ME2302 NON METALLIC MATERIALS

NON METALLIC MATERIALS

CERAMICS
Ceramics properties that are different from those of metals lead to different uses. In structures, designs
must be done for compressive loads. The transparency to light of many ceramics leads to optical uses,
like in windows, photographic cameras, telescopes and microscopes. Good thermal insulation leads to
use in ovens, the exterior tiles of the Shuttle orbiter, etc. Good electrical isolation are used to support
conductors in electrical and electronic applications. The good chemical inertness shows in the stability
of the structures thousands of years old.

 Ceramics are a range of non-metallic, inorganic materials. They are mainly oxides, nitrides, and
carbides.
 They contain ionic and/or covalent bonds and are crystalline in structure. However, glass, which is
a type of ceramic, is amorphous in structure.
 They are very stable and chemically non-reactive. Have high melting points, hard and brittle, can
withstand high compressive loads, and have low electrical and thermal conductivity.

Cement and Concrete:

Cement is used for general construction and as a

component of concrete.

Portland cement contains (CaO (C) + Al2O3 (A)

+ SiO2 (S)) and when it is mixed with water (H)
hydration occurs and cement sets:
C3A + 6H  C3AH6 + heat – hardened cement
paste C3S2H3 is
Tobomorite
When the following reactions occur cement gel
hardens.
2C2S + 4H  C3S2H3 + CH + heat
2C3S + 6H  C3S2H3 + 3CH + heat

Glass Properties

A special characteristic of glasses is that solidification is gradual, through a viscous stage, without a
clear melting temperature. The specific volume does not have an abrupt transition at a temperature but
rather shows a change in slope at the glass-transition temperature.

The melting point, working point, softening point and annealing point are defined in terms of viscosity,
rather than temperature, and depend on glass composition..

 Low coefficient of thermal expansion

 Good thermal shock resistance - It is the ability of a solid to withstand sudden changes in
temperature.

Other important applications of glass in engineering are:

 Glass fibre reinforced plastics, for boats, furniture, etc.

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Type of Glass Composition Applications

70%SiO2 + CaO +
Soda-lime glass Windows, bottles
Na2O
80%SiO2 + B2O3 + Pyrex – cooking and chemical glass
Borosilicate glass
Na2O ware*
Silica glass Pure silica Optical fibers, electronic components
Lead glass SiO2 + PbO + CaO Crystal ware, optical lenses
 Laminated and toughened safety glass for shatter proof/bulletproof windows, aircraft windshields,
etc.
 Fibre-glass wool for heat, cold, and sound insulation
 Cat’s eyes –as a light reflector on roads
 Incandescent (tungsten) bulbs, florescent lighting, neon lighting, sodium lamps, etc.

POLYMERS
Polymers are common in nature, in the form of wood, rubber, cotton, leather, wood, silk, proteins,
enzymes, starches, cellulose. Artificial polymers are made mostly from oil. Their use has grown
exponentially, especially after WW2. The key factor is the very low production cost and useful
properties (e.g., combination of transparency and flexibility, long elongation).

Hydrocarbon Molecules

Most polymers are organic, and formed from hydrocarbon molecules. These molecules can have
single, double, or triple carbon bonds. A saturated hydrocarbon is one where all bonds are single that
is, the number of atoms is maximum (or saturated). Among this type are the paraffin compounds,
CnH2n+2. In contrast, non-saturated hydrocarbons contain some double and triple bonds.

Isomers are molecules that contain the same molecules but in a different arrangement. An example is
butane and isobutane.

Polymer Molecules

Polymer molecules are huge, macromolecules that have internal covalent bonds. For most polymers,
these molecules form very long chains. The backbone is a string of carbon atoms, often single bonded.

Polymers are composed of basic structures called mer units. A molecule with just one mer is a
monomer.

The Chemistry of Polymer Molecules

Examples of polymers are polyvinyl chloride (PVC), poly-tetra-chloro-ethylene (PTFE or Teflon),

polypropylene, nylon and polystyrene. Chains are represented straight but in practice they have a
three-dimensional, zig-zag structure.

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When all the mers are the same, the molecule is called a homopolymer. When there is more than one
type of mer present, the molecule is a copolymer.

Molecular Weight
The mass of a polymer is not fixed, but is distributed around a mean value, since polymer molecules
have different lengths. The average molecular weight can be obtained by averaging the masses with
the fraction of times they appear (number-average) or with the mass fraction of the molecules (called,
improperly, a weight fraction).

Molecular weight of polymer = molecular weight of monomer  n

Properties of polymers depend on the average n.

e.g. In the case of ethylene single molecules,
n =1 - it is a gas at room temp.
n =6 - liquid
n = 36 - grease
n = 140 - wax
n > 500 - solid plastic

The degree of polymerization is the average number of mer units, and is obtained by dividing the
average mass of the polymer by the mass of a mer unit.
Polymers of low mass are liquid or gases, those of very high mass (called high-polymers, are solid).
Waxes, paraffins and resins have intermediate masses.
 linear (end-to-end, flexible, like PVC, nylon)
 branched
 cross-linked (due to radiation, vulcanization, etc.)
 network (similar to highly cross-linked structures).

