CIVE 378 Dr.

 Jiong Hu

CIVE 378 Materials of Construction

Nature of Materials

Dr. Jiong Hu
Spring 2020

Outline
 Basic materials concepts and different types of bonds
 Different types of defects
 Alloy and phase diagram
 Key characteristics of different types of materials (metals,
ceramics, polymers, composites)

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CIVE 378 Dr. Jiong Hu

Learning Objectives
 Understand the mechanism and features of different types
of bonds
 Understand the mechanism and implications of different
types of defects
 Understand the definition of alloy
 Understand how to identify key components of phase
diagram
 Understand how to use phase diagram to determine
phase as specific state point and parameters such as mass
of liquid and mass of solid
 Understand the distinguishing features of different types
of materials (metals, ceramics, polymers, composites)

Basic Materials Concepts

Three subatomic
particles?

Carbon atom http://creationwiki.org/Atoms

mass (amu) charge where?

proton 1 +1 nucleus
neutron 1 0 nucleus
electron 1/1840 -1 energy shells

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Basic Materials Concepts

 Important terms
 Atomic number – number of protons in the nucleus of the
atom.
 Atomic mass – the number of protons plus the number of
neutrons in the center of the atom.
 Elements – an atom or group of atoms with the same
atomic number.
 Isotopes – elements with different number of neutrons in
the nucleus.

http://creationwiki.org/Isotope

Atomic Number and Atomic Name in

Periodic Table of Elements

http://www.chemicool.com/

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Bonding
Energy is required
either to
 Bring atoms
closer together
(compression)
or
 Separate them
(tension)

Bonds
 Primary Bonds
 Atoms interact  change the number of electrons in their
outer shells  Stable and nonreactive electron structure
 Secondary Bonds
 Physical arrangement of the atoms in the molecule 
imbalanced electric charge  electrostatic force

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Opposites attract: Ionic bonding

 Transfer of electrons from
one elemental atom to
another
 Particles with opposite
charges are attracted to
one another (positively
charged cations are
attracted to negatively
charged anions).
 Based on transfer of
electrons
http://www.ndt-ed.org/  no-directional

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Sharing the goods: Covalent bonding

 Sharingof unpaired electrons
between adjacent (similar)
atoms.
 An unpaired electron is one
that occupies an orbital on its
own.
 When two orbitals in adjacent
atoms join together to form a
bond they create a molecular
orbital that is a hybrid of the
two separate atomic orbitals.
 Overlap of orbital paths of
the atoms
 highly directional
http://www.ndt-ed.org/  Very strong
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Mass sharing : Metallic Bonds

 Metallic atoms having loosely
held electrons in the outer s
subshell  outer electrons
released  float between
atoms  electrically
balanced ions
 No directional
 The easy movement of the
free electrons  good
thermal and electrical
conduction.
 The free electrons allow
metal atoms to slide over
each other, so metals are
malleable and ductile.
http://www.ndt-ed.org/

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Intermolecular bonding :
Van der Waals Bond
 Dipole attraction between
uncharged atoms (at any
instance, one side of the atom
has a negative charge and the
other side of the atom has a
positive charge).
 Van der Waals bonds are formed
from an electrostatic charge in
adjacent atoms.
 It is present between long-
chained molecules in polymers
bonding the chains together.
When stretched the bonds
break easily causing the material
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu
to deform.

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Special form of secondary bond:

Hydrogen Bond
 Hydrogen bonds exist in water.
Water molecules consist of two
hydrogen atoms and one oxygenatom
bonded using a covalent bond.
 Water molecules have a positive
charge near the hydrogen because of
a concentration of electrons. This
causes a negative charge at the other
side of the molecule
 The distribution of charge causes a
weak bond between water molecules
 which makes the vaporising of water
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu
very easy.

