Superconductivity:
Some metals and compounds lose their electrical resistance
abruptly before absolute zero is reached and become superconductor.
Superconductivity, therefore, refers to the phenomenon of abrupt drop
of resistivity of some metals at a temperature, called superconducting
transition temperature, before absolute zero is reached. This
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transition temperature is 0.4 K for titanium, 1.17 K for aluminium and

9.2 K for niobium, 14 K for NbH, 1.6 K for Nb4, and 18 K for Nb3S4.
Superconductivity state can be abolished by the application of
an external magnetic field or produced by a sufficiently large current
flowing through the conductor.

4. Magnetic Properties of Materials:

I. Those materials in which a state of magnetisation can be induced are
called “magnetic materials”. Such materials create a magnetic field in
the surrounding space.
II. The magnetic properties of materials arise from the spin of electrons
and the orbital motion of electrons around the atomic nuclei. In several
atoms the opposite spins neutralise one another, but when there is an
excess of electrons spinning in one direction, magnetic field is
produced. All substances except ferromagnetic material which can
form permanent magnets, exhibit magnetic effects only when
subjected to an external electromagnetic field.
III. Study of the magnetic properties is necessary because the science
of magnetism explains many aspects of the structure and behaviour of
the matter.
Some of the important magnetic properties are:
(i) Permeability.
(ii) Coercive Force.
(iii) Magnetic hysteresis.
Absolute Permeability:
It is the ratio of the flux density in a material to the
magnetising force producing that flux density and is denoted by
μ; μ = μ0 μr where μ0 is the permeability of free space having a
value of 4π x 10-7 H/m.
Coercive Force:
It may be defined as the magnetising force which is
necessary to neutralise completely the mangetism in an
electromagnet after the value of magnetising force becomes
zero.
Below Curie temperature (it is the rising temperature at
which the given material ceases to be ferromagnetic, or the
falling temperature at which it becomes magnetic) all magnetic
material exhibit the phenomenon called hysteresis which is
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defined as the lagging of magnetisation or induction flux density

(B) behind the magnetising force (H) or it is that quality of a
magnetic substance due to which energy is dissipated in it on
reversal of its magnetism.

Lesson 2


Mechanical Property

Many materials are subjected to forces or loads when in use. In such

situations, it is necessary to know the characteristics of the material and to
design the member in order to avoid failure during the expected life and
service environment of the material. Key mechanical design properties are
stiffness, strength, hardness, ductility, and toughness. Factors to be
considered include the nature of the applied load and its duration, as well as
the environmental conditions. The applied loads could be tensile,
compressive, or shear and their magnitudes may be constant with time or may
fluctuate continuously. Application time may be only a fraction of a second,
or it may extend over a period of many years. Service temperature may be an
important factor. In this lesson, we will introduce how the various mechanical
properties are measured and what these properties represent.
In this lesson, we are going to define the above terms. It turns out that
many of the above terms are related to the stress-strain curve of a material.
What are stress and strain, and how are they related?
Let us take a cylinder and stress it. To stress it, I would fix one end of
the cylinder and pull from the other end as shown in the figure below.

According to Newton's third law, the cylinder will experience a force

downward on the lower surface of the cylinder and an equal and opposite
force on the upper surface of the cylinder. My cylinder has an original length
of Io and surface area of Ao. As I pull on my material with the force F the
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cylinder will lengthen and the resulting length will be l. Stress, σ, is defined
as the force divided by the initial surface area, σ=F/Ao. This pulling stress is
called tensile stress. Strain is what results from this stress. Strain, ε, is
defined as the change in length divided by the original length, ε=ΔI/Io. Before
we proceed further with stress and strain, let's define some other types of
stress.
If instead of pulling on our material, we push or compress our cylinder
we are introducing compressive stress. This is illustrated in the following
figure:

If instead of applying a force perpendicular to the surface, we apply

parallel but opposite forces on the two surfaces we are applying a shear
stress. This is illustrated in the following figure:

