MME 297: Lecture 03

Structure-Property Correlation
[1] Structure-processing-properties-performance relation
 Topics to discuss today ...

• Study microstructures, starting with the smallest, and working up

• Understand the structure-properties-processing-performance tetrahedron
• Connect how microstructure relates to properties
• Look at the effect of processing on microstructure and properties

References:
1. Callister & Rethwisch. Materials Science and Engineering – An Introduction,
9th Ed, Wiley, 2014. pp.1-6.
 Terminology

• Composition means the chemical make-up of a material.

• Structure means a description of the arrangements of its internal components

(atoms, ions, etc.).

• Synthesis is the process by which materials are made from naturally occurring
or other chemicals.

• Processing means different ways for shaping materials into useful components
or changing their properties.

• Properties is a material trait in terms of the kind and magnitude of response to a

specific imposed stimulus (which is made independent of material shape and size)
Optical Microscope

Microstructure of steel (0.8% C)

Microstructure of brass (70Cu-30Zn)

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

Carbon nanotube

Gold nanoparticle
Transmission Electron
Microscope (TEM)

Carbon nanotube

Gold nanoparticle
 X-Ray Diffractometer

Bragg’s law

X-ray pattern
The Structures - Property - Processing
- Performance Tetrahedron

Performance
• understanding and controlling of the
performance of useful solid materials

• through the study of interrelationships

between materials synthesis,
structure, and properties Structure

Properties

Processing
 application of materials tetrahedron to automotive steel chassis

A:Performance /
Cost

B: Properties
• What is the strength-to-density ratio?
• What is the formability?
• How does this relate to the
crashworthiness of the vehicle?

C: Synthesis and Processing

• How can the steelmaking be controlled
so as to provide a high level of
toughness and formability?

D: Microstructure • How can be the aerodynamic

car chassis be formed?
• What features of the structure
limit the strength and formability?
• What controls the strength?
 From Structures to Properties

❑ To understand the properties of engineering materials, it is necessary

to understand their structure on the atomic and/or microscopic scale.

amorphous
crystalline

atomic-level structure (x10 7) microscopic-level structure (x10 3)

Case study -1: Atomic-scale architecture
Ductility of aluminum and magnesium

tensile testing specimen

tensile testing machine

brittle fracture

broken tensile test pieces of Al and Mg

Why is aluminum more ductile

than magnesium?
ductile fracture
FCC Aluminium HCP Magnesium
 why are we interested in
packing sequence of crystals?

❑ It is easier for crystal lattice deformation to occur

in the direction that is close packed.

❑ The number and direction of close-packed planes vary

according to packing sequence of crystal.
 HCP Cell FCC Cell

• 3 slip systems (1 plane x 3 directions) • 12 slip systems (4 plane x 3 directions)

• small lattice deformation • high lattice deformation

Thus, Aluminium (FCC) is more ductile than Magnesium (HCP)

 From Processing to Structures

rolling

extrusion

During rolling and extrusion, the grains of During casting, the liquid metal cools from
material are deformed and become elongated three directions and grains of uniform shape
along the rolling direction, which imparts are created, which imparts non-directional or
directional properties to the material. isotropic properties to the material.
From Processing to Properties
 PROPERTIES FROM BONDING

Properties from Metallic Bond

• Atoms joined by metallic

bond can shift their relative
positions (without breaking)
when the metal is deformed,
permitting metals to have
good ductility.
 Properties from Covalent Bond

❑ When a silicon rod is bent, the bonds must break if the silicon
atoms are to permanently change their relationships to one another.

❑ For an electron to move and carry a current, the covalent bond

must be broken, requiring high temperatures or voltage.

❑ Thus covalent materials are brittle rather than ductile,

and behave as electrical insulators instead of conductors.

❑ Many ceramics, semiconductors, and polymers are fully or partially

bonded by covalent bonds, explaining why glass shatters when
dropped and why bricks are good insulating materials.
 Properties from Ionic Bond

❑ Solids that exhibit considerable ionic bonding are also often

mechanically strong because of the strength of the bonds.

❑ Electrical conductivity of ionically bonded solids is very limited.

A large fraction of the electrical current is transferred via the
movement of ions and cause ionic conductivity.

• When voltage is applied to an ionic

material, entire ions must move to cause
a current to flow.

• Owing to their size, ions typically do not

move as easily as electrons. Ions move
slowly and, thus, the ionic conductivities
of these material are poor.
© 2003 Brooks/Cole Publishing / T homson Learning™
 Properties from Secondary Bond

(a) Within each chain, bonding

between carbon is covalent.

The individual chains are weakly

bonded to one another (between
chlorine and hydrogen atoms) by
van der Waals bonds.

This additional bonding makes

PVC stiffer.

(b) When a force is applied to

the polymer, the van der Waals
bonds are broken and the chains
slide past one another.

© 2003 Brooks/Cole Publishing / T homson

(c) When heat is applied, the
Learning™ secondary bonds melts easily,
thus making polymers as low-
Mixed bonding in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) melting materials.
 Covalent Bonding tetrahedron:
Bonding
• each of the four extreme (or pure) bonding types
is located at one corner of the tetrahedron
• four mixed bonding types are included along
tetrahedron edges

van der
Metallic Waals
Bonding Bonding
Covalent
semi-conductors
Ionic
Bonding

Material-type tetrahedron:
• correlation of each material classification
(metals, ceramics, polymers, etc.)
with its type(s) of bonding Metals Molecular Solids
(Metallic) (van der Waals)
Metals – Metallic
Ceramics – Ionic and/or Covalent
Polymers – Covalent and van der Waals
Semiconductors – Covalent or Covalent and Ionic Ionic
 Summary : Properties of bonding

Type Bond energy Properties of bonding

Ionic Large ! Non-directional
(ceramics)

Covalent Variable Directional

Large – Diamond (semiconductor, ceramics,
Small – Bismuth polymer chains)

Metallic Variable Non-directional

Large – Tungsten (metals)
Small – Mercury

Secondary Smallest Directional

Inter-chain (polymers)
Intermolecular (water)