Materials science

Definition:

Material science is the branch of science in which it may be defined as the scientific study of the properties and
applications of materials of construction or manufacture (such as ceramics, metals, polymers, and composites)
Matter can be subdivided into two states-solid and fluid, of which the later is subdivided into liquid and gaseous
state. Matter can also be subdivided into condensed stated and gaseous state where condensed state is subdivided
into the solid and liquid state. Although very little of the matter in the universe is in the solid state, solids constitute
much of the physical world around us and a large part of the modern technology is based on the special
characteristics of the various solid materials.

Crystalline and non-crystalline (Amorphous Solids) Nature favors the crystalline state of the solids, because the
energy of the ordered atomic arrangement is lower than that of an irregular packing of atoms.

Crystalline Solids

A solid in general is said to be a crystal if the constituent particles (atoms, ions or molecules) are arranged in a
three dimensional periodic manner or simply it has a reticular structure. In crystalline solids the atoms are stacked
in a regular manner, forming a 3-D pattern which may be obtained by a 3-D repetition of a certain pattern unit. It
has long-range orderness and thus has definite properties such a sharp melting point. Thus we can say, crystal is a
three dimensional periodic array of atoms. When the crystal grows under constant environment, the external
geometrical shape of the crystal often remains unchanged. Thus, the shape is a consequence of the internal
arrangement of constituent particles. The ideal crystal has an infinite 3D repetition of identical units, which may be
atoms or molecules. All ionic solids and most covalent solids are crystalline. All solid metals, under normal
circumstances, are crystalline.

Single crystal

When the periodicity in crystal pattern extends throughout a certain piece of materials, one speaks of a single
crystal or unit crystal or mono-crystal. Rock salt, calcites, quartz, etc. are examples of common single crystal.

Polycrystalline solids (Polymorphism)

When the periodicity in the crystal structure is interrupted at so-called grain boundaries, the crystal is said to be
polycrystalline. In this case the size of the grains or crytallites is smaller than the size of the pattern unit which
forms the periodicity. The size of the grain in which the structure is periodic may vary from macroscopic
dimensions to several angstroms. In general, the grains in such a solid are not related in shape to the crystal
structure, the surface being random in shape rather than well defined crystal planes. Rock, sand, metals, salts, etc.
are some examples of polycrystalline solids.

Fig. Single crystal, polycrystalline, amorphous

Noncrystalline solids

It is the opposite extreme of a single crystal. These types of solids have neither reticular nor granular structure. At
most causes exhibit short range orderness in their structure. Glass and plastic are common example of this class.
When the size of the grains or crystallites becomes comparable to the size of the pattern unit, we speak of
amorphous substances. A typical feature of these substances is that they have no definite melting points. As their
temperature is increased, they gradually become soft; their viscosity drops, and begins to behave like ordinary
viscous liquids. Amorphous solids have no long-range order. The atoms or molecules in these solids are not
periodically located over large distances. An amorphous structure is shown below.

Many amorphous materials have internal structures similar to liquids. In fact, the only obvious distinction between
amorphous materials, such as glass, and liquids is the high viscosity (resistance to flow) of the amorphous solids.
All solids tend to exist in the crystalline state rather than the amorphous state because the crystalline structure
always has a larger binding energy. However, in numerous instances amorphous solids are formed when liquids are
cooled below the melting temperature. This occurs for two reasons:
1) the structure of the molecules is so complex that they cannot easily rearrange themselves to form a crystalline
structure, and/or

2) the solid forms so rapidly that the atoms or molecules do not have time enough to rearrange themselves in a
crystalline structure. Generally, amorphous solids have one of two distinct atomic arrangements: either a tangled
mass of long-chained molecules or a 3-dimentional network of atoms with no long-range order. Amorphous
materials with long-chained molecules (e.g. polymers) have a structure similar to that shown below.

Each segment in above figure represents one of the repeating units of the polymer chain. The arrangement of the
molecules is fairly random, resulting in a loosely packed structure. Network amorphous solids are usually Oxides,
the most common being Silica (SiO2). The amorphous SiO2 structure is also shown above. Only oxygen atoms are
shown (corners of tetrahedral) in this amorphous SiO2 structure. There is a Silicon atom at the center of each
tetrahedral which is not shown here. This structure has short-range order but none of the long-range order found in
crystalline Silica. Thus, in both amorphous and crystalline Silica, each Silicon atom and each Oxygen atom have
essentially the same local surroundings, even though there is no long-range periodicity in the amorphous structure.

