BONGA UNIVERSITY

College Of Engineering And Technology

Department Of Mechanical Engineering

Engineering Material
(MEng2091)
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

By: Mulisa Jiregna

 Materials Science And Material Engineering
 Materials science:- involves investigating the relationships
that exist between the structures and properties of materials.
 Materials engineering is, designing the structure of a material
to produce a predetermined set of properties on the basis of
structure–property correlations.
 The term 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 structure of materials has a profound influence on many
properties of materials, even if the overall composition does
not change. For example, if you take a pure copper wire and
bend it repeatedly, the wire not only becomes harder but also
becomes increasingly brittle.
 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.
 All important properties of solid materials may be grouped
into six different categories: mechanical, electrical, thermal,
magnetic, optical, and deteriorative.
 In addition to structure and properties, two other important
components are involved in the science and engineering of
materials—namely, “processing” and “performance.”
 Why Study Materials Science And Engineering?

 It is very important that every engineer must study and

understand the concepts of Materials Science and Engineering.
This enables the engineer:-
 To select a material for a given use based on considerations
of cost and performance.
 To understand the limits of materials and the change of their
properties with use.
 To be able to create a new material that will have some
desirable properties.
 To be able to use the material for different application.
 Classification of Materials
 Solid materials have been conveniently grouped into three
basic classifications: metals, ceramics, and polymers.
 This scheme is based primarily on chemical makeup and
atomic structure, and most materials fall into one distinct
grouping or another, although there are some intermediates.
 In addition, there are the composites, combinations of two or
more of the above three basic material classes
Materials in each of these groups possess different structures
and properties.
 Another classification is advanced materials—those used in
high-technology applications.
1. semiconductors
2. Biomaterials
3. smart materials, and
4. Nano engineered materials
 1. Metals and alloys
 Metals have good electrical and thermal conductivity.
 Metallic materials have large numbers of non-localized
electrons. Many properties of metals are directly attributable to
these electrons. For example, metals are extremely good
conductors of electricity and heat.
 Metals and alloys have relatively high strength, high stiffness,
ductility or formability, and shock resistance.
 They are particularly useful for structural or load bearing
applications.
 Pure metals are not good enough for many applications,
especially structural applications. Thus metals are used in alloy
form i.e. a metal mixed with another metal to improve the
desired qualities.
 2. Ceramics
 Ceramics can be defined as inorganic crystalline materials.
 Ceramics are probably the most ‘‘natural’’ materials. Beach
sand and rocks are examples of naturally occurring ceramics.
 Ceramics are compounds between metallic and non-metallic
elements; they are most frequently oxides, nitrides, and
carbides.
 For example, aluminum oxide (or alumina,Al2O3),silicon
dioxide (or silica,SiO2), silicon carbide (SiC), silicon nitride
(Si3N4), and, in addition, what some refer to as the traditional
ceramics—those composed of clay minerals (i.e., porcelain),as
well as cement, and glass.
 With regard to mechanical behaviour, they are relatively stiff
and strong—stiffnesses and strengths are comparable to those
of the metals
 Also they are very hard. On the other hand, they are extremely
brittle (lack ductility), and are highly susceptible to fracture.

 These materials are typically

insulative to the passage of heat
and electricity (i.e., have low
electrical conductivities) and are
more resistant to high
temperatures and harsh
environments than metals and
polymers.

 With regard to optical characteristics, ceramics may be transparent,

translucent(semi-transparent) or opaque and some of the oxide
ceramics (e.g., Fe3O4) exhibit magnetic behavior.
 3. Polymers(plastics)

