Structural Materials

ME 221 (S3)
Lecture 1
The
Processing – Microstructure – Properties – Performance
Pyramid

Amol A Gokhale
Professor
Mechanical Engineering
Room 301D, Second Floor, ME Building
gokhale@iitb.ac.in
Extension: 7399
 Evolutionary aspects of materials

• Transition from natural materials to synthesized materials

• Initially, it was selecting materials for given requirements
• Now, it is designing and processing materials to tailor
properties to meet application requirements
Materials have enabled
technologies

• Automotives would not • Sophisticated electronic

be possible without devices would not be
inexpensive steels possible without
semiconductors
 What is meant by the structure of a material
• It is … the arrangement of its internal components

Subatomic particles Atoms Aggregates of atoms Structural elements which

observable under a can be viewed by the naked
microscope = microstructure eye = macrostructure
 What is meant by property?
• The kind and magnitude of response to a specific imposed stimulus
 Reflectiveness of a polished metal
 Deformation of metal under load

Mechanical
Type of property Example External stimulus
Mechanical Elastic modulus, strength, toughness Stress (force)
Electrical electrical conductivity and dielectric Electrical field
constant
Thermal Heat capacity and thermal External heat flux

Physical
conductivity
Magnetic Magnetisation, coercivity Magnetic field
properties
Optical properties Refractive index Electromagnetic or
light radiation

Chemical
Deteriorative Corrosion Galvanic potential
characteristics difference
Processing, performance
• Processing (synthesis, manufacture): how the material
is made

• Performance: how the material performs under certain

service conditions. It depends on its properties and the
component design

Design of the
component
Why learn materials science and
engineering?
• All machine designs / component designs have to take into
account materials properties
• You can make informed choices between property
combination (among various possible combinations for the
same material) to choose for given service conditions
• Be able to account for deterioration in material properties
likely to take place during service due to high temperature
exposure or due to corrosive conditions

To make compromises
between properties and
costs (which depend on raw
materials and processing
steps)
Failure analysis (self study Callister Section 1.3)

• Sudden and brittle failure of ships in cold atmospheres

• The Liberty ship S.S. Schenectady, which, in 1943, failed
before leaving the shipyard.
Classification of materials

Metals Polymers Ceramics Composites (combination of the

other three categories)

It is based on the chemical composition and atomic

arrangement within these materials

Advanced materials

Another category Semiconductors, biomaterials,

smart materials, and nano-
engineered materials
Another classification
Structural Materials Functional Materials
• Materials which are chosen for their • Materials which are chosen for their
structural or mechanical properties: functional properties:
– Strength – Optical properties (glass in lenses)
– Toughness
– Electrical properties (Cu in
– Hardness conductors)
– Stiffness
– Thermal properties (ceramic
insulators)
• Used in the construction of everything
around us. – Magnetic properties (permanent
magnets used in motors)
– CFRPs or GFRPs or aluminium alloys used
in the airframe of an aircraft – Smart behaviour (shape memory
– Steels used in construction of a bridge or
building or car alloys, piezoelectric materials)
– Titanium alloys used in aero-engine
components

The present course will be concerned

with this group
 Metallic materials
• Based on pure metallic elements
• Alloys are combinations of metals and metals/ small
amounts of non-metals
• Here, atoms are (generally) arranged in orderly manner
• are dense compared to polymers and ceramics
• are relatively stiff and strong
Accounts for their
• … yet are ductile (i.e., capable of large amounts of widespread use in
deformation without fracture) structural
applications.
• are resistant to fracture
Metals
• Atoms are bonded by ‘metallic bond’ which involves sharing
of many detached electrons between many positive ions. It
is like having an electron cloud surrounding positive ions of
the element.
• This is the reason why metals are good conductors of heat
and electricity and not transparent to light. Polished metal
surface has a lustrous appearance
• Some metals have magnetic properties
Ceramics
• Inorganic crystalline materials. They consist of metals and
non-metallic elements (O, N, C, B), such as oxides (ex.
Alumina, Silica), nitrides (ex. Silicon nitride), carbides (ex.
Silicon carbide), borides (ex. zirconium di-boride).
• Porcelain, cement, glass are traditional ceramics
• They are stiff, strong and hard… but brittle i.e. highly
susceptible to fracture… although newer ceramics have
improved toughness
• They are insulating to heat and electricity
• More resistant to high temperatures and corrosive
atmospheres
• transparent, translucent or opaque.
• Some are magnetic (ferrites)
Polymers (plastics and rubbers)
• Many are organic (based on carbon, hydrogen, and other non-metallic
elements like O, N, and Si)
• Have chains of molecules with C atoms as backbone
• Ex: polyethylene (PE), nylon, poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), polycarbonate
(PC), polystyrene (PS), and silicone rubber
• Low density
• less stiff, less strong (but on per mass basis may be comparable to
metals)
• Highly deformable, easy to form into complex shapes
• Chemically inert and unreactive in a large range of environments
• They soften very fast at higher temperatures
• Low electrical conductivities and are non-magnetic
Composites
The X-wing

• A composite is composed of two (or more) individual materials

that come from the categories —metals, ceramics, and polymers.
• They can attain a combination of properties that is not displayed
by any single material
• We will consider only synthetic composites like fibreglass (glass
fibres dispersed in plastic like epoxy)
• Glass fibres are strong and stiff
• Polymer is more flexible
• Thus, the composites are relatively stiff, strong and flexible.
• In addition, they have low density
• Carbon fibre epoxy composites are stiffer and stronger but more
expensive (and used in aerospace, B786 airframe e.g., sports
equipment)
 Modern materials.. in

• Nuclear energy (fuel, containment, disposal)

• Transportation (light weight, increasing operating
temperatures of engines)
• Solar energy, hydrogen fuel cells
• Environmentally friendly materials
The processing, structure, properties,
performance relationships

The performance of a material depends on its properties

which, in turn, are a function of its structure(s)
Furthermore, structure(s) is (are) determined by how the
material was processed.
Experimental
knowledge and
amenability to
model phenomena
Properties
Material selection criteria depend on
• in-service conditions to which the material will be
subjected
• expected deterioration of material properties
during operation
• economics or cost of the fabricated piece.
Materials science and engineering
Materials science Materials Engineering
• Investigating the • Tailoring or engineering the
relationships that exist structure of a material to
between the structures produce a predetermined set
and properties of of properties
materials • Materials engineers create
new products or systems
• Materials scientist
using existing materials and/or
develops or synthesizes
develop techniques for
new materials processing materials

This course will cover both aspects of materials

Home assignment questions
1. For each of the following classes of materials, give two specific
examples that are a regular part of your life:
a) metals
b) ceramics
c) polymers

Specify the object that each material is found in and explain why the
material is used in each specific application.
2. Describe the enabling materials property of each of the following and
why it is so:
a) silica tiles for the space shuttle
b) steel for I-beams in multi-storeyed buildings
c) a cobalt chromium molybdenum alloy for hip implants
d) polycarbonate for eyeglass lenses
e) bronze for sculptures.
Classification and examples
Materials science and engineering

Materials science Materials engineering

• In materials science, • In materials engineering,
the emphasis is on the the focus is on how to
underlying translate or transform
relationships between materials into useful
the processing, devices or structures.
structure, properties
and performance of
materials.