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Strength of Bonds

Bond Energy Example of Bond

(GPa)
Covalent 1,000 Diamond
Primary Bonds Ionic 30 - 100 Salt and ceramics
Metallic 30 - 150 Metals
Hydrogen 8 Ice
Secondary Bonds
Van der Vaals 2 Polythene

www.ider.herts.ac.uk

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This is a Imperfect World - Crystal Defects

 Facts about crystal defects
 A perfect crystal, with every atom of the same type in the
correct position, does not exist. All crystals have some defects.
 Nevertheless, the term “defect” will be used, just keep in mind
that crystalline defects are not always bad.
 Adding alloying elements to a metal is one way of introducing a
crystal defect.
 Four classes of defects:
 Point defects Linear defects
 Planar defects Volume defects

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Point Defects
 Point defects are where an atom is
missing or is in an irregular place in the
lattice structure. A Point Defect involves
a single atom change to the normal
crystal array.
 Point defects include lattice vacancies,
self-interstitial atoms, substitution
impurity atoms, and interstitial impurity
atoms
 They may be built-in with the original
crystal growth, or activated by heat.
http://www.ndt-ed.org/
They may be the result of radiation, or
electric current etc.
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Linear Defects - Dislocations

 Linear defects, which are

groups of atoms in irregular
positions.
 Edge and screw dislocations
are just extreme forms of
the possible dislocation
structures that can occur.
http://www.ndt-ed.org/
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Planar Defects - Grain Boundaries in

Polycrystals
 Planar defects, which are interfaces
between homogeneous regions of the
material.
 Grain boundaries limit the lengths and
motions of dislocations. Therefore,
having smaller grains (more grain
boundary surface area) strengthens a
material.
 The size of the grains can be controlled
by the cooling rate when the material
cast or heat treated. Generally, rapid
cooling produces smaller grains
http://www.cartage.org.lb/ whereas slow cooling result in larger
grains.
 Example: annealing and hardening
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Volume Defects
 Volume defects, which are
Voids, i.e. the absence of a
number of atoms to form
internal surfaces in the crystal.
 When voids occur due to air
bubbles becoming trapped
when a material solidifies, it is
commonly called porosity.
 When a void occurs due to the
shrinkage of a material as it
http://www.ndt-ed.org/
solidifies, it is called cavitation.

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Summary

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Metals

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Alloys
 Only a few elements are widely used commercially in their
pure form. Generally, other elements are present to produce
greater strength, to improve corrosion resistance, or simply as
impurities left over from the refining process.
 The properties of alloys can be manipulated by varying
composition. For example steel formed from iron and carbon
can vary substantially in hardness depending on the amount of
carbon added and the way in which it was processed.
 When a second element is added, two basically different
structural changes are possible:
 Solid solution strengthening occurs when the atoms of the
new element form a solid solution with the original element,
but there is still only one phase.
 The atoms of the new elements form a new second phase.
The entire microstructure may change to this new phase or
two phases may be present.
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Alloy – Phase Diagram (Binary)

 Phase - Region of space occupied
by a physically homogeneous material
 Phase diagram – Displaces
relationship between % of elements
and transition temperature
 State point – combination of
temperature and material
composition
 Liquidus
 Solidus
 Tie line - horizontal line
drawn through the state point
Soluble elements
Vertical projection of the intersection of the tie line and liquidus
25 identifies the percent of the liquid that is material A or B.

Alloy – Phase Diagram (Binary)

mt=ml+ms
pBmt=plBml+psBms
plA pA psA

ml=[(pb-psB)/(plB-
psB)]mt
ms=mt-ml
Sample problem 2.3, pg. 76

plB pB psB
In Class Problem: state point
as in figure, mt=1000g
Soluble elements Find pB, plB, psB, ml, and ms
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Alloy – Phase Diagram (Binary)

In Class Problem:
Assume total mass
is100gram, find ml
and ms
Insoluble elements
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Alloy – Phase Diagram (Binary)

Partially soluble elements Eutectoid reaction

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Alloy – Phase Diagram (Ternary)

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Phase Diagram (additional examples)

http://www.roymech.co.uk/Useful_Tables/Matter/Phase_diagram.html

Iron-Carbon (Steel) Phase Diagram

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Phase Diagram (additional examples)
Relative compositions of common blending agents for
Portland cements
CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 (Portland Cement)
Phase Diagram
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Metals Summary
 Distinguishing
 Atoms arranged in a
regular repeating structure
 Relatively good strength,
dense
 Malleable or ductile: high
plasticity
 Resistant to fracture:
tough
 Excellent conductors of
electricity and heat
 Shiny appearance
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Dr. Jiong Hu
Combined Effects
Lattice structure, grain size, heat treatments,
alloying
features  Metals can be formed and
machined easily
 Metals are usually long-lasting
materials, they do not react easily
with other elements, however,
metals such as Fe and Al do form
compounds, so they must be
processed to extract base metals.
 One of the main drawbacks is
that metals do react with
chemicals in the environment,
such as iron-oxide (rust).
 Many metals do not have high
melting points, making them
useless for many applications.
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Inorganic Solids

