KDJ10203

Introduction to Engineering
Materials

Chapter 1: Material
Classification
 What are materials?
• Materials are substances of which something is composed or
made.
• Materials are everywhere about us since products are made
of materials.
• Some of the commonly encountered materials are wood,
concrete, brick, steel, plastic, glass, rubber, aluminum, copper
and paper.
• Because of constant research and development, new
materials are frequently being created.
 Materials Science and Engineering

• Materials Science is involves investigating the relationships that

exist between the structures and properties of materials.

• Materials Engineering is mainly concerned with the basic of these

structure-property correlations, designing or engineering the
structure of a material to produce a predetermined set of properties.

• From a functional perspective, the role of a materials scientist is to

develop or synthesize new materials, whereas a materials engineer
is called upon to create new products or systems using existing
materials, and/or to develop techniques for processing materials.
 Materials Science and
Materials Science Engineering Materials Engineering
Basic Knowledge Resultant Applied
of Knowledge Knowledge
Materials of Structure and of Materials
Properties
 Why the study of materials is
important?

• The production and processing of materials into finished

goods constitutes a large part of our present economy.
• Engineers design most manufactured products and the
processing systems required for their production.
• 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.
• For example, research and development
engineers create new materials or modify the
properties of existing ones.
• Design engineers use existing, modified, or new
materials to design and create new products and
systems.
• Sometimes design engineers have a problem in
their design that requires a new material to be
created by research scientists and engineers.
 Search for new materials

• Mechanical higher temperature

materials
engineer
lower dielectric & higher
• Electrical engineer temperature materials

Highly corrosion
• Chemical engineer resistance materials

• Aerospace light weight & high

strength materials
engineer
• Engineers in all disciplines should have
some basic and applied knowledge of
engineering materials so that they will be
able to do their work more effectively when
using materials.
 Basic Engineering Terms
• Tensile

• Compress

• Torsion

• Bending
 Cont…

• Toughness
– A measure of the amount of energy a material can absorb
before fracturing.

• Strength
– Ability of a material to resist the application of force.

• Hardness
– A measure of the resistance of a material to permanent
(plastic) deformation.
 Cont…

• Elastic deformation

– Material returns to its original dimensions after

deformation.

• Plastic deformation

– Material did not return to its original dimensions

after deformation.
 Cont…

• Brittle
– Liable to fracture when subjected to stress.
– Little tendency to deform before fracture.
– This fracture absorbs relatively little energy.

• Ductile
– The mechanical property of being capable of
sustaining large plastic deformations due to tensile
stresses without fracture .
 Main Classes of Materials
Solid materials have been conveniently grouped into three basic classifications:
– Metallic Materials
– Polymeric Materials
– Ceramic Materials

In addition to the three main classes of materials, should consider two

processing or application classes
– Composite Materials
– Electronic Materials
– Advance Materials
 1. Metallic Materials
• These materials are inorganic substances.
• Composed of one or more metallic elements e.g. iron,
copper, aluminum, titanium, gold, nickel…
• May also contain some non-metallic elements e.g. carbon,
nitrogen, oxygen…
• Have a crystalline structure in which the atoms are arranged
in an orderly manner.
• Good thermal and electrical conductors.
• Strong and ductile at room temperature, and many maintain
good strength even at high temperature.
• Classes of metals and alloys
Metals and Alloys

Nonferrous and alloys

Ferrous and alloy -Do not contain Fe
- Large percentage of Fe or
Eg: Steel, Cast Iron -Only small Fe
E.g. : Copper, Aluminum, zinc

• Applications:
• Automotive – body parts & engines
• Structural – bridges & buildings
• Electronic, biomedical, semiconductor etc…
 2.Polymeric Materials
• Most polymeric materials consist of long chain molecules,
generally with carbon backbones.
• Most polymeric materials are noncrystalline but some consist
of mixtures of crystalline and noncrystalline regions.
• Strength and ductility of polymeric materials vary greatly.
• Most polymeric materials are poor conductors of electricity
because of the nature of their internal structure.
• Some are good insulators
• Have low densities and relatively low softening or
decomposition temperature.
• Classes of polymers:

1. Thermoplastics
• Thermoplastics require heat to make them
formable and after cooling, retain the shape they
were form into.
• These materials can be reheated and reformed
into new shapes a number of times without
significant change in their properties.
• Examples: polythenes
2. Thermosets
• Formed into a permenant shape and cured or “set”
by a chemical reaction, cannot be remelted and
reformed into another shape but decompose upon
being heated to too high temperature.

