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INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING MATERIALS - Coggle Diagram
INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING MATERIALS
MATERIALS: WHAT & WHY ?
Materials = substances used to make products.
Engineering materials are selected for desired properties.
Properties: mechanical, electrical, thermal, optical, magnetic & deteriorative.
Material choice affects safety, durability, cost and product function.
THE CORE CHAIN
Structure
arrangement at subatomic, atomic, microscopic and macroscopic levels
Properties
describe response to a stimulus
Processing
how it is made (e.g., heat treatment, alloying, casting, SLM)
Performance
Different structure / processing can produce different product performance
ADVANCED & SMART MATERIALS
Shape-memory alloys
recover a programmed shape; piezoelectric ceramics convert mechanical into electrical energy.
Smart materials
Sense a stimulus and respond predictably
Nano-engineered materials
dimension below 100 nm; examples include carbon nanotubes and drug-delivery systems.
Semiconductors
control electrical behaviour; key to chips and electronics.
Biomaterials and advanced composites
support implants, stents, aerospace and lightweight design.
FOUR MAIN MATERIAL FAMILIES
METALS: strong, ductile, formable; usually good heat/electric conductors; often dense.
CERAMICS: hard, high melting point, heat/chemical resistant; generally brittle and insulating.
POLYMERS: low density, flexible, easy to shape; often poor electrical conductors and lower stiffness.
COMPOSITES: matrix + reinforcement; combine benefits for high strength-to-weight and tailored stiffness.
Classify by composition and atomic structure; choose by application needs.
SELECTION & SUSTAINABILITY
Heat-sink example (thermal conductivity): aluminium 235, graphite composite 370, copper 400, CarbAl 425 W/m·K.
Selection balances required properties, processing method, performance, finish, cost and application.
Sustainable design weighs performance against footprint; lecture examples include renewable-carbon materials, PLA blends, additives and composites
Electronic-waste flow: collection
Material evolution: Stone Age -> Bronze/Iron -> Industrial Revolution -> Silicon Age -> designed, nano & smart materials.
APPLICATIONS & CASE LESSONS
Electronics: chips, semiconductor packaging and heat sinks; aerospace/mechanical: aircraft, engines, gears and power transmission.
Titanic: plain carbon steel had a high ductile-brittle transition temperature; seawater was about −2°C.
Foldable glass: transparent, hard and chemically durable; ultra-thin glass is strengthened, but scratches/defects remain risky.
Titanium phone frame: strong, durable and corrosion resistant; lecture notes it is nearly 50% lighter than steel.
Biomedical: dental implants, titanium stents, bone-regeneration meshes and tissue-engineering scaffolds.