Mechanical Engineering

Materials

(QI MIN)
School of Materials Science and Engineering
minqi@dlut.edu.cn
 Chapter 0 Introduction

What do materials mean

in your mind?
 Natural materials

From trees to wood

 From mountain to stone

granite marble

stone
Artificial materials
We can see materials everywhere,
we use materials everyday.
 Definition
Materials are substances which
are used to manufacture useful
goods.

Different from resources like

minerals, water, air, et al.
 0.1 Human civilization and Materials
Human being development is named by materials, for
example, The Stone Age, The Bronze age, The Iron Age

2.5 million years ago

Iron sword

Bronze mirror
Making stone tools marks the beginning of human society,
Stone knife Utilizing materials promote the development of human society
 pottery porcelain

~ 9000 years ago ~ 3000 years ago

Shang Dynasty 2000 BC
The Bronze Age in China
the Warring States period ~
B.C.770 iron sword in
China

Iron sword with brown hilt in Gansu province

 Iron age lasts to now.
Modern times began in1740s, so called Industrial Revolution in
UK, represented by Spinning Machines and Steamer

Steam Locomotive Steam ship

 n 1863, microscope was used
o observe polished and etched
Metal. People observed the
Microstructure for the first time,
and different steels have different
Microstructure .

A new discipline called metallography

was born.

Birth of metallography marked the

beginning of materials research
from experience to science
1930s, successful synthesis of Nylon opened a
new times of artificial polymers from petroleum

Rubber tire panel

Natural and artificial fibers make peoples
life more colorful
composite
materials make
sports getting
better record.
Artificial Biomedical materials improve
life quality of human being
Since 1960 s, information times has
come based on Silicon
CPU in Computer
1990s. nano times began
Operating in atomic scale

Nano tube
Fullerene C60

Graphene
Nano robot catches cancer cell in blood vessel
0.2 Major classification of materials

Metals
Ceramics
Polymers
Composites
Semiconductors
 metals
Steels based on elements of iron and carbon
are the foundation of modern industry.
 polymers
One of the greatest materials in 20 century
 ceramics
Glass is the base of telescope and microscope

By telescope,
people knew
more about
the universe

By microscope,
people knew more
about the micro-
world
 composites
More strong, more light, more fast, more powerful

tennis racket

jumpingpole
0.3 Materials in mechanical engineering

Machine tool

Welding robot
 Materials
development
improves our life
More light, more strong,
and more fast!

Cruise ship Air plane

materials used in
Passat 2000
Huge turbine
in Ship
Development of
aerospace
industries rely
on superalloys
Space shuttle needs
ceramic tiles to insulate
friction heat between the
earths atmosphere and
shuttle
Materials problems will bring
disasters

Oil tank broken because of material brittle

Space Shuttle Challengers
crash because of failure of a
O-ring for seating fuel
 What determines properties of
materials,
brittle? toughness? soft? hard?

How we improve properties

of a material?
Properties of materials depend on
arrangement of atoms of which
materials are composed----structure.

Diamond crystal and its structure

Graphite and its structure
 Microstructure for wood

Columbian pine -
3 orthogonal sections

The more pores, the softer it

is
Microstructure of granite

The more the quartz,

the harder it is.
 Microstructure of metals
Processing can change microstructure, therefore, properties

parts Lathe tool

microstructure
The term Structure can be divided
into 6 levels:

Macrostructure 10-210-3m
Mesostructure 10-310-5m
Microstructure 10-510-7m
Nanostructure 10-710-9m
Atomic arrangement 10-910-
10
m
Atomic structure ( ) < 10-10m
1) Macrostructure:
visible with naked eye

2) Mesostructure: visible by
means of magnifying glass
Microstructure: visible by means of optical
microscope or Scanning Electron
Microscope(SEM) or Transmission Electron
Microscope (TEM)
Nanostructure: visible by means of
HRTEM(high resolution transmission
Electron microscope)
or AFM(atomic force microscope)

Z.A.=[011]
Atomic arrangement: by means of X-ray
Diffraction(XRD)
atomic structure: electron
arrangement outside an atomic
nuclear

by means of indirect physical and

chemical methods
Properties required in mechanical
engineering are structural properties.
Most materials used in mechanical
engineering are metallic materials

This course will focus on:

metallic materials, and
mechanical properties.
 What is the purpose we learn this course?

properties

1) Establish
composition process
relationship
(Foundation) microstructure

2) Get a basic knowledge about common

engineering materials, composition,
microstructure, process and application
(Application)
 methodology
1) Teaching and Exercise at class
2) Examination at class 20%
3) Home work 30%
4) Final examination 50%
Textbook

English edition,

There is a Chinese summary

for each chapter
Reference books (1)

Chinese edition
 Exercise 01
Give an example of materials that you are familiar
with, and indicate its features and properties as
possible as you can.

1) Steels
2) Aluminum alloys
3) Polymer
4) Ceramics
5) Glasses
6) composites
Metals are excellent conductors of
electricity, relatively strong,
dense, can be deformed into
complex shapes, and are resistant
to breaking in a brittle manner
when subjected to high-impact
forces.
Metals are the most important
classes of materials for structural
applications.
Ceramics are generally poor
conductors of electricity, are
frequently used as insulators in
electrical applications.
Ceramics are hard and brittle, and
generally heat resistance.
Window glass is the most
common ceramics which is
composed primarily of SiO2 with
addition of various metal oxides.
Polymers are generally
inexpensive, low density, easy to
formed into complex shapes.
Polymers are chemical inertness.
Many polymers tend to soften at
moderate temperature.
Composites are structures in which
two (or more) materials are combined
in some ways to produce a new
material whose properties would not
be attainable by conventional means.
Polymer/ceramics, polymer/metals
Metals/metals, metals/ceramics
Ceramics/ceramics
Reinforced phases can be particles,
fibers, or plain