Stress related to shear is torsional stress. If we hold one end of our

cylinder fixed and twist the other end as shown in the figure below, we are
applying a torsional (or twisting) stress.
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Elastic Region
What is the elastic region? It is the region where the material can be
deformed and when released will return back to its original configuration.
Many metals in the elastic region have a resulting strain that is proportional
to the tensile load when the applied tensile load is small. Mathematically,
this can be written as σ=Eε, and more generally is known as a form of Hooke's
law. E is the proportionality constant and is called the modulus of elasticity
or Young's modulus. Physically, the larger the value of the modulus of
elasticity the stiffer the material is, i.e., the more resistant to bending the
material is. If we look at a stress-strain diagram for a metal in the elastic
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region such as that shown in the figure below, the slope of the curve is the
modulus of elasticity.
If we look at the figure below it is not surprising that the material listed
with the highest E is diamond. Diamond has strong carbon bonds and is
incredibly stiff. Larger E indicates a stronger bond. Later when we study
composites in more detail, we will see that fibers are added to polymers to
increase the stiffness of the material. Increased stiffness implies increased E,
which you can see in the figure for the composite/fiber materials.

Plastic Deformation
For most metallic materials, the elastic deformation region is relatively
small. At some point, the strain is no longer proportional to the applied stress.
At this point, bonds with original atom neighbors start to break and reform
with a new group of atoms. When this occurs and the stress is relieved, the
material will no longer return to its original form, i.e., the deformation is
permanent and nonrecoverable. The material has now moved into the region
referred to as plastic deformation. In practice, it is difficult to identify the
exact point at which a material moves from the elastic region to the plastic
region. As shown in the figure below, a parallel line offset by 0.002 strain is
drawn. Where that line intercepts the stress-strain curve is identified as
the yield strength. The yield strength is equal to the stress at which
noticeable plastic deformation has occurred.
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For many materials, the stress-strain curve looks like the curve shown
in the figure below. As the stress is increased from zero, the strain increases
linearly until it starts to deviate from linear at the yield strength. For
increasing stress, the curve proceeds to a maximum at which point it curves
downward toward the fracture point. The maximum corresponds to the
tensile strength, which is the maximum stress value for the curve and is
indicated by M in the figure. The fracture point is the point at which the
material ultimately breaks, indicated by F in the figure.

Resiliency and Toughness

When a person is resilient, the bounce back from change to their
original personality. Resiliency in the material sense is similar. We can define
resilience of the material to be the amount of energy the material can absorb
and still return to its original state. If we are talking about stressing the
material and having it return to its original state, we are talking about the
material remaining in the elastic region of the stress-strain curve. It turns out
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that we can get the energy of elasticity by taking the area under the curve of
the stress-strain curve. That area has been highlighted in the figure below,
which is the area under the curve from the origin to the yield strength.
Toughness, in contrast to resilience, is how much energy can be
absorbed and still keep going. One analogy that can be used when describing
toughness is that of a car in a demolition derby. The car is allowed to continue
the competition as long as it is capable of moving. It does not matter how
many hits and how much destruction has been done to the car, but rather as
long as the car can move it can stay in the competition. The toughness of the
car is based on how many hits and how much damage the car can sustain and
continue in the competition. In the case of materials, the amount of energy
that the material can absorb plastically before fracturing is the toughness.
In the figure below, we can see that a material can have a high tensile
strength (ceramics) and yet have a small toughness. In addition, materials can
be extremely ductile (unreinforced polymers) and also have a small
toughness. So, a large toughness (metals) is obtained by having a high tensile
strength and a high ductility.
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What is a Brittle Material?

Brittle material breaks while little to no energy is absorbed when

stressed. The material fractures with no plastic deformation. The material in
the figure below marked with (a) shows what a brittle material will look like
after pulling on a cylinder of that material. Typically, there will be a large
audible snap sound when the brittle material breaks. A brittle material is also
known as a material having low ductility. A stress-strain curve for brittle and

ductile materials is shown in the figure below.

Why are ceramics so much more brittle than metals? It has to do with the type
of bonding. In metals, their metallic bonds allow the atoms to slide past each
other easily. In ceramics, due to their ionic bonds, there is a resistance to the
sliding. Since in ionic bonding every other atom is of opposite charge when a
row of atoms attempts to slide past another row, positive atoms encounter
positive atoms and negative atoms encounter negative atoms. This results in
a huge electrodynamic repulsion which inhibits rows of ceramic atoms from
sliding past other rows. In metals, the sliding of rows of atoms results in slip,
which allows the metal to deform plastically instead of fracturing. Since in
ceramics the rows cannot slide, the ceramic cannot plastically deform.
Instead, it fractures, which makes it a brittle material.