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Ceramics
 Fiveclasses of ceramic
materials
 Glasses
 Vitreous ceramics
 High-performance ceramics
 Cement and concrete
Example of ionic bonded
 Rock and minerals ceramic materials
 The two most common
chemical bonds for ceramic
materials are covalent and
ionic, which are much
stronger than in metallic
bonds and, generally
speaking, this is why
ceramics are brittle and
metals are ductile. Example of covalent bonded
ceramic materials
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Ceramics Summary
 Distinguishing features
 Except for glasses, atoms
are regularly arranged
 Composed of a mixture of
metal and nonmetal atoms
 Lower density than most
metals
 Stronger than metals
 Low resistance to fracture:
low toughness or brittle
 Low ductility or malleability:
low plasticity
 High melting point
 Poor conductors of
electricity and heat
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Organic Solids
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Dr. Jiong Hu
 Where metals react readily with
chemicals in the environment
and have low application
temperatures in many cases,
ceramics do not suffer from
these drawbacks.
 Ceramics have high-resistance
to environment as they are
essentially metals that have
already reacted with the
environment, e.g. Alumina
(Al2O3) and Silica (SiO2,
Quartz).
 Ceramics are heat resistant.
Ceramics form both in
crystalline and non-crystalline
phases because they can be
cooled rapidly from the molten
state to form glassy materials.
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Polymer Structure
Mer – The repeating unit in a
polymer chain
Monomer – A single mer unit
(n=1)
Polymer – Many mer-units along
a chain (n=103 or more)
Degree of Polymerization –
The average number of mer-units
in a chain.
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Rubber is a natural occurring
polymer. However, most
polymers are created by
engineering the combination
of hydrogen and carbon
atoms and the arrangement
of the chains they form. The
polymer molecule is a long
chain of covalent-bonded
atoms and secondary bonds
then hold groups of polymer
chains together to form the
polymeric material.

Polymers
 Polymers include natural materials such as
rubber and synthetic materials such as plastics
and elastomers. Polymers are very useful
materials because their structures can be
altered and tailored to produce materials:
1) with a range of mechanical properties,
2) in a wide spectrum of colors, and
3) with different transparent properties.
 Two main types of polymers:
 Thermoplastics are long-chain polymers that
slide easily past one another when heated,
hence, they tend to be easy to form, bend, and
break.
 Thermosets are cross-linked polymers that
form 3-D networks, hence are strong and rigid.
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Polymers Summary
 Distinguishing features
 Composed primarily of C
and H (hydrocarbons)
 Low melting temperature.
 Most are poor conductors
of electricity and heat.
 Many have high plasticity,
a few have good elasticity.
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Composites
 Distinguishing
features
 Composed of two or
more different materials
(e.g., metal/ceramic,
polymer/polymer, etc.)
 Properties depend on
amount and distribution
of each type of material.
 Collective properties
more desirable than
possible with any
individual material.
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Dr. Jiong Hu
 Polymers are attractive
because they are usually
lightweight and
inexpensive to make, and
usually very easy to
process, either in molds,
as sheets, or as coatings.
 Most are very resistant to
the environment.
 They are poor conductors
of heat and electricity, and
tend to be easy to bend,
which makes them very
useful as insulation for
electrical wires.
 Applications and
Examples
 Paints (ceramic
particles in latex)
 Fiberglass (glass fibers
in a polymer)
 Thermal insulation
 Concrete and reinforced
concrete
 Asphalt concrete
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Advanced Construction Materials

 High strength, light alloys
 High performance
concrete
 Fiber reinforced
polymers
 Structural laminate
systems
 Fiber optics
 Nano-technology
 Utilization of waste
materials

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Summary

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Questions?
Homework #1 (10pts
total) Due 2/3
Problem 2.31 (4pts) and
2.33 (6pts) (page 89)

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Next Section - Chapter 1 (Materials

Engineering Concepts)
 1.1 Economic factor
 1.2 Mechanical properties
 1.3 Nonmechanical properties
 1.4 Production and Construction
 1.5 Aesthetic characteristics
 1.6 Sustainable design
 1.7 Material variability

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