MATERIALS SCIENCE 124

Mrs J.T. Kurasha

 Course Delivery
1. MLS521S will be delivered using a combination of MS
Team, MyNust, and other platforms such as the emails.
2. There will be no face-to-face classes. This is directive from
the university.
3. Students will be required to attend laboratory sessions on
campus. Dates will be communicated later guided by the
university.
4. Students will be required to write tests on campus under
controlled conditions.
5. Self assessment activities are incorporated in the course
material to aid students in their learning process and
understanding of the course material.
 Course aim
• The aim of Materials Science 124(MLS521S)
is:
➢for students to understand the structure,
properties, capabilities and limitations of
engineering materials.
➢to analyze how the structures and processing of
materials affect their properties and suitability for
various engineering applications.
➢ understand materials selection and synthesis of
suitable materials for different applications.
 Course objectives
1. Study the structures of materials and their
influence on the materials’ properties.
2. Select suitable materials for various
engineering applications.
3. Test and analyze for selected properties of
materials.
4. Describe the manufacturing & treatment
processes of common engineering
materials.
 Course Content
 Atomic structure and bonding of materials
 Imperfections in crystalline solids
 Diffusion- atom and ion movement in materials
 Mechanical, electrical and magnetic properties of
materials
 Phase equilibria and solid solutions
 Iron and steel making
 Heat treatment of steels
 Construction materials
 Ceramics, polymers and composites
 Corrosion and degradation of materials.
 Course Resources
Prescribed Reading:
• Callister, W. D. Jr. & Rethwisch, D. G. (2011). Materials Science and Engineering –
An introduction. 9th Edition. Asia: John Wiley & Sons.

• Askeland, D. R. & Fulay, P. P. & Wright, W. J. (2006). The Science and Engineering of
Materials. 6th Edition. Canada: Global Engineering.

Recommended Reading:

• Jones, I. P. (2001). Materials Science for Electrical and Electronic Engineers. 1st
Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Van Vlack, L. H. (1989). Elements of Materials Science & Engineering. 6th Edition.
UK: Prentice Hall.

• Newey, C. & Weaver, G. (1990). Materials- Principles and Practice. Oxford:

Butterworth-Heinneman.
 Academic Dishonesty
Academic Dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:
• Using the ideas, words, works or inventions of someone else as if it is your own work.
• Using the direct words of someone else without quotation marks, even if it is referenced.
• Copying from writings (books, articles, webpages, other students’ assignments, etc.), published or
unpublished, without referencing.
• Syndication of a piece of work, all or part of an assignment, by a group of students, unless the
assignment was a legitimate group assignment.
• The borrowing and use of another person’s assignment, with or without their knowledge or
permission.
• Infringing copyright, including documents copied or cut and pasted from the internet.
• Asking someone else to prepare an assignment for you or to write or sit an assessment for you,
whether this is against payment or not.
• Re-submitting work done already for another course or programme as new work, so-called self-
plagiarism.
• Bringing notes into an examination or test venue, regardless of whether the notes were used to
copy or not.
• Receiving any outside assistance in any form or shape during an examination or test.
 Introduction to Materials Science
Thinking points ??????

1. Describe the historical

development of materials.
2. What are the common
types(classes) of materials?
3. Which classes of materials do
you think have significant use
in your current field of
study?
4. What factors do you consider
when selecting materials for
various engineering
applications?
 Introduction to Materials Science
• Definition:
➢ Materials science is the field of applied science
concerned with inventing new materials and improving
existing ones, through emphasis on underlying
relationships between composition, microstructure and
properties of the materials.

Fig 1: Materials science and

engineering tetrahedron
 Historical perspective
• Materials are quite common & widespread, from
mundane household items to sophisticated
integrated circuits, and find use in:
➢Transportation
➢Clothing
➢Housing
➢Communication
➢Sanitation
➢Recreation
➢Industrial production, etc.
 Historical Perspective Cont’d
• Historically, the development and advancement of any society has been
intimately associated with its members’ ability to produce and manipulate
materials which meet their needs.

• Earliest humans had access only to materials that occur naturally, such as
clay, wood, stones, skins, etc.

