Materials science and engineering

introduction
• Materials are substances of which something is
composed or made.
• Some of the commonly encountered materials are
wood, concrete, steel, plastic, glass, rubber,
aluminum, copper, etc.
• Since products require materials, engineers should
be knowledgeable about the internal structure and
properties of materials so that they will be able to
select the most suitable ones for each application
and be able to develop the best processing
methods.
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 INTRODUCTION
• The search for new materials goes on
continuously
• For example mechanical engineers search
for higher temperatures materials so that jet
engines can operate more efficiently
• Electrical engineers search for new
materials so that electronic devices can
operate faster and at higher temperatures.
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• Materials science is primarily
concerned with the search for basic
knowledge about the internal
structure, properties, and processing
of materials.
• Materials engineering is mainly
concerned with the use of
fundamental and applied knowledge
of materials so that the materials can
be converted into products. 3
 Classification of materials
• Most engineering materials are
divided into three main classes:
• Metallic, polymeric (plastic), and
ceramic materials.
• Three other distinct groups
• composite materials, electronic
materials and biomaterials.
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 Metallic materials
• Metallic materials are inorganic.
• They are composed of one or more metallic
elements of the periodic table but may also
contain some non-metallic elements.
• Some metallic elements are: iron, aluminum,
copper, nickel and titanium.
• Non-metallic elements such as carbon, nitrogen
and oxygen may also be contained in metallic
materials.
• A metallic alloy is a combination of two or more
metals with or without a non-metal.

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 Metallic materials
• Metals and alloys are commonly divided into two
classes: ferrous metals and alloys and non-ferrous
metals and alloys.
• Ferrous metals and alloys contain a large
percentage of iron like steels and cast iron.
• Non-ferrous metals and alloys do not contain iron
or only contain a relatively small amount of iron.
• Examples are aluminum, copper, nickel and
bronze and brass.
•

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 Metallic materials
• Metals have
• a crystalline structure in which the atoms
are arranged in an orderly manner.
• in general are good thermal and electric
conductors.
• are relatively strong and ductile at room
temperature and many maintain good
strength at high temperatures.
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 Polymeric materials
• Most polymeric materials consist of long
organic (carbon containing) molecular chains
or networks.
• The strength and ductility of polymeric
materials vary greatly.
• Because of their internal structure most
polymeric materials are poor conductors of
electricity and warmth.
• That is why some of them are used for
insulative materials

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 Polymeric materials
• In general, polymeric materials have
low densities and relatively low
softening or decomposition
temperatures

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 Ceramic materials
• Ceramic materials are inorganic materials, which consist
of metallic and non-metallic elements chemically bonded
together.
• They are compounds between metallic and non metallic
elements
• They are most frequently oxides, nitrides and carbides
• Most ceramic materials have mechanical brittleness, high
hardness, and high, temperature strength.
• Many ceramics have low electrical and thermal
conductivity.
• Applications of ceramic materials are e.g. furnace linings
for liquid metals, cutting tools and high voltage insulators.

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 Composite materials
• Composite materials are mixtures of two or more
materials.
• Most composite materials consist of a reinforcing
material and a compatible resin binder to obtain
the specific characteristics and properties desired.
• Usually the components do not dissolve in each
other and can be identified by an interface, e.g. a
fibrous structure is often seen.
• Two examples of composite materials are
fiberglass in a polyester matrix and carbon fiber in
an epoxy matrix. 11
 Electronic materials
• Have electrical properties that are
intermediate between that of electrical
conductors and insulators
• Electrical characteristics of these materials
extremely sensitive to minute concentrations
of impurities, which concentrations may be
controlled over very small spatial regions
• Are extremely important for advanced
engineering technology.
• The most important electronic material is
pure silicon, which is modified in different
ways to change its electrical properties.
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 Electronic materials
• A 0.635 cm square silicon chip can
contain a multitude of miniaturized
complex electronic circuits.
• This miniaturization results in products
like pocket calculators, computers, cell
phones, satellites etc.
• Other electronic materials include GaAs
and recently carbon nanotubes etc.
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 NANOMATERIALS EXAMPLES
• Catalytic converters for auto mobiles
• Nanocarbons – Fullerenes, carbon nanotube, and
graphene
• Particles of carbon black as reinforcement for
automobile tires • Nanocomposites
• Magnetic nanosize grains that are used for hard
disk drives
• Magnetic particles that store data on magnetic
tapes
• electrorheological/magnetorheological fluids,
magnetostrictive materials and piezoelectric
ceramics are among the materials used for the
manufacture of sensors
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 Advanced materials
Smart materials
• Materials that are able to sense changes in the
environment such as temperature, electric
fields, magnetic fields etc. and respond to
changes in a predetermined manner e.g.
sensors, actuators
• Materials used for sensors include piezoelectric
materials, polymers, optical fibres and
microelectromechanical systems.
• Shape memory alloys,
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 BIOMATERIALS
• Are employed in components implanted in
the human body for the replacement of
diseased or damaged body parts
• Must not produce toxic substances and must
be compatible with body tissues
• Metals , ceramics, polymers, composites,
semiconductors,may be used as biomaterials
• Example Co-Cr-Ni-Mo alloy, stainless steel
316L and Titanium alloys
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 Selection of materials
• Mainly three requirements:
• Functional requirements, in terms of strength,
conductivity, elasticity, corrosion resistance etc.
• Fabrication requirements, e.g ease of welding
or castability.
• Economic considerations, economy demands
low costs of materials, fabrication, treatment,
assembly, maintenance, etc. All this in relation
to the life span of the product.

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 Selection of materials
• Two more important (economic)
considerations are
• the effect on the environment and the energy
consumption.
• For some cases ecological requirements have
to be set explicitly.

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 Selection of materials
• On which type(s) of requirement(s) emphasis is
laid depends upon the application of the
material.
• In case only a single item is to be made the
functional requirements may be stressed; “As
long as it works”.
• If a large number of the same product is to be
made economic considerations may assume
greater importance.

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 Some examples:
• Although they are more expensive only certain
steels and nickel alloys can be used for steam or gas
turbines operating at 600-800 C.
• Steel can have a lot of good qualities for a
particular product but because of the large number
produced some polymers have major economic
advantages.
• Although cadmium (Cd) has some very useful
electrical properties e.g. for batteries, it may not be
used because of ecological reasons.
• In many countries the use of such materials is
restricted by law.
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 Competition and future trends
• Materials compete with each other for existing
and new markets.
• If for example the processing of a material
suddenly becomes much cheaper it can replace
another.
• A newly developed material can replace another if
it has better qualities for a particular application.
New materials are being discovered and new
processes are being developed. Therefore over a
period of time the usage of different materials
changes.
•

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 Competition and future trends
• New metals and alloys are being developed and
they will certainly keep a dominant position on
the market.
• However major developments are expected in
the field of non-metallics.
• Polymers have already replaced metals and
other materials to a great extent. A trend in
engineering plastics is to blend or alloy different
polymeric materials together to produce new
“plastic alloys”.
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 Competition and future trends
• New ceramic materials are being developed but their
processing into products is usually slow and costly.
• Composite materials such as graphite epoxy combinations
are becoming important . They are light and have high
strength in most cases. They can be found in e.g. the
aircraft industry.
• The use of silicon and other electronic materials to
produce integrated circuits has had a tremendous impact
the last four decades.
• Automation of manufacturing processes has been made
possible to a great extent.
• Nano materials and corresponding nanotechnology is
revolutionalising engineering materials and applications

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