Molecular Configurations
The regularity and symmetry of the side-groups can affect strongly the properties of polymers. Side
groups are atoms or molecules with free bonds, called free-radicals, like H, O, methyl, etc.
If the radicals are linked in the same order, the configuration is called isostatic
In a stereoisomer in a syndiotactic configuration, the radical groups alternative sides in the chain.
In the atactic configuration, the radical groups are positioned at random.

The exact arrangement of side groups is important to determine whether a polymer will be crystalline
or amorphous.

H H H H H H H H H H H R H H H R H H H H H R H H
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 C C C C C C C C  C C C C C C C C  C C C C C C C C
| | | | | | | |
H R H R H R H R
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
H R H H H R H H H R H R H H H R
Syndiotactic Atactic
Isotactic Alternate in some regular way Alternate randomly.
Side groups are on the round the chain. (PMMA) No order. (polystyrene - PS)
same side.
(polypropylene - PP)

 Polymers with isotactic arrangements (even with large side groups) will be crystalline.
 Polymers with atactic arrangements will generally be amorphous and are of lower density.

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Copolymers

Copolymers, polymers with at least two different types

of mers can differ in the way the mers are arranged.
Fig. shows different arrangements: random,
alternating, block, and graft.

Polymer Crystallinity

Crystallinity in polymers is more complex than in

metals. Polymer molecules are often partially
crystalline (semicrystalline), with crystalline regions
dispersed within amorphous material. .

Chain disorder or misalignment, which is common, leads to

amorphous material since twisting, kinking and coiling
prevent strict ordering required in the crystalline state.
Thus, linear polymers with small side groups, which are not
too long form crystalline regions easier than branched,
network, atactic polymers, random copolymers, or polymers
with bulky side groups.

Crystalline polymers are denser than amorphous polymers,

so the degree of crystallinity can be obtained from the
measurement of density.

Polymers can be classified as:

1. Thermoplastics
2. Thermosets
3. Elastomers.

Thermoplastic and Thermosetting Polymers

Thermoplastic polymers (thermoplasts) soften reversibly when heated (harden when cooled back)
Thermoplastics are made by adding together monomers to form long chains. Such a process is known
as “addition polymerization”.
Types of Thermoplastics:
 Polyethylene (C2H4)n- commonest of the thermoplastics
 Vinyl compounds - compounds based on ethylene in which one or more of the H atoms have been
replaced by a different atom or group of atoms.
Note: Not all thermoplastics are vinyl compounds

H H  R = Cl - Polyvinyl chloride(PVC)
| | R = CH3 - Polypropylene
C C R = C6H5 - Polystyrene
| |
H R  R = COOCH3 - Polyvinyl acetate
 n

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ME2302 NON METALLIC MATERIALS

F F
H Cl  | | 
| |   Polytetrafluroethyl
C C  C  C  ene
Polyvinyl  
| |  chloride | | (PTFE) or Teflon
H Cl   F F 
 n n

Polymers derived from a single monomer such as the polymers given above are called homopolymers.

Thermosetting polymers (thermosets) harden permanently when heated, as cross-linking hinder

bending and rotations. Thermosets are harder, more dimensionally stable, and more brittle than
thermoplastics.
Thermosets are made by mixing two components that react and harden, either at room temperature or
on heating.
Urea (NH2CONH2) + Formaldehyde (CH2O)  Urea Formaldehyde + Water (H2O)

H O H H H O H H H O H
| || | | | || | | | || |
2 N  C N  C  O  N  C N  C  N  C N  H 2O
| | | | | |
H H H H H H

 This type of reaction is called condensation

polymerization. A thermoset polymer where the chains
 If the resulting polymer forms covalent cross-links (called are tied tightly together by frequent
network polymers), which are very strong, then the cross- covalent cross-links
links prevent melting or viscous flow (they ‘set’) and
hence they cannot be softened by heating.
 Therefore, in thermosets the structure becomes amorphous due to the formation of crosslinks which
are covalent bonds.

Elastomers

In vulcanization, crosslinking of the elastomeric polymer is achieved by an irreversible chemical

reaction usually at high temperatures (hence ‘vulcan’), and usually involving the addition of sulfur
compounds. The S atoms are the ones that form the bridge cross-links. Elastomers are thermosetting
due to the cross-linking.

Natural rubber is polyisoprene R= CH3, i.e. (C5H8)n but it is not useful as an H H

engineering material as it permanently deforms when a force is applied. | |
C C  C C
Rubbers become harder and extend less with increasing sulfur content. For  | | | |
automobile applications, synthetic rubbers are strengthened by adding carbon H H R H 
n
black.

In silicone rubbers, the backbone C atoms are replaced by a chain of alternating silicon and oxygen
atoms. These elastomers are also cross-linked and are stable to higher temperatures than C-based
elastomers.

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