Malleability and Ductility

Malleability and ductility are related. A malleable material is one in

which a thin sheet can be easily formed by hammering or rolling. In other
words, the material has the ability to deform under compressive stress.
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In contrast, ductility is the ability of a solid material to deform under

tensile stress. Practically, a ductile material is a material that can easily be
stretched into a wire when pulled as shown in the figure below. Recall pulling
is applying tensile stress.

If we pull on a rod of material, some of the possible profiles of the rods

at fracture are shown in the figure below.
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Profile (a) is an example of the material that fractures with no plastic

deformation, i.e., it is a brittle material. Profile (b) is an example of a
material that fractures after very little plastic deformation. These two
profiles would be classified as having low ductility. Profile (c) in contrast is a
material that plastically deforms before fracture. This material has high
ductility. The stress-strain curves for the brittle, profile (a), and the ductile

material, profile (c), are shown in the igure below.

Mechanical Behavior of Ceramics

It is difficult to measure the yield strength of ceramics as they tend to
fracture before they enter the plastic deformation region, i.e., they are
brittle. Examples of two brittle materials that fracture before entering the
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plastic deformation region are aluminum oxide and glass, as shown in the
figure below.
Tensile tests of brittle ceramics are usually not performed. It is
difficult to shape these materials into the proper test structure, difficult to
grab the brittle material without breaking it, and it is difficult to align the
test samples to avoid bending stresses which can destroy the sample. For
brittle ceramics, a three-point bending apparatus (shown in the figure below)
is used determine the stress-strain behavior, and the measurement results are
used to calculate an equivalent modulus of elasticity.

Mechanical Behavior of Polymers

Polymers exhibit a wide range of stress-strain behaviors as shown in
the figure below. The brittle polymer (red curve) elastically deforms and
fractures before deforming plastically. The blue curve is a plastic polymer
and is similar to curves for many metals. Its behavior begins in the linear
elastic deformation region. As the curve transitions from the elastic to plastic
deformation typically there is a peak stress. For polymer materials, this peak
stress is identified as the yield stress. As the material is pulled further,
fracture occurs. The stress value when fracture occurs is defined as the
tensile strength for polymer materials. The tensile strength can be greater
than, equal to, or less than the yield strength. The green curve is a class of
polymers known as elastomers. These materials exhibit rubber-like elasticity
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and will return to their original shape and form unless they are extended to
the point of fracture.
While some of the stress-strain curves for polymers might look similar
to ones for metals, polymers are mechanically different than metals (or
ceramics). A highly elastic polymer may stretch over 10 times the original
length before breaking, while a metal might elastically stretch 10% of the
original length elastically and may stretch plastically to double the original
length before reaching its fracture point. As seen in the figure below, the
largest elastic modulus values for polymers are well under the values for
ceramics and metals.

As shown in the figure below, the tensile strength of some polymers

can rival some ceramics but are no match for even the softest of metals.

Hardness
Hardness is a measure of a material's ability to resist plastic
deformation. In other words, it is a measure of how resistant material is to
denting or scratching. Diamond, for example, is a very hard material. It is
extremely difficult to dent or scratch a diamond. In contrast, it is very easy
to scratch or dent most plastics. As shown in the diagram below, hardness
increases from the very soft plastics to the incredibly hard diamond with most

other materials ranging between.

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A common method for measuring the hardness of a material is outlined

in the figure below. A very hard-sphere is pushed with a set force into the
material. The resulting indent is measured for width and depth. A harder
material will have a smaller width and depth, i.e., smaller indentation. Larger
hardness results in a high resistance to deformation from compressive loads,
i.e., resistance to scratches and dents, and better wear properties.

Lesson 3

 Optical and Thermal

Properties
Optical property deals with the response of a material against exposure
to electromagnetic radiations, especially to visible light. When light falls on
a material, several processes such as reflection, refraction, absorption,
scattering etc.