3. Elastomers
• Can be elastically deformed a large amount when
a force is applied and can return to their original
shape (or almost) when the force is released
• Application
• Automotive bumpers, tires

• Sporting goods

• Indoor track facilities coating materials

• Appliances, DVD’s , fabrics

 3.Ceramic Materials
• Inorganic materials which consist of metallic and
nonmetallic elements chemically bonded together.
Most frequently oxides, nitrides and carbides.

• Can be crystalline, noncrystalline or mixtures of

both.

• Have high hardness and high-temperature strength

but tend to have mechanical brittleness.
• Advantages of ceramic materials for engineering
applications include light weight, high streght and
hardness, good heat and wear resistance, reduced
friction and insulative properties.

• Very good insulator. Used for furnace lining for heat

treating and melting metals.

• Can be applied to aerospace, metal manufacturing,

biomedical, automobile and numerous other
industries.
• The two main drawbacks for this materials
are that they are
1. Difficult to process into finished products and
are therefore expensive

2. Brittle and have low fracture toughness

compared to metals
 4.Composite Materials
• Composed of 2 or more materials integrated to form a new
one.
• Consist of a selected filler or reinforcing materials and a
compatible resin binder to obtain the specific characteristics
and properties desired.
• The component do not dissolve in each other and can be
physically identified by an interface between the component.
• Low density, high strength, high stiffness.
• Low fracture toughness and brittleness.
• Composite can be of many types, some of
the predominant types are :
– fibrous (composed of fibers in a matrix)

and

– Particulate (composed of particles in a matrix)

– Matrix can be metals, ceramic or polymer.

• Classes of composites:
– Polymer Matrix Composites
– Metal Matrix Composites
– Ceramic Matrix Composites

• Applications:
– Aerospace
– Automobile, engine
– Electronic packaging
– Construction
 5.Electronic Materials
• Electronic materials are not a major type of material
by volume but are an extremely important type of
material for advanced engineering technology.

• The most important electronic material is pure

silicon, which is modified in various ways to change
its electrical characteristics (by adding impurities).
• Examples:- silicon chips, transistors

• Applications :
– Computers

– Communication satellites
 Competition Among Materials

• Materials compete with each other to exist in new

market
• Over a period of time usage of different materials
changes depending on cost and performance.
• New, cheaper or better materials replace the old
materials when there is a breakthrough in
technology
 Recent Advances and Future Trends

1. Smart Materials
➢ React to environment Stimuli.(temperature, stress,
light, humidity, and electric and magnetic fields)

➢ Change their properties by sensing external stimulus.

➢ Examples: Shape memory alloys – used in the artery stents.

➢ Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices.

2. Nanomaterials
➢ Defined as those materials that have a
characteristic length scale smaller than 100 nm.

➢ Materials have special properties.

➢ Very hard and strong characteristics.

➢ Research in progress.

➢ Example: Carbon nanofiber reinforced plastic:

very light but stronger than metals.
 Case Study – Material Selection
Problem: Select suitable material for bicycle frame and fork.

Carbon fiber
Steel and Aluminum Ti and Mg
Wood Reinforced
alloys alloys alloys
plastic

Low cost but Light and Very light and Light, moderately Slightly better
Heavy. Less strong. But strong. No Strong. Corrosion Than Al
Corrosion Cannot be corrosion. Resistance. alloys. But much
resistance shaped Very expensive expensive expensive

Cost important? Select steel

Properties important? Select CFRP