Course Co-ordinator: Dr M Kashtalyan

Pre-requisite(s): None

Co-requisite(s): None

• Introduction. Materials, processes and choice: a historical prospective. Overview of material properties – physical, mechanical, thermal, electrical, magnetic, optical, chemical – with examples of where these properties are important. (2 lectures)


• Organising materials and processes. Classification of materials and its hierarchical structure. Overview of the main classes of materials: metals, ceramics, polymers, hybrids. Material property charts. Classification of processes and its hierarchical structure. Computer-aided information management for materials and processes using CES Edupack. Materials and processes in the context of design. Case studies. (4 lectures)


• Physical properties. density and how it is measured. Relevance to engineering applications. Underpinning principles: atomic structure. Exploring density chart with CES Edupack. (1 lecture)


• Mechanical properties: stiffness. Modes of loading. Engineering stress and strain. Stress-strain curve. Elastic deformation, Hooke’s law and elastic moduli. Young’s modulus and its measurement. Underpinning principles: atomic packing and bonding. Bonding and packing in metals. Important crystallographic structures: hpc, fcc, bcc. Atom packing in ceramics, glasses and polymers. Exploring the modulus-density and modulus-cost charts with CES Edupack. (7 lectures)


• Mechanical properties: yield and tensile strengths. Ductility. Definitions and measurement. Hardness test. Underpinning principles: crystalline imperfections. Exploring the yield strength-density and modulus-yield strength charts with CES Edupack. (3 lectures)


• Thermal properties of materials. Melting temperature, glass temperature, thermal expansion, thermal conduction, heat capacity. Exploiting thermal properties. Using materials at high temperatures. Temperature dependence of material properties. (3 lectures)


• Processing of materials. Shaping, joining and surface treatment and their attributes. Exploring material-process compatibility with CES Edupack. Shaping processes for metals (sand, investment and die casting). Microstructure evolution in processing. Underpinning principles: phase diagrams and the solidification of alloys. Shaping processes for polymers (injection, blow and rotational moulding). Deformation processes: rolling, forging, extrusion, drawing. Underpinning principles: Annealing of metals. Powder methods. Underpinning principles: diffusion. Joining processes (adhesive bonding, mechanical fastening, soldering and welding). (8 lectures)


• Materials, processes and the environment. Material consumption and its growth. The material life cycle. Criteria for life cycle assessment: embodied energy, process energy and end of life potential. Exploring charts for embodied energy with CES Edupack. Selecting materials for eco-design. (2 lectures)

The course will consist of 30 one-hour lectures, 6 tutorials and 5 two-hour laboratory sessions. Detailed schedules are provided separately.

1st Attempt: One written examination of two-hours duration (80%) and continuous assessment based on the laboratory/design exercises (20%).

Resit: One written examination of two-hours duration (80%), with previous coursework marks used to make up the remaining (20%).