1. Refraction:
When light photons are transmitted through a material, they cause
polarization of the electrons in the material and by interacting with the
polarized materials, photons lose some of their energy. As a result of this, the
speed of light is reduced and the beam of light changes direction.
2. Reflection:
When a beam of photons strikes a material, some of the light is
scattered at the interface between that we media even if both are
transparent. Reflectivity, R, is a measure of fraction of incident light which
is reflected at the interface.
3. Absorption:
When a light beam is strike on a material surface, portion of the
incident beam that is not reflected by the material is either absorbed or
transmitted through the material. The fraction of beam that is absorbed is
related to the thickness of the materials and the manner in which the photons
interact with the material’s structure.
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4. Rayleigh scattering:
Here photon interacts with the electron orbiting around an atom and
is deflected without any change in photon energy. This is more vital for high
atomic number atoms and low photon energies. Ex. Blue color in the sunlight
gets scattered more than other colors in the visible spectrum and thus making
sky look blue.
a. Tyndall Effect:
Here scattering occur form particles much larger than the
wavelength of light Ex. cloud look white
b. Compton Scattering:
In this incident photon knocks out an electron from the atom
losing some of its energy during the process.
5. Transmission:
The fraction of beam that is not reflected or absorbed is transmitted
through the material. Thus, the fraction of light that is transmitted through
a transparent material depends on the losses incurred by absorption and
reflection. Thus, R + A + T = 1
where R = reflectivity,
A = absorptivity, and
T = transitivity
6. Thermal Emission:
When a material is heated electrons are excited to higher energy
levels generally in the outer energy levels where the electrons are less
strongly bound to the nucleus. These excited electrons, upon returning back
to the ground state, release photons in process termed as thermal emission.
By measuring the intensity of a narrow band of the emitted wavelengths
with a pyrometer, material’s temperature can be estimated.
7. Electro-Optic Effect:
The behavior of a material in which its optical isotropic nature
changes to anisotropic nature on application of an electric field. This effect
is seen in LiNbO3, LiTiO3 etc.
8. Photoelectric Effect:
Phenomenon in which the ejection of electrons from a metal surface
takes place, when the metal surface is illuminated by light or any other
radiation of suitable frequency (or wavelength). Several devices such as
phototube, solar cell, fire alarm etc. work on this effect (principle).
9. Photo Emissivity:
Phenomenon of emission of electrons from a metal cathode, when
exposed to light or any other radiations.
10. Brightness:
Power emitted by a source per unit area per unit solid angle.
Photo Conductivity- Phenomenon of increase in conductivity of a semi-
conductor due to excess carriers arisen from optical luminescence.
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Optical Properties of Non-Metals:

i. These materials may be transparent, translucent, or opaque. Therefore,

they exhibit different optical properties such as reflection, refraction,
absorption and transmission. The phenomenon of refraction is more dominant
in them.
ii. The non-metals which are transparent are generally coloured due to light
absorption and remission in the visible region by them. Absorption of light
occurs due to: Electronic polarization.
iii. Excitation of electrons from filled valence band to empty state within
conduction band, and Wide band gaps in dielectric materials.
iv. The non-metallic transparent materials transmit light due to net energy
formed by absorption and reflection processes.

Optical Properties of Metals:

i. In metals, the valence band is partially filled and so there are large number
of quasi continuous vacant energy levels available within the valence band.
When light is incident on metals the valence electrons absorb all frequencies
of visible light and get excited to vacant states inside the valence band (intra-
band transitions). This result in the opacity of metals.
ii. The total absorption of light by the metal surface is within a very thin outer
layer of less than 0.1 jam. The excited electrons return back to lower energy
states thereby causing emission of radiation from the surface of the metal in
the form of visible light of the same wavelength. This emitted light which
appears as the reflected light is the cause of the lustrous appearance of
metals.
iii. In copper, inter-band transitions occur for energies greater than 2.2 eV
i.e. the photons of energy greater than 2.2 eV are strongly absorbed. This
energy corresponds to wavelength below 5625 Å. This means that the
radiation in the blue-violet range is absorbed. This is reason for the reddish-
orange colour of copper.
iv. In silver and aluminium, there is no absorption in the full range of visible
radiation. So, the re-emission occurs over the entire wavelength range of the
visible spectrum due to which the white colour of these metals exist.
v. Gold appears yellow because there is absorption in green portion and
reflection in yellow and red region.