 Typically they are organic materials that are chemically based

on carbon, hydrogen, and other non-metallic elements ( O, N,
and Si).
 Polymers include the familiar plastic and rubber materials
 These materials typically have low densities and they are not as
stiff nor as strong as these other material types. Although they
have lower strength, polymers have a very good strength-to-
weight ratio.
 In addition, many of the polymers are extremely ductile and
pliable (i.e., plastic),which means they are easily formed into
complex shapes.
 They are relatively inert chemically(very good resistance to
corrosive chemicals.) and unreactive in a large number of
environments.
 One major drawback is their tendency to soften and/or
decompose at modest temperatures, this limits their use.
 Many polymers have very good electrical resistivity.
 4. Composites
 A composite is composed of two (or more) individual materials
which come from the categories discussed means
metals,ceramics,and polymers.
 The main goal of a composite is to achieve a combination of
properties that is not displayed by any single material, and also
to incorporate the best characteristics of each of the component
materials.
 Some naturally-occurring materials are also considered to be
composites—for example, wood and bone.
 Advanced Materials
 These are materials that are utilized in high-technology (or
high-tech) devices those operate based on relatively intricate
and sophisticated(highly developed and complex) principles
(e.g. computers, air/space-crafts, electronic equipment
(camcorders, CD/DVD players, etc.), and military rocketry.
 It include semiconductors, biomaterials, and what we may term
“materials of the future” (that is, smart materials and Nano-
engineered materials).
 These materials are either traditional materials with enhanced
properties or newly developed materials with high-performance
capabilities. Hence these are relatively expensive.
 Typical applications:
 materials that are used for lasers, integrated circuits,
magnetic information storage, liquid crystal displays
(LCDs), and fiber optics and etc.
1. Semiconductors
 They have electrical properties that are intermediate between
the electrical conductors ( metals and metal alloys) and
insulators (ceramics and polymers)
 The electrical characteristics of these materials are extremely
sensitive to the presence of minute concentrations of impurity
atoms, for which the concentrations may be controlled over
very small spatial regions.
 In semiconductors, the level of conductivity is controlled to
enable their use in electronic devices such as transistors,
diodes, etc., that are used to build integrated circuits.
 They are opaque to visible light but transparent to the infrared.
Examples: silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), and gallium arsenide
(GaAs, a compound semiconductor).
2. Biomaterials
 These are any type material that can be used for replacement of
damaged or diseased human body parts.
 Primary requirement of these materials is that they must be
compatible with body tissues (i.e., must not cause adverse
biological reactions) and must not produce toxic substances.
 Other important material factors are: ability to support forces;
low friction, wear, density, and cost; reproducibility.
 Typical applications involve heart valves, hip joints, dental
implants, intraocular lenses.
 All of the above materials(metals, ceramics, polymers,
composites, and semiconductors)may be used as biomaterials
 Examples: Stainless steel, Co-28Cr-6Mo, Ti-6Al-4V, ultra high
molecular weight poly-ethelene, high purity dense Al-oxide,
etc.
 Future Materials
1. Smart (or intelligent) materials
 They are a group of new and state-of-the-art materials now
being developed that will have a significant influence on many
of our technologies especially in the fields of medicine,
manufacturing and defence.
 These materials are able to sense changes in their environments
and then respond to these changes in predetermined manners.
 Smart/Intelligent material system consists some type of sensor
(detects an input) and an actuator (performs responsive and
adaptive function).
 Four types of materials are commonly used for actuators:
1. Shape memory alloys,
2. Piezoelectric ceramics,
3. Magnetostrictive materials, and
4. electro rheological/magneto rheological fluids
 Shape memory alloys are metals that, after having been
deformed, revert back to their original shapes when
temperature is changed.
 Piezoelectric ceramics expand and contract in response to an
applied electric field (or voltage); conversely, they also
generate an electric field when their dimensions are altered.
 The behaviour of magnetostrictive materials is analogous to
that of the piezoelectric, except that they are responsive to
magnetic fields.
 Electro rheological and magneto rheological fluids are liquids
that experience dramatic changes in viscosity upon the
application of electric and magnetic fields, respectively.
 Materials / Devices used as sensors:
1. Optical fibres,
2. Piezo-electric materials (including some polymers),
3. Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), etc
2. Nano engineered Materials
 With the advent of scanning probe microscopes which permit
observation of individual atoms and molecules, it is possible to
manipulate and move atoms and molecules to form new
structures and, thus, design new materials that are built from
simple atomic-level constituents.
 This ability to carefully arrange atoms provides opportunities to
develop mechanical, electrical, magnetic, and other properties
that are not otherwise possible.
 The study of the properties of these materials is termed “Nano
technology”; the “Nano” prefix denotes that the dimensions of
these structural entities are on the order of a nano-meter (10-9 m)
THANK YOU!