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Introduction
There are, it is said, more than 50,000 materials available to the engineer. In designing a
structure or device, how is the engineer to choose from this vast menu the material which best
suits the purpose? Mistakes can cause disasters. During World War 11, one class of welded
merchant ship suffered heavy losses, not by enemy attack, but by breaking in half at sea: the
fracture toughness of the steel - and, particularly, of the welds was too low. More recently,
three Comet aircraft were lost before it was realised that the design called for a fatigue
strength that - given the design of the window frames - was greater than that possessed by the
material. You yourself will be familiar with poorly- designed appliances made of plastic: their
excessive 'give' is because the designer did not allow for the low modulus of the polymer.
These bulk properties are listed in Table 1.1, along with other common classes of property
that the designer must consider when choosing a material. Many of these properties will be
unfamiliar to you - we will introduce them through examples in this chapter. They form the
basis of this first course on materials. In this first course, we shall also encounter the classes
of materials shown in Table 1.2. More engineering components are made of metals and alloys
than of any other class of solid. But increasingly, polymers are replacing metals because they
offer a combination of properties which are more attractive to the designer. And if you've
been reading the newspaper, you will know that the new ceramics, at present under
development world wide, are an emerging class of engineering material which may permit
more efficient heat engines, sharper knives, and bearings with lower friction. The engineer
can combine the best properties of these materials to make composites (the most familiar is
fibreglass) which offer specially attractive packages of properties. And - finally - one should
not ignore natural maferials like wood and leather which have properties which - even with
the innovations of today's materials scientists - are hard to beat. In this chapter we illustrate,
using a variety of examples, how the designer selects materials so that they provide him or
her with the properties needed. As a first example, consider the selection of materials for a
Plastic-handled screwdriver
A typical screwdriver has a shaft and blade made of a high-carbon steel, a metal. Steel is
chosen because its modulus is high. The modulus measures the resistance of the material to
elastic deflection or bending. If you made the shaft out of a polymer like polyethylene
Economic
Thermal
Environmental Interaction
Production
Aesthetic
Price and availability Recyclability Density Modulus Yield and tensile strength Hardness
Fracture toughness Fatigue strength Creep strength Damping Thermal conductivity Specific
Oxidation Corrosion Wear Ease of manufacture Joining Finishing Colour Texture Feel
the selection of a material for this application. But it is not the only one. The shaft must have
a high yield strength. If it does not, it will bend or twist if you turn it hard (bad screwdrivers
do). And the blade must have a high hardness, otherwise it will be damaged by the head of
the screw. Finally, the material of the shaft and blade must not only do all these things, it
must also resist fracture - glass, for instance, has a high modulus, yield strength and hardness,
but it would not be a good choice for this application because it is so brittle. More precisely, it
has a very low fracfure toughness. That of the steel is high, meaning that it gives a bit before
it breaks. The handle of the screwdriver is made of a polymer or plastic, in this instance
a much larger section than the shaft, so its twisting, and thus its modulus, is less important.
