MSE101 – Classification,
Properties, and Selection of
Materials
It is important for Engineers to understand
materials because:
 Products/Components/Devices that
engineers design are all made of
materials.
 To select appropriate materials and
processing techniques for specific
applications.
 Engineers must…
o Have knowledge of material
properties.
o Understand the structure-
property relationships.
Relationships among Processing,
Structure, and Properties
Processing
 Heat treatment (homogenization,
quenching, aging).
 Alloy composition
Microstructure
 Size and number of particles
 Grain size/Structure
Properties
 Change in structure = change in
property.
 Hardness, Ductility, Yield strength,
conductivity, tensile strength.
Example [In steel]
 Processing – [e.g. cooling rate of
steel from high temperatures] affects
structure or microstructure.
 Structure in turn affects hardness.
Types of Materials
 Metals
o Strong, ductile
o High thermal and electrical
conductivity [ due to free-
roam valence electrons.]
o Opaque and Reflective
 Polymers and Plastics
o Compounds of non-metallic
elements.
o Poor conductors of heat and
electricity.
o Soft, ductile, low strength
and density.
o Opaque, transparent, or
translucent.
Atoms commonly found in
Polymers include Hydrogen,
Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Fluorine,
Chlorine, Silicon.
Types of Polymers:
a. Thermoplastic Polymers – no
bounding between adjacent
chains and can be remelted and
reshaped repeatedly.
b. Thermoset Polymers - have
bonds between chains and it
cannot be reshaped.
 Ceramics
o Compounds of metallic and
non-metallic elements
[oxides, carbides, nitrides,
sulfides]
o Hard, but brittle.
o Low thermal and electrical
conductivity.
o Opaque, translucent or
transparent.
  Composites are mixtures of two
materials in which each material
continues to exist in distinct phases.
Main classes of Composites
 Particulate – Composites containing
large number of course particles
bound in a matrix (ex. Blend of
gravel and cement in concrete.)
 Fiber-reinforced – strong fibers
oriented and bound to a matrix that
protects the fibers and transfer load
(silicon carbide-metal matrix
composites are used in jet engines.)
 Laminar – consists of alternating
layers of different materials bonded
together (like wood veneer and
epoxy layers used to make plywood).
Categories of Materials with Special
Properties
 Electronic Materials – Noted for
their special abilities in conducting
electrons. They include conductors,
semiconductors, and insulators.
 Optical Materials – Noted for they
way they interact with light
(example: optical glass fibers)
 Biomaterials – Designed
specifically for use in biological
systems (example: artificial organs
or prosthetic limbs)
Materials Selection
 Cost
 Reliability
 Ease of Joining
 Ease of Fabrication
 Mechanical Properties
 Electrical Properties
Engineers often solve materials selection
problems.
Procedure:
1. For a Specific Application –
Determine Required Properties.
[Mechanical, Electrical, Thermal,
Magnetic, Optical, Deteriorative].
2. From List of Properties – Identify
Candidate Material/s.
3. Best Candidate Material – Specify
Processing Technique/s. [To provide
required set of properties; To
produce component having desired
shape and size] – Example
techniques: Casting, Mechanical
Forming, Welding, Heat Treating.
Material Property Types
Properties of materials fall into six
categories as follows:
 Mechanical
o Properties include:
 Strength, Elasticity,
Stiffness, Flexibility,
Plasticity, Ductility,
Malleability,
Toughness,
Resilience, Hardness,
Brittleness, Creep,
Fatigue,
Machinability.
 Electrical
o Properties Include:
 Magnitude 1,2
 Tan Delta
 Quality Factor
 Resistance (X)
 Capacitance – Series
or Parallel
  Resistance – Series or
Parallel
 Inductance - Series or
Parallel
 Impedance
 Phase Angle
 Thermal
o Properties Include:
 Specific Heat, Heat
Capacity, Thermal
Expansion
 Thermal  Hardness is directly proportional to
Conductivity, Melting the carbon content of steel.
Point, Thermal  Increasing carbon content, increases
diffusivity, and hardness of steel.
Thermal shock
resistance. Electrical Properties
 Magnetic
 Factors that affect electrical
 Optical resistivity – for copper:
o Properties Include:
 Transmittance
 Ellipsometry
 Reflectance
 Polarimetry
 Absorptance
 Index of Refraction
 Emmitance
 Extinction Coefficient
 Deteriorative
o Properties Include:
 Corrosion
 As temperature increases, electrical
 Oxidation
resistivity increases of copper wires.
 Weathering
 Increasing impurity content (e.g.,
Mechanical Properties Nickel) increases resistivity.
 Deformation increases resistivity.
 Effect of carbon content on the
hardness of a common steel. Thermal Properties
 Thermal Conductivity – measure of a
material’s ability to conduct heat.
[transfer heat]
 Magnetic Storage – Recording medium is
magnetized by recording write head.