• With time they discovered that heat treatment and addition of other
materials would produce materials with superior properties.

• For a brief history on materials development, follow the link:

https://www.cpp.edu/~jbputhoff/history.html
Source: https://www.cpp.edu/~jbputhoff/history.html
 Historical Perspective Cont’d
• Eventually scientists came to understand the link between the
structure of a material and its properties.

• This knowledge has over the past 100 years allowed a massive
evolution in determining new material characteristics leading
to the development of tens of thousands of new materials
(plastics, metals, glasses, fibres, etc).
 Definitions
• Material Science involves investigating the relationship
between the structure and properties of materials.

• Materials Engineering involves, on the basis of the said

relationship, designing or engineering the structure of a
material to produce a pre-determined set of properties.

• Structure relates to the arrangement of a material’s

internal , subatomic components.

• Property is a certain response when a material is subjected

to an external stimuli e.g. a polished surface shining, elastic
band stretching.
 Properties of materials
• Solid materials have 6 main classes of properties:
▪ Mechanical
▪ Electrical
▪ Thermal
▪ Magnetic
▪ Optical
▪ Deteriorative properties.

• The structure of a material depends on how it is processed,

and a material’s performance is a function of its properties.

The four components in material science & their relationship.

 Self Assessment Activity 1

1. Properties of materials
fall into 6 main classes.
Give examples of
properties that can be
classified as:
(a) Mechanical
(b) Electrical
(c) Thermal
(d) Magnetic
(e) Optical
(f) Deteriorative.
 Classification of materials
• Solid materials fall into the following classes:
➢Metals and alloys
➢Ceramics
➢Polymers
➢Composites
➢Advanced materials.
 Metals and alloys
• Metallic elements include Fe, Ni, Co, U, Au, Ag,
etc., and alloys include steels, cast irons, brass,
bronze, titanium alloys, etc.
• Often occur naturally as ores in association
with non-metallic elements (C, N and O).
• Metals find use in a lot of applications;
particularly used in structural and load
bearing applications.
• Can be classified as ferrous and non-ferrous,
and some of the properties are:
➢ Having orderly arrangement of atoms.
➢ Relatively dense, stiff and strong
➢ Ductile and can be readily formed into practical
shapes
➢ Resistant to fracture
➢ Good electrical & heat conductors (non-
localized electrons)
➢ Non- transparent to light.
➢ Some have magnetic properties (Fe, Co, Ni).
Different metallic components
 Ceramics
• Compounds whose characteristics are in
between metallic and non-metallic
elements. Frequently occur as oxides,
nitrites and carbonates, e.g Al2O3; SiO2;
SiC; Si3N4.
• Sand, rocks, clay minerals (porcelain),
cement, glass are examples of ceramics.
• Some of the properties of ceramics are
➢ Stiff & strong
➢ Typically hard
➢ Extremely brittle (lack of ductility)
➢ Highly susceptible to fracture
➢ Low electrical conductivity

