UNIT 5: MATERIALS, THEIR PROPERTIES AND USES

Picture 12. New materials

“THE TRIUMPH OF ENGINEERING SKILL REST ON A CHEMICAL FOUNDATION”

(Horace G. Deming, 1885-1970)

A) STARTING UP

Set for class discussion. MATERIALS

1. Comment the above quotation by Horace G., an American chemist.
2. Name different materials found in the classroom. Describe various uses of one
material and identify the properties that make it useful for that purpose. E.g., why is
the door made of wood/plywood?
3. What properties does wood/plywood have to make it suitable for making doors?
4. Which of these materials are commonly used in mechanical engineering?
metals steel aluminum plastics ceramics wood glass rubber
B) VOCABULARY

Processes and Properties

Any engineering material has its own properties/qualities/characteristics, which make it
suitable for a particular purpose and a given application.
Here are some examples of property of materials:
• absorbency: the ability of the material to soak up liquids or gases;
• density: the state or quality of compactness — density = mass/volume;
• flexibility: the ability of a material to be bent, twisted, stretched or rolled;
• solubility: the degree to which a material dissolves and depends on the
temperature and nature of the solvent;
• strength: the ability of a material to resist or absorb forces including a change in
form;
• texture: the appearance and feel of materials — for example, rough, smooth,
sticky, grainy;
• transparency: the ability of a material to transmit light so that objects can be seen
distinctly through the material.

Task 1. What is the meaning of the properties listed?

1. Iron: heavy, stiff, hard, rigid, rough, non-combustible, brittle, not very
corrosion-resistant
2. Steel: light, stiff, tough, malleable
3. Aluminum: light, soft, ductile, conductive, highly corrosion resistant
4. Rubber: flexible, soft
5. Concrete: rough, hard, non-combustible
6. Oil: oily, thick, combustible, viscous
7. Wood: soft, combustible, rigid
8. Glass: brittle, breakable, transparent, clear
9. Plastics: tough, good insulator, durable, wear-resistant, stiff

Task 2. Match these adjectives to their meaning.

1. transparent a) able to last a long time
2. porous b) hard, but easily broken
3. durable c) easy to bend without breaking, flexible
4. brittle d) light can pass through
5. dense e) has many small holes that allow water and air to pass through
6. pliable f) has a high mass to volume ratio
7. translucent g) able to be hammered or pressed into shape without breaking
 8. malleable h) clear, allows to see through it

Task 3. Complete the sentences about materials and their properties.

brittle shatterproof ductility lightweight corrosion-resistance
durable elasticity rigidity flammable malleability heat-resistance

1. Titanium alloyed with iron and other elements produces strong but _____________
alloys for aerospace industry. Titanium alloys are also _____________.
2. _____________ glass is used in windscreens to protect drivers in case of an accident.
3. Stainless steel alloys are known for their _______________, _______________ and
high strength.
4. Rubber bands and other materials that stretch have high _____________.
5. Concrete is amongst the most _____________ materials in construction.
6. Gold can be hammered or rolled into thin sheets: it has high _____________.
7. Glass has extremely low plasticity and is very _____________ material.
8. The modulus of _____________ of mild steel is about 80 GPa.
9. The materials that immediately ignite when in contact with fire are ______________.

The list of some properties, including translation into the Croatian language are shown in
Table 7.
Table 7. Properties

Noun Translation Adjective Translation

rigidity krutost, nesavitljivost rigid krut, nesavitljiv
otpornost na otporan na
weather resistance weather resistant
vremenske uvjete vremenske uvjete
otpornost na chemical otporan na kemijske
chemical resistance
kemijske utjecaje resistant utjecaje
elasticity elastičnost elastic elastičan
otpornost na šok
shock resistance shock resistant otporan na šok
dinamička otpornost
self-lubrication samopodmazivanje self-lubricating samopodmazujući
tvrdoća, čvrstoća,
hardness hard tvrd, čvrst, otporan
otpornost
machinability strojna obradivost machinable strojno obradiv

fluidity žitkost, tečljivost fluid žitak, tekuć

stiffness krutost, nesavitljivost stiff krut, nesavitljiv

conductivity provodljivost conductive provodljiv
scratch resistance otpornost na scratch resistant otporan na grebanje
 grebanje
brittleness krhkost brittle krhak
strength čvrstoća strong čvrst
flame resistance vatrootpornost flame resistant vatrootporan
lightness lakoća light lagan
softness mekoća soft mekan
duktilnost,
ductility ductile duktilan, rastezljiv
rastezljivost
otpornost na
wear resistance wear resistant otporan na trošenje
trošenje
density gustoća dense gust
pliability savitljivost pliable savitljiv
toughness žilavost, otpornost tough žilav, otporan
durability trajnost, izdržljivost durable trajan, izdržljiv
otpornost na visoke otporan na visoke
heat resistance heat resistant
temperature temperature
clearness prozirnost clear proziran
flexibility savitljivost flexible savitljiv
malleability kovkost malleable kovak
corrosion resistance otpornost na koroziju corrosion resistant otporan na koroziju
Processing of materials is the series of operations that transforms industrial materials from a
raw-material state into a finished part or product. The processes used to convert raw
materials into finished products perform one or both of two major functions: first, they form
the material into the desired shape; second, they alter or improve the properties of the
material. Below is the table of the most common processes of forming or altering materials.
Table 8. Processes