 Increasing impurity content (e.g., Magnetic Permeability Versus Composition:

Zinc in Copper) decreases thermal
conductivity.
 Highly porous materials are poor
conductors of heat.
o Examples are:
Ceramic Fibers – significant void space [100
micrometers], low thermal conductivity.
Good insulators. Used for Space Shuttle
Material.
 Adding 3 atomic % Silicon makes
Magnetic Properties Iron a better recording medium.
 Diamagnetic – Induced magnetic Optical Properties
moment is very small. It is oriented
 The light transmittance of some
in the opposite direction to the
materials depends on their structural
magnetic field.
characteristics:
 Paramagnetic – Induced magnetic
o Aluminum Oxide single
moment is very small. It is oriented
crystal (high degree of
in the parallel direction to the
perfection) – is optically
magnetic field.
transparent.
 Ferromagnetic – Below Tc spins are
o Aluminum Oxide
aligned parallel in magnetic domains.
polycrystalline material
 Ferrimagnetic – Below Tc spins are
(having many small grains) –
aligned, anti-parallel but do not
is optically translucent.
cancel.
o Aluminum Oxide
 Antiferromagnetic – Below Tc spins
polycrystalline material
are aligned, anti-parallel in magnetic
having some porosity – is
domains.
optically opaque.
Deteriorative Properties (loss of cartilage) as one ages; Joint
fracture]
 Small cracks formed in steel bar that
 Damaged and diseased hip joints
was simultaneously stressed and
may be replaced by artificial ones.
immersed in sea water:
Materials requirements for Artificial
Joints:
 Biocompatible – Minimum rejection
by surrounding body tissues.
 Chemically inert to body fluids.
 Mechanical Strength to support
forces generated.
 For stress-corrosion cracking, rate of  Good lubricity and high wear
crack growth is diminished by heat resistance between articulating
treating. surfaces.
Examples of Hip Replacement
 Femoral Stem – inserted into top of
hip bone (femur).
 Head (Ball) – affixed to femoral
stem.
 Shell – attached to pelvis.
 Liner – into which the head fits.
Materials Used
Example of Materials Selection: Artificial  Femoral stem – Titanium or
Hip Replacement CoCrMo [Cobalt, Chromium,
 Anatomy of a human hip joint and Molybdenum alloy.]
adjacent skeletal features:  Head (Ball) - CoCrMo [Cobalt,
Chromium, Molybdenum alloy.] or
Al2O3 (ceramic) [Aluminum
Trioxide]
 Shell – titanium alloy.
 Liner – Polyethylene (polymer) or
Al2O3 (ceramic)

Interactive Video Q&A

1. Ceramics can be used as a refractory
 Hip joint problems can be painful material. True.
and disabling. [Join deterioration
2. Cement is an example of what type
of materials? Composites.
3. Given the choice of using a
thermoplastic of thermoset polymer
with similar properties for a specific
application, why might the
thermoplastic be a better choice?
Thermoplastics can be remelted and
reformed into different products.
4. Cooling rate alters the properties of
steel. True
5. Adding 3% Si to Fe makes it a better
recording medium. True.
6. Which of the following types of
materials can be used as
biomaterials? Metals, Polymers, and
Ceramics.
7. In terms of electrical resistivity,
Copper wire with 3.32% Nickel is
better than with 1.12% Nickel.
False.
8. Carbon is a porous material and as
such is a good conductor of
electricity. False.
9. A certain application requires ‘soft’
steel. For this, ____ is needed. High
and Low Carbon Content.