• New ceramics are being engineered to

improve their resistance to fracture.
Examples include cookware, tiling,
automobile engine parts.
 Polymers
• These are plastic and rubber
materials.
• Mainly organics based on carbon,
hydrogen and other non-metallic PVC
elements (O, N, Si) rubber
• Have a large chain-like, molecular
structure often having a backbone of
C atoms, and common polymer polystyrene
materials include polyethylene (PE),
nylon, poly vinyl chloride (PVC),
polystyrene (PS).
• Some of the properties of polymers
include generally: nylon
➢ having low densities, are
➢ not as stiff or as strong as metals
➢ chemically inert and unreactive.
➢ low electrical and heat conductivitie,s
and soften/decompose at modest
temperature.
 Composites
• Composites are made to attain a combination of
properties which supersedes any of the
properties of the individual materials by
incorporating the best characteristics of each of
the component materials.
• NATURAL composites - Wood and bone.
• SYNTHETIC composites - Fibreglass & CFRP
• FIBREGLASS -Glass fibre embedded within a
Fibreglass CFPR
polymeric material (epoxy/polyester). Glass
fibre is a material which is relatively strong &
stiff but brittle, while the polymer is more
flexible.
• Fibreglass has a low density and is relatively
stiff, strong and flexible.
• CARBON FIBRE –REINFORCED POLYMER
(CFRP) - These are carbon fibres embedded
within a polymer. Carbon fibres are stronger
and more stiff than glass fibre but are more Concrete
expensive.
• CFRP used in some aircraft & aerospace
applications and sporting equipments (eg
bicycle parts, golf clubs, tennis rackets,
snowboards, skiis and automobile bumpers.)
https://www.slideshare.net/sumeetsharma32/carbon-fiber-reinforced-plastics
https://www.slideshare.net/sumeetsharma32/carbon-fiber-reinforced-plastics
 Advanced Materials
• These are materials used for hi-tech applications, such as
electronic equipment; camcorders, CD, DVD & Blu ray players,
computers, fibre optics systems, spacecraft, aircraft, lasers,
rockets, integrated circuits, magnetic information storage, liquid
crystal display (LCD).
• Advanced materials are derived from either traditional materials
which have enhanced properties or from new highly developed,
high performance materials.
• We will look at four categories of advanced materials:
➢ Semiconductors
➢ Biomaterials
➢ Smart materials
➢ Nanomaterials
 Semi-conductors
• They exhibit intermediate
electrical properties i.e. those
between conductors (metals &
alloys) and insulators (polymers
& ceramics).
• Their electrical characteristics
are extremely sensitive to the
presence of small
concentrations of ‘impurity’
atoms.
• Semi-conductors have ushered
the advent of integrated
circuitry in the electronics
industry.
https://www.electronicshub.org/types-of-semiconductor-devices/
 Biomaterials
▪Are used in components
implanted in the human body
to replace damaged body
parts.

▪They must be compatible with

body tissues and be non-toxic.

▪Metals, ceramics, polymers, https://www.labroots.com/tag/biomaterials/trending/page/3

composites and semi-conductors

can all be used as biomaterials.
 Smart materials
• This is a group of new, ‘state of the art’ materials that will
significantly influence future technological advances.

• ‘Smart’ implies that the materials are able to sense changes in their
environment and then evoke a predetermined response to these
changes. These are all traits which are inherent in living organisms.

• Components of a Smart System include:

➢Sensor, which detects input.
➢Materials commonly used in fabricating sensors include
optical fibres, piezoelectrical materials and
microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).
 Cont’d
• Actuator, which performs the responsive and/or adaptive function.
Can change the shape, position, frequency or mechanical properties
of a material in response to changes in say temperature, pressure,
humidity etc.
• Materials used as actuators include
➢ Shape-memory alloys (when deformed metals revert to original shape when
temperature is changed) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMHvyJft2Lo)
➢ Piezoelectric ceramics (expand/contract in response to an applied electric
field, conversely generate electric field when dimensions changed)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcJXA8IqYl8)
➢ Magnetostrictive materials (analogous to piezoelectric materials but in
magnetic field)
➢ Electrorheological & Magnetorheological fluids (liquids whose viscosity
markedly changes when subject to electric/magnetic field)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBXQ-6uI8GY)
 Nanomaterials
• This is a new class of materials which have tremendous technological promise
• These can be from any of the four materials subgroups (ceramics, metals,
polymers and composites).
• Unlike other materials, nanomaterials are distinguished not on the basis of
chemistry but on size.
Nano (10-9 )
• Prior to the advent of ‘nanotechnology’, scientist used the ‘top-down’ science
approach in studying the physics & chemistry of materials i.e. studying macro
complex structures first, then subsequently investigating the basic fundamental
building blocks from which they were built.

• Advances in microscopy have enabled singular atoms & molecules to be

observed by the use of scanning probes.
 Cont’d
• Thus it has now become possible to design & build new
structures from the atomic level ‘one atom or one molecule at a
time’.

‘Materials by design’

• Atoms can thus be arranged in such a way as to impart certain

mechanical, electrical, magnetic & other properties. This is
called the ‘bottom-up’ approach & the study of these
materials is called ‘nanotechnology’.
 Cont’d
• Physical and chemical characteristics change drastically as
particle size approach atomic dimensions.