The 7 Crystal Systems

The structures of all crystals can be classified according to the symmetry of the unit cells. There are in
total 7 groups, collectively called Crystal Systems: Tricinic, Monoclinic, Orthorhombic, Tetragonal,
Trigonal, Hexagonal, and Cubic. The symmetry of each group is described by the relationship between
the lattice sides a, b, and c and angles α, β and γ. Click on a crystal system to get started.
Cubic crystal system

The Cubic crystal system has the highest symmetry. It also has the greatest number of restrictions. Not
only do all the angles equal 90°, but all the sides have the same length as well.

a = b = c, α = β = γ = 90°

What do you observe?

a = 1, b = 1, c = 1, α = 90°, β = 90°, γ = 90°

Hexagonal crystal system

The Hexagonal crystal system can be visualized as a prism with hexagons as the bases. In order to
describe it in terms of a, b, c and the three angles, we introduce restrictions such as γ must equal 120°.

a = b ≠ c, α = β = 90° and γ = 120°

What do you observe?

a = 1, b = 1, c = 2

α = 90°, β = 90°, γ = 120°

Trigonal crystal system

For the Trigonal, also known as Rhombohedral, crystal system, the length of the sides and the angles are
equal, but the shape of the cell is harder to visualize.

a = b = c, α = β = γ ≠ 90°

Try changing the unit cell one parameter at a time for a, α, β and γ.

What do you observe?

a = 1, b = 1, c = 1

α = 60°, β = 30°, γ = 80°

Tetragonal crystal system

In the Tetragonal crystal system we introduce yet another restriction. Now, not only do all the angles have
to equal 90°, but the two sides a and b have to be the same length too. This makes the c side a symmetry
unique axis.
a = b ≠ c, α = β = γ = 90°

What do you observe?

a = 1, b = 1, c = 3

α = 90°, β = 90°, γ = 90°

Orthorhombic crystal system

In the Orthorhombic crystal system, all the angles must be 90°. The sides, on the other hand, can change
independently of each other.

a ≠ b ≠ c, α = β = γ = 90°

What do you observe?

a = 1, b = 2, c = 3

α = 90°, β = 90°, γ = 90°

Monoclinic crystal system

Monoclinic crystal system introduces a restriction on two of the angles. Now α and γ must equal to 90°.
This makes the b side the symmetry unique axis.

a ≠ b ≠ c, α = γ = 90° and β ≠ 90°

What do you observe?

a = 1, b = 2, c = 3

α = 90°, β = 60°, γ = 90°

Triclinic crystal system

Triclinic, also known as anorthic, is a crystal system with the lowest symmetry. In this system there are
no restrictions on angles or sides.

a ≠ b ≠ c, α ≠ β ≠ γ
What do you observe?

a = 1, b = 2. c = 3

α = 40°, β = 50°, γ = 60°

Unit Cells

A unit cell is the smallest portion of a crystal lattice that shows the three-dimensional pattern of the entire
crystal. A crystal can be thought of as the same unit cell repeated over and over in three dimensions.
The Figure below illustrates the relationship of a unit cell to the entire crystal lattice.

A unit cell is the smallest repeating portion of a crystal lattice.

Unit cells occur in many different varieties. As one example, the cubic crystal system is composed of
three different types of unit cells: (1) simple cubic , (2) face-centered cubic , and (3)body-centered
cubic . These are shown in three different ways in the Figure below
  body-centered cubic: There is one atom or ion in the center of the unit cell in addition to the
corner atoms or ions.
 face-centered cubic: There are also atoms or ions in the center of each of the six faces of the unit
cell.
 simple cubic: The atoms or ions are at the corners of the unit cell only.

hexagonal close packing

In hexagonal close packing, layers of spheres are packed so that spheres in alternating layers overlie one
another. As in cubic close packing, each sphere is surrounded by 12 other spheres.

