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Chapter 1. Introduction to
Materials Science and Engineering
(Ref: Callister Ch 1)

1.1 Historical perspective Virtually, every segment of

Earliest materials:
Stone, wood, clay, skins, and so on.
Later: Pottery, various metals
our daily lives is influenced
by materials;
Early civilizations have even
been designated by the level
of materials developed.

Modern Materials:
Metals (alloys), plastics, glasses, fibers, semiconductors
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Materials and Man

Technological progress is often marked
by the development of new materials
The ages in which human beings have
lived are characterized by the materials
they used, for example :
the stone age
the bronze age
the iron age
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Stone Age
400,000 BC - 4,500 BC

Probably the earliest form of materials processing

Source : Oxford History Project

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Bronze Age
4,500 BC - 1,000 BC
Melting Casting

Forging

Source : Oxford History Project

Mould Removal
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Iron Age 1,000 BC - 0 BC

Man discovered that iron

could be extracted from its
ore by heating with carbon
A major
scientific
breakthrough
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Picture Discovered in Ancient
Egyptian Grave

This shows ancient people regarded knowledge of

metal processing as a treasure
Source : Oxford History Project
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Present Types of Materials

Metals Polymers

Ceramics

Composites
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Materials Development

wood
Light metals
or
composites
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Aluminium

Graphite
Composite

Boron
Composite

Source : Eng. Mat. Tech., Jacobs and Kilduff

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- Materials play an important role in modern high technology.

- The airframe temperatures expected to be reached by spaceplane are far beyond the
melting points of many superalloys.
- The development of new materials that can withstand high temperature becomes
very important.
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1.2 Materials science and engineering

Materials Science: relationships between the

structures and properties of materials

Materials engineering: designing or engineering

the structure of a material to produce a
predetermined set of properties
Properties depend on structure
example: strength of steel
Processing can change structure
example: cooling rate of steel
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Materials science Investigate the relationship

between the structures and
properties of materials

Resultant knowledge of the

Materials science processing, structure,
and engineering properties, and performance
of engineering materials

Design the structure of a

Materials engineering material to produce a
desired set of properties
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Structure
--- the arrangement of its internal components
Subatomic: electrons within individual atoms and
interactions with their nuclei;

Atomic: the organization of atoms or molecules relative

to one another;

Microscopic: contains large groups of atoms that are

normally agglomerated together. Examined with
microscope;

Macroscopic: structural elements that may be viewed

with the naked eye.
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Structure dimensions

atomic bonding <10-10 m

missing/extra atoms 10-10 m
crystals (ordered atoms) 10-8 -10-1 m
second phase particles 10-8 -10-4 m
crystal texturing >10-6 m

Materials are not a black-box--

they are engineered structures.
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Property ---- the response to a specific imposed stimulus

e.g. A specimen subjected to forces will experience
deformation. A polished metal surface will reflect light.

1) Mechanical --- relate deformation to an applied load or force; e.g.

elastic modulus and strength.
2) Electrical --- the stimulus is an electric field; e.g. electrical
conductivity and dielectric constant.
3) Thermal --- response to the change of thermal energy (heat);
e.g. heat capacity, thermal conductivity.
4) Magnetic --- the response to the application of a magnetic field;
e.g. magnetization, ferromagnetism.
5) Optical --- the stimulus is electromagnetic or light radiation;
e.g. index of refraction and reflectivity.
6) Deteriorative --- e.g. the chemical reactivity of materials.
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Processing and Performance

Processing-------structure------properties---------performance
Design-------production------utilization of materials

Example: aluminum oxide

transparent ----- a single crystal (highly perfect)
translucent ----- numerous small single crystal, all connected.
opaque ----- small, interconnected crystals, and a large number
of very small pores or void spaces

Optical transmittance properties

Different processing technique --- different structures ---
different properties.
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Material Selection Criteria

1. Application => optimum combination of properties
Properties: mechanical, electrical, thermal,
magnetic, optical, deteriorative

2. Deterioration or durability of materials properties;

e.g. degradation of properties due to high
temperature or corrosive environments

3. Materials cost => some comprise is inevitable

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Example for
materials
selections

Breakdown of
weight
percentage of
major materials
in automobile
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GOALS

Use the right material for the job

Understand the relation between properties, structure, and
processing of materials
Recognize new design opportunities offered by materials
selection
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1.3 Classification of materials

The
Metals engineered
ceramic
Ceramics materials for
Polymers advanced
engine
applications.

The
engineering
thermoplastic
polymer
possesses
high-
temperature
resistance and
The aircraft turbine engine is dimensional
made principally of metal alloys. stability.
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Classification of materials

Composites
Semiconductors
Biomaterials

The microprocessor, the The glass-fiber reinforced

central processing element of a PPS-composite pipes
microcomputer, is made of have good resistance
semiconductors. against corrosion.
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Metals
Composed of metallic elements with non-localized
electrons (free or conductive)
good conductors
not transparent
strong, yet deformable.

