Materials Science and Engineering (MECH317-00) – Midterm Exam (Spring, 2009)

Time allowed for 100 minutes and attempt four questions.

1. Define terminologies or describe concepts below briefly. [30 pts].

(1) Material science and material engineering [5 pts]
(2) Ionic-covalent mixing bonding [5 pts]
(3) Theoretical density of ceramics [5 pts]
(4) Tacticity of polymers [5 pts]
(5) Tensile toughness and resilience [5 pts]
(6) Degree of polymerization [5 pts]

2. Chromium has the BCC crystal structure at room temperature with atomic radius 0.125 nm. BCC
structure is shown below[20 pts]

(1) Calculate the lattice constant (a) for the cubic edge
of the chromium unit cell [5pts]
(2) Define APF (Atomic packing factor) and calculate
APF of BCC structure. [5 pts]
(3) Calculate the planar density on the (110) plane [5
pts]
R (4) Calculate the linear density along [110] [5 pts]
a
3. We would like to produce a 0.5-cm-thick, 5-cm-wide brass strip using the drawing process. A
cold-worked yield strength in excess of 300 MPa, a tensile stress in excess of 420 MPa, and a
ductility of at least 10%EL are required. But we can purchase only a 5-cm-thick, 5-cm-wide brass
bar in the shop. Assume that the width of the plate is constant during drawing [20 pts]
 (1) Explain why a single drawing is not available for this product. [5 pts]
(2) Two-step-drawing-process is a proper method for satisfying all requirements above, and the
annealing process between drawings can be done. Assume that all mechanical properties can
be restored by annealing process. Design the two-step-drawing-process to produce the
product we need. [15 pts]

4. There are two types of thermoplastics, amorphous [e.g. polystyrene, polycarbonate, PVC et al.]
and (semi-)crystalline [e.g. polyethylene, polypropylene, PTFE et al.]. [30 pts]
(1) Explain the difference of those two thermoplastics based on the polymer structure. [5 pts]
(2) Explain the polymer crystallinity of semi-crystalline thermoplastics based on the concept of
spherullites. [10 pts]
(3) Mechanical properties of thermoplastics are mainly controlled by two temperatures, Tg (glass
transition temperature) and Tm (melting temperature). Explain the variation of mechanical
properties of two types of thermoplastics based on two temperatures. Also, discuss how to use
these characteristics for the production design of polymers. [15 pts]