Lecture 3

Stiffness and
weight: density and
elastic modulus
Jayant Jain

Assistant Professor,
Department of Applied Mechanics,
IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas, 110016

Recap
Broad classification of Engineering
Materials
Key characteristics of each materials
class
Evolution of density in engineering
Materials
The factors that determine density

Origin of Elastic modulus, melting

temperature and coefficient of
thermal expansion

Data for Youngs Modulus

E = 103 to10-3 Gpa
Why do we get such a
big variation in modulus
values???
What is the origin of such
variation?

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Origin of elastic modulus

All materials are made up of atoms
These atoms are held together by forces (called
interatomic bonds). These forces act like springs, linking
each atom to its neighbour.

There are several different types of bonds that form

between atoms. The type of bonding between atoms can
give rise to very different properties.

Origin of elastic modulus

Two factors that really influences the elastic modulus
1) The nature of interatomic bonding that holds the atom together

2) Atomic packing: no. of bonds per unit area and the angle with
which they are pulled

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design,

4th Edition, 2010 Michael Ashby

Bonding in solids: Bond types

There are two different ways that atoms can be bound together:
Primary bonds: these are strong bonds, There are three types. These
are ionic (transfer of valence electrons), covalent (sharing of valence
electrons), directional or metallic bonds (delocalization of valence
electrons).
Secondary bonds: these are weak bonds. There are two types. These
are van der Waals or hydrogen bonds (bonding due to dipole
interaction).
Note: In many materials there exists a mixture of different bond
types.
e.g. W, Mo, Ta, many ceramics and polymers

Bonding forces and energies

Understanding of many important physical properties of
materials requires knowledge of interatomic forces that holds
the atoms together
Considering the interaction between two isolated atoms as they
are brought into close proximity from an infinite separation.

At larger distances, the interactions are negligible.

As the atoms approach, each exerts forces on the other.
Attractive
Repulsive
Ultimately, the outer electron shells of the two atoms begin to
overlap, and a strong repulsive force comes into play.

Bonding forces and energies

Atoms in a solid feel an attractive force at larger atomic separations
and feel a repulsive force (when electron clouds overlap too much)
at shorter separations. (At very large separations there is no force felt).
The energy and the force (which is a gradient of the energy field)
display functional behaviour as below.

A B
U n m
r
r
Attractive

Repulsive

A,B,m,n constants
m>n

Bond energy vs. distance curve

A B
U n m
r
r
Potential energy (U)

Repulsive

E0 = Bond energy
E0

r0
Attractive
r0

Equilibrium separation

The shape of E vs r curve would be significantly dependent on the bond type

Force vs. distance curve

dU
F
dr
The shape of these curves
changes for different bond
types and materials.
A number of material
properties are influenced by
this curve shape, eg,
the F vs. r curve for a flexible
material will be shallower than
one for a more stiff material, at
ro

Where F is the separating

force for two atoms

S is the bond stiffness

Physical origin of Hooks law

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design,

4th Edition, 2010 Michael Ashby

Properties from Bonding:

Elastic moduli

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design,

Properties from Bonding:

Melting temperature
Materials with large bonding energies usually have high
melting temperatures.

There is a correlation between the magnitude of the bonding

energy and the state of materials
Solids have large bonding energies
Liquids tend to have relatively lower energies

Properties from Bonding:

Melting temperature

Melting Temperature

Properties from Bonding:

Coefficient of thermal expansion
Coefficient of thermal expansion, a
coeff. thermal expansion
L
= (T2-T1)
Lo
The expansion/contraction during heating/cooling of
materials is related to the shape of its E vs. r curve.
A deep and narrow trough, which typically occurs for
materials having large bonding energies, usually imply a low
coefficient of thermal expansion.

Properties from Bonding:

Coefficient of thermal expansion
If the curve is not symmetric, the average position in
which the atom sits shifts with temperature.
Thermal expansion results in an increase in average
distance between atoms

Properties from Bonding:

Coefficient of thermal expansion

is larger if Eo is smaller
and very asymmetric.

Thermal Expansion: Comparison

Thermal expansion
mismatch is a major
problem for design of
everything from
semiconductors to
bridges.
Particularly an issue
in applications where
temperature changes
greatly (esp. engines).