Space Lattice and Unit Cell

Crystal is a homogeneous portion of a crystalline substance, composed of a regular pattern of structural
units (ions, atoms or molecules) by plane surfaces making definite angles with each other giving a regular
geometric form.
A regular array of points (showing atoms/ions) in three dimensions is commonly called as a space lattice,
or lattice.
Each point in a space lattice represents an atom or a group of atoms.
Each point in a space lattice has identical surroundings throughout.
A three dimensional group of lattice points which when repeated in space generates the crystal called unit
cell.
The unit cell is described by the lengths of its edges, a, b, c (which are related to the spacing between
layers) and the angles between the edges,
The Miller Index Notation

The Miller indices can be used to specify directions and planes in a crys
crystal.
tal. The Miller indices
of a plane are defined in the following way: First, three lattice vectors have to be defined. For
cubic crystal systems, the lattice vectors are chosen along the edges of the crystallographic
unit cell (unit cube). Any crystal plane intercepts the axes in certain points. The Miller indices

are the ratios of these points and are given as a triplet of integer values . A Miller index
0 means that the plane is parallel to the respective axis. Negative indices are indicated with a
bar written over the number.

In the notation of with square brackets instead of round brackets, denotes a direction in the
basis of the lattice vectors. The notation denotes all planes that are equivalent

to by the symmetry of the crystal. Similarly, the notation

not denotes all directions
that are equivalent to by symmetry.

In cubic crystal systems the Miller indices of a plane are the same as those of the direction
perpendicular to the plane.

Imperfections of crystal structure

There are three conventional types of crystal imperfections:
 Point defects
 Line defects
 Planar defects or surface defects
 Volume defects

Point defects
The simplest point defects are as follows

 Vacancy – missing atom at a certain crystal lattice position;

 Interstitial impurity atom – extra impurity atom in an interstitial position;
 Self-interstitial atom – extra atom in an interstitial position;
 Substitution impurity atom – impurity atom, substituting an atom in crystal lattice;
 Frenkel defect – extra self-interstitial atom, responsible for the vacancy nearby.

Line defects
Linear crystal defects are edge and screw dislocations.

 Edge dislocation is an extra half plane of atoms “inserted” into the crystal lattice. Due to the edge dislocations metals
possess high plasticity characteristics: ductility and malleability.
 Screw dislocation forms when one part of crystal lattice is shifted (through shear) relative to the other crystal part. It is
called screw as atomic planes form a spiral surface around the dislocation line. For quantitative characterization of a
difference between a crystal distorted by a dislocation and the perfect crystal the Burgers vector is used. The dislocation
density is a total length of dislocations in a unit crystal volume. The dislocation density of annealed metals is about 1010
- 1012 m−². After work hardening the dislocation density increases up to 1015 - 1016 m-². Further increase of dislocation
density causes crackes formation and fracture.

Planar defects
Planar defect is an imperfection in form of a plane between uniform parts of the material. The most important planar defect is
a grain boundary. Formation of a boundary between two grains may be imagined as a result of rotation of crystal lattice of one
of them about a specific axis. Depending on the rotation axis direction, two ideal types of a grain boundary are possible:
 Tilt boundary – rotation axis is parallel to the boundary plane;
 Twist boundary - rotation axis is perpendicular to the boundary plane:
 An actual boundary is a “mixture” of these two ideal types.
Grain boundaries are called large-angle boundaries if misorientation of two neighboring grains exceeds 10º-15º.
Grain boundaries are called small-angle boundaries if misorientation of two neighboring grains is 5º or less.
Grains, divided by small-angle boundaries are also called subgrains.
Grain boundaries accumulate crystal lattice defects (vacancies, dislocations) and other imperfections, therefore they effect on
the metallurgical processes, occurring in alloys and their properties.

Since the mechanism of metal deformation is a motion of crystal dislocations through the lattice, grain boundaries, enriched
with dislocations, play an important role in the deformation process.
Diffusion along grain boundaries is much faster, than throughout the grains.
Segregation of impurities in form of precipitating phases in the boundary regions causes a form of corrosion, associated with
chemical attack of grain boundaries. This corrosion is called Intergranular corrosion.
Metallic Materials
A metal is a material (an element, compound, or alloy) that is typically hard when in solid state, opaque,
shiny, and has good electrical and thermal conductivity. Metals are generally malleable—that is, they can
be hammered or pressed permanently out of shape without breaking or cracking—as well as fusible (able
to be fused or melted) and ductile (able to be drawn out into a thin wire). Around 90 of the 118 elements
in the periodic table are metals; the others are non metals or metalloids, though elements near the
boundaries of each category have been assigned variably to either (hence the lack of an exact count).
Some elements appear in both metallic and non-metallic forms.