Optical Properties of Semiconductors:

i. Intrinsic semiconductors at low temperatures have a completely filled

valence band and an empty conduction band. So no intra-band transitions can
occur in semiconductors.
ii. Radiation of low frequencies, i.e. infrared radiation are not absorbed and
that’s why semiconductors are transparent to infra-red radiation.
iii. The energy gaps in semiconductors are in the range of 0.5 – 3eV. So inter-
band absorption occurs for radiation in this range which corresponds to near
infra-red and visible range, this is responsible for the opacity of
semiconductors.
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Visibility Range of Light Spectrum:

i. Semiconductors infrared region-InSb, Ge, Si, GaAs.

ii. Semiconductors lying in visible region- CdSe (red visibility) GaP (yellow
visibility).
iii. Semiconductors lying in ultraviolet region- CdS (green visibility), SiC (blue
visibility) ZnS.

Luminescence:
Luminescence is the property by which a material emits the light. In
semiconducting materials, the light is emitted under certain conditions which
are as below:
(i) When electron-hole pairs (EHP) are generated, or
(ii) When the carriers fall to their equilibrium state after being excited to
higher impurity levels.

Different Types of Luminescence:

1. Photo-Luminescence:
It is the phenomenon of emission of light from a semiconductor on
account of recombination of excited electron-hole pair (EHP).
Here one photon is emitted from each photon absorbed.
Recombination in semiconductors takes place at varying rates; fast and slow.
Accordingly, the photo-luminescence may be of following two types:
a. Fluorescence:
It is a fast process property of material in which the emission of
photon stops in about 10–8s after the excitation is removed.
Example:
(i) Glass surface coated with tungstates or silicates such as in
fluorescent lamps.
(ii) Television screen coated with sulphides, oxides, tungstates
etc.
b. Phosphorescence:
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Slow process property of material in which the emission of

photon continues for a longer duration, lasting for seconds and minutes
after removal of excitation.

Materials falling in this category are termed as phosphors, example:

a. ZnS coated with Cu an impurity
b. CdS coated with Ag as impurity
c. KCI coated with Tl as impurity
d. Nal coated with Tl as impurity
Example:
‘Fluorescent lamp’. It is a glass tube filled with a gas, which is
generally the mixture of mercury vapours and argon. The inside of the tube
has a fluorescent coating. When an electric discharge is induced between
electrodes of the tube, the atoms of the gas are excited and emit photons.
2. Electro-Luminescence:
This effect can be created by introducing the electric current into a
semiconductor. The electrical current can be used in different ways to
generate the photon emission from semiconductors. One such way is
‘injection’.
The name of the process is injection electro-luminescence which is use
in making light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
In them the minority carriers are injected by electric current, into the
regions of a crystal where they can recombine with majority carriers. It
results in emission of recombination radiation.
The effect of electro-luminescence can be found in devices
incorporating the phosphor powder (such as of ZnS) in a plastic binder.
This phosphor gives-off the light when an alternating current (a.c.)
filed is applied on it. Such device is known as ‘electro-luminescence cell’,
which is used as lighting panel.
Destriau effect- The emission of photons in certain phosphors occurs
when they are subjected to alternating electric field, was observed for the
first time by Destriau. Hence this phenomenon is known as ‘Destriau effect’.
Optical Properties of Insulators:
i. Insulators have completely filled valence band and so like as in
semiconductors, no intra-band transitions can occur.
ii. The energy gap in insulators are greater than 5 eV and so no inter-
band transition can occur in the visible range of radiation.
iii. Absorption occurs only for the ultraviolent radiation. Insulators are
transparent from infra-red up to the ultra-violet radiation.
Examples:
a. Perfect diamond crystal
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b. Fused quartz
c. Window glass
Non-Transparent Insulator:
a. Enamels,
b. Porcelains,
c. Opal glass etc.

iv. Above materials are opaque because the incident radiation gets
scattered in all direction by the small particles present in these materials.
v. Due to this, there cannot be perfect transmission. Part of the
radiation is diffusely transmitted and part is diffusely reflected. This makes
the materials appear opaque.
vi. If the particle size is of the order of the wavelength of visible
radiation, there will be maximum scattering.
vii. For some applications, such particles are deliberately introduced
in dielectrics to make them opaque.