Ceramics
Compounds between metallic and nonmetallic elements;
They are most frequently oxides, nitrides, and carbides;
composed of clay minerals, cement, glass; typically
insulative to passage of electricity and heat.
They are hard but brittle.
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Polymers
Organic compounds based on carbon, hydrogen and
other nonmetallic elements, e.g. plastic, rubber
Large molecular structures, low densities, flexible.

Composites
Consist of more than one material type, e.g. fiberglass:
glass fibers + polymer
Strength of glass + flexibility of polymer
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Semiconductors
Possess electrical properties that are intermediate
between electrical conductor and insulators.
Extremely sensitive to the presence of minute
concentrations of impurity atoms.
Have enabled electronic and computer industries be
totally revolutionized.

Biomaterials

Engineered components implanted into human body for

replacement of diseased or damaged body parts.
Must not produce toxic substances.
Must be compatible with body tissues.
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1.4 Advanced materials

For high-technology applications;
High-tech: a device or product that operate or functions
using relatively intricate and sophisticated principles;
e.g. electronic equipment, computers, fiber-optic
systems, spacecraft, aircraft, military rocketry;
Can be conventional materials with enhanced
properties or newly developed, high performance
materials.
Can be all materials types e.g. metals, ceramics, and
polymers, but expensive.
e.g. superhard materials, high T mater., liquid crystal.
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1.5 Modern materials needs

Challenges:
development of even more sophisticated and specialized
materials
consideration of the environmental impact of materials
production and utilization

EXAMPLES:

Nuclear energy
Transportation
Pollution control
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Nuclear energy
Involves materials from fuels to containment
structures to facilities for the disposal of radioactive
waste.

Transportation
Reducing the weight of transportation vehicles (high-
strength, low-density structural materials)
Increasing engine-operating temperatures, enhance fuel
efficiency (high-temperature materials for engine
components)
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Pollution control

Air and water pollution control techniques (physical

and chemical) employ various materials
Improve materials processing and refinement methods
to produce less environmental degradation.
Utilization of materials with minimum environmental
impact.
Recycling of materials.
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Introduction to Nanomaterials and

Nanotechnology
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How small is nano ?

1 nanometer (nm) = 10-9 meter = 10-3 m

~ 10 50 m wide
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How small is nano?

The word nano means 10-9, so a
nanometer is one billionth of a
meter.
Nanoscience: It deals with the study
of objects with sizes ranging from a
few tenths to one hundreds of
nanometers.
Nanoscale thinking - To get an idea of the
scale in which the nano-world operates
Imagine a fullerene molecule was the size of a
football, then on the same scale a football
would be the size of the earth !
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Nanomaterials & Nanotechnology

Materials at the nanometer (nm) scale --- the world
of atoms and molecules are nanomaterials

All materials are made of atoms !!

Nanoscience is the study of nanosize (< 100 nanometer

(nm)) objects or materials nanomaterials

Nanotechnology deals with the manipulation of

nanomaterials -nanosize objects, atoms and/or
molecules- to produce materials, devices and even
machines.
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Nanomaterials & Nanotechnology
is not NEW !!
1,000 nm (10-6 m) = 1
m

100 nm (10-7
m)
Scaling effect
Size effect
Surface effect DNA Catalytic powder
Nanomaterials and Charcoal
TiO 2 powders
nanostructures in 10 nm (10-8 m)
the nanometer
scale Quantum effect Single electron transistor
Quantum dot LED
Nano-Laser Negative differential
resistance
Tunable bandgap energy
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Why so much excitement in nano ?

Availability of nanomaterials
1959, Richard Feynman
First suggested that devices and materials could someday be fabricated to
atomic specifications: The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do
not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by
atom.. There is plenty of room at the bottom

Richard E. Smalley, H.W. Kroto & R.F. Curl

awarded Nobel Prize of chemistry in 1996

for discovering buckminsterfullerenes (C60

buckyball), conjugated carbon compounds that led
to novel nanomaterials such as nanotubes in 1986.
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Nanotechnology
Imagine the possibilities: Materials with 10 times the strength
of steel and only a fraction of the weight shrinking all the
information housed at the Library of Congress into a device
the size of a sugar cube; detecting cancerous tumors that are
only a few cells in size.
Bill Clinton, the ex-US president, in a speech he gave on Jan 2000 at
California Institute of Technology

If I were asked of science and engineering that will most

likely produce the breakthroughs of tomorrow, I would point to
nanoscale science and engineering.
Neal Lane, US presidents science adviser and former head of the
National Science Foundation of USA
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Applications
Optoelectronics

Cosmetic Tribology

Applications: Electronics &

Clothing
Chemical & Materials Electrical

Biotechnology Medical
Automotive
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Homework

Read Chapter 2
Atomic Structure and Interatomic Bonding