LABASA CAMPUS

TE 155: ASSIGNMENT 2

SANDEEP LAL
 ENGINEERING MATERIALS
A material either in solid form or other condensed phases are defined as any substance that is
projected for use for definite application. Materials can be found all around us that are from earths
crust or in anything from building to spacecraft. Crystalline and Non- Crystalline are to categories
that can be used to classify the materials. Metals, ceramics and polymers are some examples of
traditional materials and on the other hand semi conductors, nano-materials and bio- materials are
some examples of advanced materials. In the earths crust, iron is the most common element and
nearly every construction undertaken there is at least a little use of iron. Iron is considered as a
chemical element and in the periodic table it can be located with a symbol Fe with an atomic
number 26. Iron ore through several processes can be converted into various types of iron and on of
this is steel. The other type of material that had been used over centuries is ceramic. Ceramic is
derived from common, naturally raw materials such as clay and quartz sand. Some of the products
made from ceramics that are familiar to us are china tableware, clay brick and tiles, clay pots and
porcelain flower vases. In this assignment, I will look into how two such materials, steel and
porcelain, are manufactured, the raw materials used, their properties, sustainability and its
application.

Firstly, the raw materials used to manufacture these materials are as follows: Steel, the raw
materials used are iron ore, coal, limestone and recycled steel.

The primary components used for porcelain are clay, feldspar or flint and silica

These are the raw materials that are blended together to manufacture the materials such as steel and
porcelain.
Secondly, will know look at how these various raw materials are processed to create the useful
materials, in the other words the manufacturing process. Now looking into how steel is
manufactured:

The iron ore are crushed and sorted so that only the best grades of iron ore are introduced in the
blast furnace (tower shaped structure with its interior is made of steel and fitted with heat resistant
bricks) together with limestone and coke. A very hot air is blown through the use of nozzle situated
at the bottom of the furnace. There is formation of carbon monoxide in the furnace as the coke
burns in the presence of hot air reacting with oxygen. Reaction of iron ore and carbon monoxide
results in formation of carbon dioxide and pure iron.

Picture of a Blast Furnace

The following chemical reactions take place in the blast furnace that enables the formation of
carbon dioxide and pure iron.

Temperatur Reaction
e
At 500 C 3Fe2O3 +CO 2Fe3O4 + CO2
Fe2O3 +CO 2FeO + CO2

At 850 C Fe3O4 +CO 3FeO + CO

At 1000 C FeO +CO Fe + CO2
At 1300 C CO2 + C 2CO (formation of carbon monoxide)

At 1900 C C+ O2 CO2 ( production of carbon dioxide)

FeO +C Fe + CO (iron and carbon dioxide is produced)

The molten iron from the blast furnace is than poured into an upright cylindrical vessel, shown in
the picture below (figure 1). Pressurized oxygen gas is introduced on top of the molten metal. The
impurities present in the iron such as manganese, phosphorus, silicon and excess carbon reacts with
the oxygen and forms slag

After this process, the molten steel settles below in the vessel and the slag floats on top of the
vessel. The vessel is rotated horizontally so that the molten steel can be tapped off (as illustrated in
Figure 2). The molten steel is than processed
through continuous casting processes by
machines to produce stainless steel slabs (as
shown in figure 3 & 4). These slabs go through
a surface grinding process so that all the uneven
surface and defects are removed.

Figure 2: Steelmaking Process

Figure 1: Cylindrical Vessel

Figure 3: Hot Working Figure 4:
Cold Working
Thirdly, porcelain is another material that is widely used in the engineering material. Manufacturing
of porcelain, the raw materials such as clay, feldspar and silica are carried out as follows:

A. Crushing
Reduction of raw material to desired size is achieved by using jaw crushers (using swinging
metal jaws). Than it is further reduced in size by use of hammer mills (steel tired wheels,
rapidly moving steel hammers). To achieve very fine particles, ball mills filled with
spherical shaped steel or ceramic grinding media are used.

Jaw Hammer mills Ball mills Grinding

crushers
B. Cleaning and Mixing
The ingredients after the breakdown, passes through a series of screens so that undesired
sized materials are removed. It is then mixed with water, for this produces the preferred
texture. A magnetic filtration is carried out to remove the iron from the slurries.

C. Forming Body
The porcelain body is formed by either of the methods:

Soft plastic forming manual molding of clay shapes is by the use of wheel
throwing. The desired amount of clay is placed on the wheel and shaped as the wheel
spins.

Stiff plastic forming use of a steel die through which the body is forced that
enables to form a column of uniform girth.

Pressing this method compacts and shape dry bodies in rigid die or flexible mold.

Slip Casting slurry is poured into a porous mold of the desired shape.
 D. Bisque-firing after the shape is formed, the porcelain parts are exposed to a low
temperature to vaporize volatile contaminants and also minimize shrinkage.