Optical Absorption in Ionic Crystals:

i. Ionic crystals are insulators. The energy gap in these crystal are in
the range of 5-8 eV. The electrons cannot absorb photons in the visible
radiation and get excited to the conduction band. So the complete range of
visible radiation is transmitted by ionic crystals and they are transparent.
ii. The absorption properties of ionic crystals change drastically if point
defects such as lattice vacancy or Schottky defects are present in them.
Because of this defect materials are found to be colored.
iii. Another method by which the optical absorption in ionic crystals
can be changed is by adding impurities.

Thermal Properties of Engineering Materials:

The responses of solids against the thermal effects are termed as

thermal properties of materials. Proper selection of materials for favourable
low and high temperature applications requires knowledge of their thermal
properties.
For example- Liquid ammonia (NH3) and liquid oxygen (O2) require
thermal protection at very low (cryogenic temperatures) for storage purpose.
Electric bulb needs to be protected from thermal fatigue at high
temperatures.
Information about thermal conductivity, thermal, expansion, melting
point and heat dissipation are very essential in the design and operation of
power plants (gas and steam).
 26

1. Heat Capacity:
Many engineering solids when exposed to heat experiences an
increase in temperature i.e. it absorbs heat energy. This property of a
material i.e. material’s ability to absorb heat energy is called its heat
capacity, C. It is defined as the energy required to change a material’s
temperature by one degree.

Where dQ is the energy required to produce a temperature change

equal to dT.
Heat capacity is not an intrinsic property i.e. total heat a material.
Hence another parameter called specific heat c, it defined unit mass (J/kg-
K, Cal/kg-K)
With increase of internal energy, geometrical changes may occur
parallelly heat capacity is measured either at constant volume, CV, or
constant external pressure, Cp. The magnitude of Cp is always greater than
Cv.
Heat energy absorption of a (solid, liquid or gaseous) material exists
in mode of thermal energy vibration of constituent atoms or molecules apart
from the other mechanical heat absorption such as electronic contribution.
With increase of energy, atoms vibrate at higher frequencies.
However, the vibrations of adjacent atoms are coupled through
atomic bonding, which may lead to movement of lattices. This may be
represented as waves (phonon) or sound waves, Vibrational contribution of
heat capacity is varying with temperature.
CV equal to zero at 0 K, but increase rapidly with temperature.

2. Thermal Expansion:
After heat absorption, atoms started vibrating and having larger
atomic radius, leads to increase in materials dimensions. The
phenomenon is called thermal expansion.
Thermal expansion (α) defined as the change in the dimensions
length, and is expressed as:
Where T0 and Tf are the initial and final temperature (in K), l0
and lf are the initial and final dimensions of the material and ԑ is the
strain, α has units as (°C)-1. For range of 5 – 25 × 10-6, for ceramics
0.5 – 15 10-6.
A volume coefficient of thermal expansion, αv (= 3α) is used to
change with temperature.
An instrument known as dilatometer is used to measure the
thermal expansion.
 27

3. Thermal Conductivity:
The ability of a material to transport heat energy from high
temperature region to low temperature region is defined as thermal
conductivity.
Similar to diffusion coefficient, thermal conductivity is a
microstructure sensitive property.
The heat energy transported across Q = kA ΔT/ΔI
Where k is the thermal conductivity material. It has units as
W/m.K. Metals in the range 20-400, ceramics 2-50, while polymers
have in order of 0.3.
Heat energy in solids in transported by two mechanisms: Lattice
vibrations (photons) and electrons.
The amounts of energy transported depends electrons, their
mobility i.e. type of material, lattice temperature. The thermal energy
associated of their motion.
In ceramic phonon are responsible for thermal conduction. Main
reason for experimentally observed low conductivity of ceramics is the
level of porosity, as phonons are effectively scattered by
imperfections. The scattering of phonons becomes more pronounced
with rising temperature.
Hence, the thermal conductivity of ceramic materials normally
diminishes with increasing temperature. Advanced ceramic materials
like AIN, SiC are good thermal conductors, they are also electrical
insulators. So, these materials are useful as electronic packaging
substrates where heat dissipation is needed.
Thermal conductivity of polymers is even low, compared with
ceramic materials. Vibration and movement/rotation of molecular
chains transfer heat energy. In these materials thermal conductivity
depends on degree of crystallinity; a polymer with highly crystalline
and ordered structure will have higher conductivity then amorphous
polymer.
Thermal conductivity of metals, alloys, semiconductors and
dielectrics are in the decreasing order.

