CHAPTER OUTLINE

 What is Materials Science and Engineering?

 Classification of Materials
 Functional Classification of Materials
 Environmental and Other Effects
 Materials Design and Selection

What is Materials Science and Engineering?

Materials Science and Engineering

Composition means the chemical make-up of a material.

Structure means a description of the arrangements of atoms or ions in a

material.

Synthesis is the process by which materials are made from naturally occurring
or other chemicals.
Processing means different ways for shaping materials into useful components
or changing their properties.

Classification of Materials

Metals and Alloys

- Metals and Alloys - Exhibits good electrical and thermal conductivity

- Useful for load bearing structures (i.e., Reinforcement bars)

- Have high strength, high stiffness, ductility, formability (malleable), and

shock resistance

- Combination or mixtures of metals, aka Alloys, permits appropriate

properties for certain applications
Ceramics

- Ceramics are inorganic crystalline materials

- Used for housing of computer chips, electronic components, for barrier

coatings in turbine engines
- They cannot conduct heat well

- Relatively strong and hard

Glasses and Glass-ceramics

- Glasses are amorphous materials

- Usually taken from molten liquid

- Can further treated thermally to produce Tempered glass

- Used from house, car, and computer protection

- Forming small crystals in glasses by means of special processes can produce

Glass ceramics

- Glass-ceramics are used for large telescopes (i.e., Zerodur for the Chandra
and Hubble telescopes)

Polymers (plastics)

- Typically made up of Organic Materials (Carbon-based)

- Considered good electrical and thermal Insulators, though there are recent
developments on Semiconducting Polymers

- Have lower strength, but high strength-to-weight ratio

Polymers (Plastics) - Thermoplastic polymers

- Have good ductility and formability
- Long molecular chains are not rigidly connected

- It can be reshaped for several purposes when heated, and

solidifies when it is cooled.

Polymers (Plastics) – Thermosetting polymers

- Stronger, but more brittle

- Have molecular chains that are tightly linked

- Used commonly for electronic components

- Used for molding

Semiconductors

- The electrical conductivity of semiconducting materials is

between that of ceramic insulators and metallic conductors.

- In some semiconductors, the level of conductivity can be controlled to

enable electronic devices such as transistors, diodes, etc., that are used to
build integrated circuits.

Composite Materials

- Performs with properties of different materials

- Improvement in strength, ductility, resistance to temperature,
without affecting the density
- Examples are concrete, plywood, and fiberglass
- Used even for cutting tools that are hard and shock resistant

Functional Classification of Materials

Photonic or Optical Materials

– used for making semiconductor detectors and lasers for fiber optic
communication
- Amorphous silicon is used to make solar cells and
photovoltaic modules
- Polymers are used to make liquid crystal displays
(LCDs)
Smart Materials
- Materials that respond to an external stimulus, such as change in
temperature, applied stress, or change in humidity and the
environmental conditions
- Examples are Peltier element, Piezoelectric components,
photochromic glasses, and dimming mirrors

Environmental and Other Effects

 Effects of following factors must be accounted for in design to
ensure that components do not fail unexpectedly:
 Temperature

Corrosion
Most metals and polymers react with oxygen or other gases,
particularly at elevated temperatures.
Metals and ceramics may disintegrate, and polymers and non-oxide
ceramics may oxidize. Materials also are attacked by corrosive
liquids, leading to premature failure.
In space applications, we may have to consider the effect of
radiation.
Fatigue
When we load and unload the material thousands of times, even at low
loads, small cracks may begin to develop, and materials fail as these
cracks grow.
In designing load-bearing components, the possibility of fatigue
must be accounted for.

Strain Rate
Materials Design and Selection

Density
- is mass per unit volume of a material, usually expressed in units
of g/cm3 or lb/in.3
Strength-to-weight ratio
- is the strength of a material divided by its density; materials
with a high strength- to-weight ratio are strong but lightweight.