Verb Noun Adjective Noun-translation

to (cold) roll (cold) rolling (cold) rolled (hladno) valjanje
to anneal annealing annealed žarenje
to heat-treat heat-treatment heat-treated toplinska obrada
to cast casting cast lijevanje
to (cold) work (cold) working (cold) worked (hladna) obrada
to fire firing fired pečenje
to foam foaming foamed pjenjenje
to forge forging forged kovanje
to form forming formed oblikovanje
 to hard work hard working hard worked hladno očvršćivanje
to harden hardening hardened kaljenje
to heat heating heated zagrijavanje, žarenje
to insulate insulating insulated izoliranje
to machine machining machined strojna obrada
to melt melting melted / molten taljenje
to mo(u)ld mo(u)lding mo(u)lded kalupljenje
to polish polishing polished poliranje
to quench quenching quenched kaljenje
to reinforce reinforcing reinforced pojačavanje, armiranje
to soften softening softened omekšavanje
to spin spinning span / spun rotacijsko oblikovanje
to stamp stamping stamped utiskivanje
to temper tempering tempered popuštanje
to weld welding welded zavarivanje

Task 4. Name a material which is:

1. Soft
2. Ductile
3. Malleable
4. Tough
5. Scratch-resistant
6. Conductive and malleable
7. Durable and hard
8. Stiff and brittle
9. Ductile and corrosion-resistant
10. Heat-resistant and chemical-resistant

Task 5. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Treba mi neki materijal koji ne korodira, koji je kovak, a istodobno elastičan. Koji bi
to mogao biti?

2. Duktilne cijevi proizvod su koji je definiran tehničkim standardima.

3. Grafen je istovremeno najjači i najsavitljiviji materijal. Gotovo je potpuno proziran, a

pritom i toliko gust da ni najmanji atomi plina ne mogu proći kroz njega.
 4. Kao provodnik struje grafen je jednako dobar kao i bakar.

5. Grafen je vrlo fleksibilan. To je ujedno i najjači materijal u prirodi te ima 200 puta
veću otpornost od čelika. Ima vrlo dobra elektronička, kemijska, magnetna, optička i
biomedicinska svojstva.

C) EXTENDING SKILLS: THE PASSIVE Grammar corner, page: 84

Task 6. Read the following text on materials and underline examples of passive voice.
There are different materials that we come across on a daily basis. Material is
synonymous with substance and is anything made of matter. Hydrogen, air and water are all
examples of materials. Sometimes it is used more narrowly to refer to substances or
components with certain physical properties, which are used as inputs to production or
manufacturing. In this sense, materials are the pieces required to make something else, from
buildings and art to everyday products, such as computers. A material can be anything: a
finished product or an unprocessed raw material.
Raw materials are first extracted or harvested from the earth and divided into a form
that can be easily transported and stored, then processed to produce semi-finished
materials. These can be input into a new cycle of production and finishing processes to
create finished materials, ready for distribution, construction, and consumption. They are
divided in different ways: nature, artificial, solids and liquids or fluids, each of them having
certain properties.
Properties of a material refer to the distinctive attributes of the material. They are
inherent to materials but can be changed in a variety of ways — for example, by combining
materials or changing the material’s underlying structure. Materials have been processed
since early times; they are processed to change their properties.

The Passive
Use
The passive voice is used frequently in technical or scientific writing when we want to focus
on the action rather than on the agent of the action. We also use passive if the agent of the
action is unknown, unimportant or is obvious from the context. We use passive to make
generic statements, announcements, and explanations.
Form
to be + past participle
 – object of the “active” sentence becomes subject in the “passive” sentence
– subject of the “active” sentence becomes “object” in the “passive” sentence” (or
is left out)
Example:
Active voice: The Roman emperor Diocletian commissioned the palace at the turn of
the fourth century AD.
Passive voice: The palace was commissioned by the Roman emperor Diocletian at the
turn of the fourth century AD.

Task 7. Replace the sentences into the active tense.

1. Food had to be bought the same day it was used.

2. Most foodstuffs could not be transported long distances.

3. A lot of food had to be thrown away as it could not be kept.

4. The invention of refrigeration was done by Jacob Perkins.

5. The cooling of rooms was not directly tied to the work of Perkins and Harrison.

6. Human life has been significantly impacted by the mechanisms for cooling air.

Task 8. Rewrite the following two stories using the passive voice.
1. If there is a vacancy in our company, we usually advertise it first on our company’s
website. If we don’t find a suitable candidate within 10 days, we advertise the job in
the Euraxess job portal. We ask the applicants to send their CVs and cover letters
and then we invite some of the candidates to an interview. After that, we shortlist
suitable candidates and ask them back for a second interview. We check the
references and if everything is OK, we offer the most suitable applicant the job.
Example: A vacancy is usually advertised on our company’s website. If no suitable
candidates are found within 10 days, the job is advertised in the Euraxess job portal.
2. Two nights ago, robbers held the manager of the Royal Casino in Reno at gunpoint.
They took nearly $66,000 from the casino safe. The thieves also broke into several of
the casino’s gift shops and removed articles of value. They made their escape
through the restaurant where they damaged several pieces of equipment. They
injured the restaurant’s chef when he tried to stop them and left him lying
unconscious on the floor. However, they didn’t enjoy in their money long because
the police arrested them soon after the robbery.