Relation between Coefficient of Thermal Expansion and Melting

Point:
The coefficient of linear thermal expansion α and the melting
point Tm of the solids are related as:
αTm = constant = λ
The values of λ for different solids are as follows:
(i) λ = 0.02 for ionic compounds and metals,
(ii) λ = 0.03 for some salts, and
 28

(iii) λ = 0.007 for covalent bonded oxides and glasses.

iv. Thermal Stress:
a. Thermal stresses are caused in a material due to temperature
variation (thermal gradient) when thermal expansion is
restrained.
b. Welded construction of structures and the pressure vessels,
c. Joints of two railroad rails,
d. Jacketed thick cylinders that are shrink fitted,
e. Bimetallic strips in thermostatic controls,
f. Refractory bricks in metallic furnaces and ovens,
g. Outer skins of rockets and missiles,
h. Components of I.C. engines, and
i. Huge concrete structures such as dams.
Warpage:
The distribution of residual stresses is not always symmetrical
within the material. Uneven cooling is a cause of such unbalanced
stresses, it happens because when one surface of a material is cooled
more rapidly than the other, the rapidly cooled surface generates
compression whereas tension is developed on other surface. Such
asymmetry produces ‘warpage’ and the material develops convexity
towards rapidly cooled surface.
v. Spalling (or Thermal) Cracking:
The residual stresses produced within plastic materials may be
relieved partially by warpage, but this is not so in case of non-plastic
materials. In them, the dimensional changes cannot relieve the
stresses, and the stresses in excess of elastic limit produce thermal
cracking. This is called spalling. This is a very common phenomenon in
glassware.
vi. Thermal Fatigue and Thermal Shock:
Thermal Fatigue:
Behavior of a material under repeated heating and
cooling is known as thermal fatigue. Due to thermal fatigue,
thermal stresses of fluctuating nature are produced in the
material which may eventually cause its thermal fatigue failure.
The ability of a material to withstand such failure is called
thermal fatigue resistance.

Thermal Shock:
A situation in the material, when there is a severe and
sudden temperature change, is known as thermal shock. The
capability of a material to withstand these effects of such
drastic change is called thermal shock resistance.
 29

Thermal shocks may be minimized in structural and

machine systems by using the following devices:
1. Bellows,
2. Expansion loops,
3. Corrugated parts, and
4. Flexible joints
High Thermal Shock Resistivity Material:
a. Graphite
b. Cermet
c. Glass-ceramics
d. Lithium-ceramics
e. Fused silica
f. Pyrex glass
Technique of Reflective Insulation:
i. The technique of reflective insulation is found in tankers
transporting liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen and liquid nitrogen.
ii. In this technique, highly reflective surfaces are separated by
large width of air space.
iii. Conduction and convection is minimum at about 20 mm width
of air.
iv. Aluminium foils on paper, reflective aluminum surfaces
separated by glass fibre lamina, and Mylar (aluminized plastic
films) under high vacuum are used for this purpose.
v. Air is not suitable for thermal insulation at cryogenic
temperatures as it solidifies at 81.3 K. Hence the insulating
layers are kept free from air and are sealed.
Note:
High temperature effects are those observed above room
temperature and low temperature effects are those observed
below of it.
High Temperature Effect:
The Effects of high temperatures on materials is to cause
the following effects:
i. Loss of Strength,
ii. Grain in ductility,
iii. Reduced stiffness,
iv. Lower yield strength,
v. Polymorphic transformations
vi. Decrease in hardness etc.

 MODULE SUMMARY
 30

In module 2, you have learned about the properties and characteristics

of materials. There are three lessons in module 2.
Lesson 1: Physical, Chemical, Electrical and Magnetic Properties
Lesson 2: Mechanical Properties
Lesson 3: Optical and Thermal Properties
Congratulations! You have just studied Module 2. Now you are ready to
evaluate how much you have benefited from your reading by answering the
summative test. Good Luck!!!