AD-302 MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

AMIE SECTION A
Chapter 01
Introduction toEngineering Materials
1.0Introduction
Material science and engineering is interdisciplinary area
concerned with invention of new materials and improving the
alreadyknownandexistingmaterials for their better useinpresent
scenario. Engineers inall disciplines shouldhavesomebasic and
applied knowledgeof engineering materials so.that they will be
ableto do their work moreeffectively when usingthem. A vast
range of materials is available to the engineer and all these
materials possess widely different properties. Glass, concrete,
rubber, timber, metals, alloy, plastic or ceramics areall used by
engineers, but their characteristics and properties arecompletely
different fromeach other. All engineers are concerned with the
optimumuseof materialsandthey havetoselectthemost suitable
material for their job. The material can be for civil engineering
structure, electrical transmission, power plant, modem cutting
machinesorperhapsanelectriccomponent.
Thetermmaterials scienceand engineering combines both
materials scienceand engineering materials. Materials scienceis
primarily concernedwiththesearchfor basicknowledgeaboutthe
internal structure, properties, and processing of materials.
Materials engineering is mainly concerned with the use of
fundamental andappliedknowledgeof materials.
New materials withspecial properties areconstantly being
discovered and developed, and thus materials science and
engineeringisacontinually expandingfield.
1.1Types of Materials
Engineering materials aredivided into threemain classes'
metallic materials, ceramic materials andpolymeric materials.
Inadditiontothethreemainclassesof materialstwoprocessingor
application classes, composite materials and electronic
materials, becauseof their great engineeringimportance.
1.1.1Metallic Materials
Thestudy metallic materials constituteamajor divisionof
the materials science and engineering field. In general, metallic
materials are inorganic substances composed of one or more
metallic elements, but they may also contain nonmetallic
elements. Most metals have a crystalline structure of closely
packedatomarrangedinanorderly manner. Metalsingeneral are
goodelectrical andthermal conductors. Many arerelatively strong
at room temperature and retain good strength at elevated
temperature. Metals arecommonly alloyed together inthe liquid
statesothat, uponsolidification, newsolidmetallic structureswith
different properties canbeproduced. Metals and alloys areoften
cast into the nearly final shape in which they will be used and
these products are called castings. However, most metals and
alloys are first cast into shapes such as sheet ingot or extrusion
billets, which are subsequently worked by processes such as
rolling and extrusion into wrought products, for example, sheet,
plate, andextrusion.
Metals and alloys can be classified into ferrous and
nonferrous groups. Ferrous metals andalloyscontainironastheir
major metallicelement; exampleof ferrousalloys isthesteelsand
cast irons. Nonferrous metals and alloys contain element other
than ironas their major metallic element; exampleof nonferrous
metals and alloys have innumerable applications, such as low-
carbonsheet steelsfor appliances andautobodies, stainless steels
for cutlery and utensils, aluminum alloys for aircraft frames and
surfaces, and unalloyed copper for electrical wiring and water
pipes.
1.1.2Ceramic Materials
The study of ceramic materials forms a second major
division of the field of materials science and engineering.
Ceramics are inorganic materials consisting of metallic and
nonmetallic element chemically bonded together. They can be
crystalline, noncrystalline, or mixtures of both. Most ceramic
materialshavehighhardness, high-temperaturestrength, andgood
chemical resistance; however, they tendto bebrittle. Ceramics in
general have low electrical and thermal conductivities. Which
makes them useful for electrical and thermal insulative
applications? Most ceramic materials can beclassified into three
grouptraditional ceramic, technical ceramics, andglasses.
Traditional Ceramics
These consist of three basic components clay, silica, and
feldspar. Theclay provides theworkability of theceramic before
itishardenedby thefiringprocess. Clay makesupthemajor body
materials; itconsistsmainly of hydratedaluminumsilicates(Ah03
Si02 H20) with smaller amounts of other oxide impurities. The
silica (Si02) has a high melting temperature and provides the
refractory componentof traditional ceramics. Thethirdcomponent
feldspar (k20 Al203 6H20) has a low melting temperature and
produces a glass when the ceramic mix is fired; it bonds the
refractory components together. Traditional ceramic products
fabricatedfromwhitewaresuchaselectrical porcelainandsanitary
warearemadefromcomponents of clay, silica, and feldspar for
whichthecompositioniscontrolled.
Technical ceramics
Also known as advanced ceramics, technical ceramics are
based on pure or nearly pure ceramic components alone or in
combination. The raw materials for technical ceramics must be
processedcarefully sothat acontrolledproduct canbeproduced,
and they are made by using various composition mixes and
processing procedures. Example of technical ceramics is
aluminumoxide (AI203), zirconia (Zr03), silicon carbide (SiC),
siliconnitride(SbN4), andbariumtitanate(BaTi03). Application
for technical ceramics include alurninas for auto spark-plug
insulators and substrates for electronic circuitry, dielectric
materials fur capacitors. Ceramic tool bits for machining, and
high-performanceball bearings.
Glass
Glassesdiffer fromtheother ceramic materialsinthat their
constituents areheated to fusion andthen cooledto arigid state
without crystallization. A characteristic of aglass isthat it has a
noncrystallinestructurewithno long-rangeorder. Most inorganic
glassesarebasedontheglassformingsiliconoxide, silica(Si02).
About 90%of theproducedissoda-limeglasswhichhasthebasic
compositionof 71-73% Si (h, 12-14%sodiumoxide(Na20). and
10-12%calciumoxide(CaO). Thesodiumoxideandareaddedto
lowertheviscosity of tileglass sothat it becomes easier to work.
Soda-limeglassisused, for example, for flatglass, containers, and
lightproducts, wherehighchemical durability andheat resistance
are not required. Many other types of glasses with different
compositionsareproducedfor special applications.
1.1.3Polymeric Materials
The study of polymeric materials forms a third "major
division of materials science and engineering. Most of these
materials consist of carbon-containing long molecular chains or
networks. Structurally most of themarenoncrystalline, but some
are partly crystalline. The strength and ductility of polymeric
materials vary greatly. Most polymers have low densities and
relatively lowsofteningor decompositiontemperatures. Many are
good thermal and electrical insulators. Polymeric materials have
replacedmetalsandglassesfor many applications.
Most polymeric materials can be classified as
thermoplastics, thermosets, or elastomers.
Thermoplastics
RESILIENT-TUTORIALS OutsideSheranwalaGatePatiala-147001(PB) INDIA