Intro Flashcards
What is Materials Science?
Materials science is the study of the
relationship between the structure and
properties of materials
What is Materials Engineering?
Materials engineering applies the knowledge of the relationship between materials’ structures and properties in designing the structure of a material to produce a predetermined set of properties
What is Structure?
Structure refers to the arrangement of
the internal components of the
material
What are the levels of structure?
Subatomic
Atomic
Microstructure
Macrostructure
What is a material property?
Property of a material relates to its
response to a specific externally
imposed stimulus.
What are the categories of material properties?
Mechanical Electrical Thermal Magnetic Optical Chemical`
How do you change properties?
Change structure
How do you change structure?
Change processing
What are the factors influencing material
selection for service
Economics
Properties
Durability
What are the three categories of traditional materials?
Metals
Ceramics
Polymers
Describe metals
• Example, Fe, Al, Mg, Cu • Elements have large number of free electrons • Good conductors • Opaque • Strong and malleable
Describe ceramics
• Example: oxides, carbides, nitrides, clay, cement, glasses • Good thermal and electrical insulators • High thermal and corrosion resistance • High strength but brittle
Describe polymers
• E.g.: plastics and rubbers • Mostly organic compounds based on C, H2 and other non metallic elements • Low density but low mechanical strength