Normally they are mixed with other metals to improve their properties: the mixture is called an alloy.
Most metals are good conductors. There are two main types of metal alloys: ferrous and non-ferrous.
Ferrous metals contain iron and non ferrous metals do not contain iron.

Ferrous metals: -
In chemistry, ferrous (Fe2+), indicates a divalent iron compound (+2 oxidation state), as opposed to ferric,
which indicates a trivalent iron compound (+3 oxidation state). [1] This usage has decreased, with
current IUPAC nomenclature having names containing the oxidation state in bracketed Roman numerals
instead, such as iron(II) oxide for ferrous oxide (FeO), and iron(III) oxide for ferric oxide (Fe 2O3).
Outside chemistry, ferrous indicates the presence of iron.[1] The word is derived from
the Latin word ferrum ("iron").[2] Ferrous metals include steel and pig iron (with a carbon content of a few
percent) and alloys of iron with other metals (such as stainless steel). Manipulation of atom-to-atom
relationships between iron, carbon, and various alloying elements establishes the specific properties of
ferrous metals.[3] Non-ferrous metals and alloys do not contain an appreciable amount of iron.
Non-ferrous metals:-
In metallurgy, a non-ferrous metal is a metal, including alloys, that does not contain iron (ferrite) in
appreciable amounts Generally more costly than ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals are used because of
desirable properties such as low weight (e.g. aluminium), higher conductivity (e.g. copper), [1] non-
magnetic property or resistance to corrosion (e.g. zinc).[2] Some non-ferrous materials are also used in the
iron and steel industries. For example, bauxite is used as flux for blast furnaces, while others such
as wolframite, pyrolusite and chromite are used in making ferrous alloys. [3]
Important non-ferrous metals include aluminium, copper, lead, nickel, tin, titanium and zinc, and alloys
such as brass. Precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum and exotic or rare metals such
as cobalt, mercury, tungsten, beryllium, bismuth, cerium, cadmium, niobium, indium, gallium, germaniu
m, lithium, selenium, tantalum, tellurium, vanadium, and zirconium are also non-ferrous. [4] They are
usually obtained through minerals such as sulfides, carbonates, and silicates. [5] Non-ferrous metals are
usually refined through electrolysis.
Ferrous metals:
Objectives of heat treatment
 Ceramics Material
A ceramic is an inorganic, non-metallic, solid material comprising metal, non-metal or metalloid atoms
primarily held in ionic and covalent bonds. The crystallinity of ceramic materials ranges from highly
oriented to semi-crystalline, vitrified, and often completely amorphous (e.g., glasses).
Ceramic materials are defined as those containing phase that are compounds of metallic and non metallic
elements.
Ceramics are typically hard and chemically stable materials with valuable applications. Traditional and
advanced are the main types of ceramics, and the advanced ceramics industry is a rapidly growing
industry with important functional applications.
Ceramics are special materials with many applications in almost all the engineering disciplines. But their
importance has often been underestimated due to the fact that many people believe that ceramics are all
about pottery and tiles. Today's ceramics industry is one of most rapidly advancing concerns in many
parts of the world including USA, where the advanced ceramic market is over 13 billion US dollars.
Ceramic industry began to expand as a modern industry with the attribution of new techniques and
knowledge gained in the 1970s. Since then it has also been one of most competitive industries in the
marke
Ceramic materials are special because of their properties. They typically possess high melting points, low
electrical and thermal conductivity values, and high compressive strengths. Also they are generally hard
and brittle with very good chemical and thermal stability. Ceramic materials can be categorized as
traditional ceramics and advanced ceramics. Ceramic materials like clay are categorized as traditional
ceramics and normally they are made of clay, silica, and feldspar. As its name suggests, traditional
ceramics are not supposed to meet rigid specific properties after their production, so cheap technologies
are utilized for most of the production processes.