E. Glazing proper coating is applied to the porcelain ware by means of painting, pouring,
dipping or spraying.

F. Firing a kiln or oven is used to heat the porcelain ware so that it is hardened and produces
irreversible changes in the product made.

After the completion of all this manufacturing process than only the final product is achieved that is
of high quality and marketable.
In addition, the material poses certain property that enables it to perform well in the required
engineering application. The properties are tabulated as follows:

STEEL
Physical Mechanical Unique Properties
Strength Toughness High Impact Strength
Stain resistant Ductility Resistance to abrasion
Non conductive Durability Self Protective
Hygienic Weld ability
Simple to use High Tensile Strength
Malleability High Modulus of Elasticity

PORCELAIN
Physical Mechanical Unique Properties
Specific gravity Hardness Color Performance
Thermal conductivity Abrasion and Wear Color Availability
Resistance
Flexural Strength Lubricity Gloss
Compressive Strength Adhesion Light Reflectance
Maximum Operating Impact Resistance Texture
Temperature
Tensile Strength Flexibility Clean ability
Thermal Expansion

Furthermore, the sustainability of the material is also important that is the recyclability, energy to
produce the product, impact on human and environment. Therefore, looking at steel it is not
harmful to people, low maintenance cost, long life due to high corrosion resistance, uses fewer
resources to manufacture and can be easily recycled ( the scrap that is not recycled, turns into iron
oxide and returns to the ground so it can be said that steel is sustainable. On the other hand,
porcelain is also sustainable because it is eco-friendly; material extraction is cheap because the raw
materials are close to the proximity; it does not emit or absorb pollutants and it can be recycled
easily by mixing it with water and the waste can be used for production process.

Lastly, the application of the two types of material; steel and porcelain. The application of the
material is tabulated as follows:

STEEL APPLICATION CAN BE CLASSIFIED INTO FIVE GROUPS:

a. Transport
b. Construction
c. Energy
d. Packaging
e. Appliances and Industry
PORCELAIN IS MOSTLY USED FOR:
a. Utilitarian Wares
b. Artistic Objects
c. House Wares
d. Decorative Items
e. Laboratory Equipment
f. Kitchen and Bathroom Ware
g. Electrical Insulating Material
h. Building Material- tiles and panels
In conclusion, engineering materials are very important towards the growth of the advancing era of
technology. Most of the raw materials to process and manufacture these materials are naturally
available and are carefully selected for the desired application. It could be seen that the raw
materials undergo several processing stages before it is ready to be molded into final products such
as crushing, heating, casting, molding, various bonding stages and polishing. The materials have
physical, mechanical, chemical and electrical properties that make it unique for its desired use.
Apart from these, the materials should be sustainable in regards to environment, humans, energy
produced and recyclability. The materials should also be applicable to various uses such as
industrial, construction, electrical and transport.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Advanced Engineering Materials - Wiley Online Library

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/(ISSN)1527-2648/home

Materials Science and Engineering: A - ScienceDirect.com

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09215093

The Manufacture of Steel

http://nzic.org.nz/ChemProcesses/metals/8A.pd

Manufacturing Process for Iron and Steel

http://www.jfe-21st-cf.or.jp/chapter_2/2a_1.html

How porcelain is made - material, making, used, processing

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-1/Porcelain.htm

Chapter 6. Mechanical Properties of Metals

http://www.virginia.edu/bohr/mse209/chapter6.htm
 MARKING CRITERIA FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT 2

Name: ________________________ I.D No. ____________________________

 PART A Excellent(4) Proficient(3) Average(2) Poor(1)

A Coverage of All terms of reference met All terms of reference met Most terms of reference Few terms of
terms of with detailed appropriate met reference met
reference analysis

B Introduction Introduction clearly Introduction clearly Introduction attempts Introduction fails

establish context establish some context to establish context to establish context

C Materials and Precisely and clearly
Methods: outlined the method;
reported the detailed
procedures of the study;
specified the use of the two
materials in details
Clearly outlined the Briefly outlined the Briefly outlined the
method; reported the method; briefly method; procedures
procedures of the study but a described the of the study were
few points were not procedures; only described
detailed enough; mentioned mentioned one material ambiguously
most of the two materials

D Content: All content directly related Content directly related to Demonstrated Basic Few facts related to
to the topic. the topic. understanding of the the topic.
topic

E Visuals Visuals were clear, simple, Visuals were simple and Visuals were not No Visuals
accurate, titled & sources clear but some labels & labelled and sources in
labelled sources were missed details

F Background: Provided a very Showed a detailed A background with Lacked of

comprehensive and detailed
background; a wide and
deep coverage of the topic
background but not basic information; some significant details in
comprehensive enough; key points missed; the topic
sufficiently covered the covered the topic at a
work but a few areas not general level
deep enough

G Organisation: Well organised Thoughtfully organized Somewhat organized Irregular and

confusing
Total score: .../40 15% = Markers Initial: .