➢ For instance some materials which are opaque at macroscopic

level become transparent at nanoscale (copper)
➢ Some solids become liquids
➢ Inert materials become combustible
➢ Insoluble matter becomes soluble
➢ Watch video:
 Cont’d
• Nanoparticles are finding niches in biomedical, electronic,
sporting, energy and other industrial applications.
• However, the toxicological effects of these materials remain
largely unknown.
• Nanoparticles have extraordinarily high surface area to
volume ratios and hence may show high chemical reactivities.
• High absorption rates into the body via skin, lungs, digestive
tract.
 Self Assessment Activity 2
1. Distinguish between ferrous and non-ferrous
metals, giving examples.
2. What is the difference between alloys and
compounds?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of
(a) Carbon fiber reinforced ploymers (CFRP)
(b) Fibre glass
4. Compare and contrast ceramics and polymers.
 The material designed for a specific application should:

1. Have desired physical & mechanical properties eg. desired

strength & density for aeronautical application will differ from
hauling applications.
Materials
design 2. Be amenable to processing/manufacturing into desired shape.

and
3. Provide an economical solution to the problem.
selection
4. Environmentally friendly (preferably recyclable).
Note that in some cases materials selection is easy and straight
forward. However in most cases, it is quite complex!!!
 Materials Selection Case 1
What is the best material for a coffee
cup?
Design specifications
• Should not burn user’s hands.
• Can be re-used
• Minimal danger to the environment.
Material properties
• Excellent thermal insulation
• Reusable
• Recyclable
Candidate materials
• Ceramics
• Polymers
Appropriate due to their low thermal
conductivity. But which material is the
best?
Disadvantages of polymers
1. Polyethylene cups(polymer) should
not be reused because they become
poisonous.
2. Polymers may cause environmental
damage; some are unrecyclable.
Proposed material
Ceramics because they can be reused and
pose less danger to the environment.
 Materials Selection Case 2
What is the best material for a
commercial gas cylinder?
Design specifications
• Must be capable of storing gases
at very high pressures for
indefinite period of time.
• Must be unreactive.
• Must be reusable.
Material properties
• Highly non-porous.
• High corrosion resistance-
unreactive.
• Formable in desired shape.
Candidate materials
• Metals due to easier formability
and high strength
• Ceramics due to unreactivity.
• Polymers are rejected because of
their typically low strength.
Proposed materials
• Although ceramics can generally
withstand the service load
required, they are generally too
brittle for practical use.
• Therefore it leaves metals/alloys
as the most suitable material.
However which metals are most
ideal?
 Self assessment activity 3
1. In the materials selection case for a normal
gas cylinder, it can be seen that metals/alloys
are suitable. Suggest the most suitable
metal(s)/alloy(s) for this application. Give
reasons for your answer(s).
2. In aerospace applications, weight reduction is
a critical factor. Suggest materials suitable for
pressure vessels on aircraft and rockets,
giving reasons for your answer.
Modern Needs in Materials Science
• Whilst tremendous progress has been made in material synthesis &
design, some challenges remain
➢ Developing even more specialized materials
➢ Considering the environmental effects of materials production.
Some applications where research is ongoing include:
➢ Transportation
✓ Weight of vehicles
✓ Increasing engine operating temperature etc.
➢ New & economic energy sources
➢ Materials in pollution control
➢ Most polymers are derived from non-renewable sources. Thus need
to discover new sources & develop new materials with comparable
properties and less adverse environmental impacts.
➢ Consider ‘cradle to grave’ lifecycle.
 References
1. Callister, W. D. Jr. & Rethwisch, D. G. (2011). Materials
Science and Engineering – An introduction. 9th Edition. Asia:
John Wiley & Sons.
2. Askeland, D. R. & Fulay, P. P. & Wright, W. J. (2006). The
Science and Engineering of Materials. 6th Edition. Canada:
Global Engineering.
3. Shackleford, J.F. Introduction to Materials Science for
Engineers (1996), S.I Edition. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey.
4. https://www.cpp.edu/~jbputhoff/history.html
5. https://www.slideshare.net/sumeetsharma32/carbon-
fiber-reinforced-plastics
6. https://www.electronicshub.org/types-of-semiconductor-
devices/