traditional and new ceramics

Traditional ceramics, ceramic materials that are derived from common, naturally occurring raw materials such as clay
minerals and quartz sand. Through industrial processes that have been practiced in some form for centuries, these
materials are made into such familiar products as china tableware, clay brick and tile, industrial abrasives and refractory
linings, and portland cement. This article describes the basic characteristics of the raw materials commonly used in
traditional ceramics, and it surveys the general processes that are followed in the fabrication of most traditional ceramic
objects. From this survey the reader can proceed to more detailed articles on the individual types of ceramic products,
links to which are provided at the end of this article.
Traditional ceramic objects are almost as old as the human race. Naturally occurring abrasives were undoubtedly used to
sharpen primitive wood and stone tools, and fragments of useful clay vessels have been found dating from the Neolithic
Period, some 10,000 years ago. Not long after the first crude clay vessels were made, people learned how to make them
stronger, harder, and less permeable to fluids by burning. These advances were followed by structural clay products,
including brick and tile. Clay-based bricks, strengthened and toughened with fibres such as straw, were among the
earliest composite materials. Artistic uses of pottery also achieved a high degree of sophistication, especially in China,
the Middle East, and the Americas.
 whitewares dishes, plumbing materials, enamels, tiles

heavy clay brick, pottery, materials for the treatment and transport of sewage,
products water purification components

refractories brick, cements, crucibles, molds

construction brick, plaster, blocks, concrete, tile, glass, fiberglass

Ball clay, China clay, Feldspar, Silica, Dolomite, Talc, Calcite and Nepheline are the common materials
used for most of the ceramic products. Each raw material contributes a certain property such as dry
strength, plasticity, shrinkage, etc. to the ceramic body. Therefore, by careful selection of materials,
desired properties are acquired for the final output. Powder preparation is a major consideration in the
ceramic industry. Surface area, particle size and distribution, particle shape, density, etc. each have their
own effect on production. Powder has to be prepared to meet required particle size, particle shape, and
other requirements for a particular industry. Milling is done to get the desired particle size. Unlike in the
,advanced ceramics industry the purity of ceramic powder is not an issue in traditional ceramics.
The traditional ceramics industry originated long ago. Even thousands of years ago it was a well
established practice in many parts of the world. Today there are many divisions of this industry. Pottery,
tableware, sanitaryware, tiles, structural clay products, refractories, blocks, and electrical porcelain are
some of the products of traditional ceramics.

Advanced Ceramics
Advanced ceramics are special type of ceramics used mainly for electrical, electronic, optical, and
magnetic applications. This sector is different from traditional ceramics due to the fact that ceramic
powder preparation is quite important. Advanced production techniques are employed to assure that the
produced ceramic powders possess sufficient purity. Generally chemical reactions are used to produce the
ceramic powder such as Sol-gel processing and liquid-gas reactions like NH3 gas and SiCl4 liquid to
produce Si3N4. Many of these methods are very costly. Therefore, powder preparation is always a cost
factor in the advanced ceramics industry.
 Applications of Advanced Ceramics
In electronic and electrical industries advanced ceramic materials like Barium Titanate (BaTiO3),
piezoelectric materials and semiconductor materials are heavily used for producing ceramic capacitors,
vibratos, temperature sensors, oscillators, etc. Ceramics used for this type of applications are called
functional ceramics. Specific properties of advanced ceramic materials are utilized for their industrial
applications. Ferroelectricity is such property in materials like Lead Zirconate Titanate, Lead Titanate,
Barium Titanate, etc. Ferroelectric materials have two properties. One is there should be a spontaneous
polarization and the other is the polarization should be able to reorient. This property is used to produce
applications like sensors, pumps, sonar, microphones, etc.
 There are a number of other applications that are found in the other areas too. Magnetic ceramics are
another type of advanced ceramic material that is used for the production of antennas and inductors.
Bioceramics like Alumina with high density and purity is used to dental implants. Eye glasses, chemical
ware, and the replacement of hips and knees, etc. are some of the applications of bioceramic materials.
 Although traditional ceramics have been in use in ancient civilizations, advanced ceramics is a recently
developed field. But they have some extremely important functions and have already shown a rapid
growth. Both of these ceramic materials posses significant importance for the industry and it can be
expected that the best is yet to come especially in the field of advanced ceramics.
ceramics for high temperature applications