You could not make it satisfactorily out of a soft rubber (another polymer) because its
modulus is much too low, although a thin skin of rubber might be useful because its friction
coefficient is high, making it easy to grip. Traditionally, of course, tool handles were made of
another natural, polymer - wood - and, if you measure importance by the volume consumed
per year, wood is still by far the most important polymer available to the engineer. Wood has
because PMMA becomes soft when hot and can be moulded quickly and easily to its final
shape. Its ease offabrication for this application is high. It is also chosen for aesthetic reasons:
its appearance, and feel or texture, are right; and its density is low, so that the screwdriver is
not unnecessarily heavy. Finally, PMMA is cheap, and this allows the product to be made at a
reasonable price. Now a second example, taking us from low technology to the advanced
materials design involved in the turbofan aero-engines which power large planes. Air is
propelled
Metals and alloys Iron and steels Aluminium and its alloys Copper and its alloys Nickel and
tetraphthalate (PET) Polyethylether Ketone (PEEK) Epoxies (EP) Elastomers, such as natural
rubber (NR)
Ceramics and glasses' Alumina (AI2O3, emery, sapphire) Magnesia (MgO) Silica (SOz)
glasses and silicates Silicon carbide (Sic) Silicon nitride (Si3N4) Cement and concrete
fo/ymers
Composites
*Ceramics are crystalline, inorganic, non-metals. Glasses are non-crystalline (or amorphous)
solids. Most engineering glasses are non-metals, but a range of metallic glasses with useful
CFRP GFRP
Polymers
Filled polymers
past (and into) the engine by the turbofan, providing aerodynamic thrust. The air is further
compressed by the compressor blades, and is then mixed with fuel and burnt in the
combustion chamber. The expanding gases drive the turbine blades, which provide power to
the turbofan and the compressor blades, and finally pass out of the rear of the engine, adding
to the thrust. The turbofan blades are made from a titanium alloy, a metal. This has a
sufficiently good modulus, yield strength, and fracture toughness. But the metal must also
resist fatigue (due to rapidly fluctuating loads), surface wear (from striking everything from
water droplets to large birds) and corrosion (important when taking off over the sea because
salt spray enters the engine). Finally, density is extremely important for obvious reasons: the
heavier the engine, the less the pay-load the plane can carry. In an effort to reduce weight
even further, composite blades made of carbon-fibre reinforced polymers - CFRP - with
density less than one-half of that of titanium, have been tried. But CW, by itself is simply not
tough enough for turbofan blades - a 'bird strike' demolishes a CFRP blade. The problem can
be overcome by cladding, giving the CFRP a metallic leading edge. Turning to the turbine
blades (those in the hottest part of the engine) even more material requirements must be
satisfied. For economy the fuel must be burnt at as high a temperature as possible. The first
row of engine blades (the 'HP1' blades) runs at metal temperatures of about 950°C, requiring
structure are used for this exceedingly stringent application; they are one pinnacle of
is the spark plug of an internal combustion engine. The spark electrodes must resist themal
fatigue (from rapidly fluctuating temperatures), wear (caused by spark erosion) and oxidation
and corrosion from hot upper-cylinder gases containing nasty compounds of sulphur, and lead
(from anti-knock additives). Tungsten alloys are used for the electrodes because they have the
desired properties. The insulation around the central electrode is an example of a non-metallic
material - in this case, alumina, a ceramic. This is chosen because of its electrical insulating
properties and because it also has good thermal fatigue resistance and resistance to corrosion
The use of non-metallic materials has grown most rapidly in the consumer industry. Our next
example, a sailing cruiser, shows just how extensively polymers and man- made composites
and fibres have replaced the 'traditional' materials of steel, wood and cotton. A typical cruiser
has a hull made from GFRP, manufactured as a single moulding; GFRP has good appearance
and, unlike steel or wood, does not rust or become eaten away by Terido worm. The mast is
made from aluminium alloy, which is lighter for a given strength than wood; advanced masts
are now being made by reinforcing the alloy with carbon or boron fibres (man-made
composites). The sails, formerly of the natural material cotton, are now made from the
polymers nylon, Terylene or Kevlar, and, in the running rigging, cotton ropes have been
replaced by polymers also. Finally, polymers like PVC are extensively used for things like
fenders, anoraks, bouyancy bags and boat covers. Three man-made composite materials have
appeared in the items we have considered so far: glass-fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP); the
much more expensive carbon-fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP); and the still more expensive
boron-fibre reinforced alloys (BFRP). The range of composites is a large and growing one
(Fig. 1.1); during the next decade composites will, increasingly, compete with steel and
aluminium in many traditional uses of these metals. So far we have introduced the
mechanical and physical properties of engineering materials, but we have yet to discuss a
consideration which is often of overriding importance: that of price and availability. Table 1.3
shows a rough breakdown of material prices. Materials for large-scale structural use - wood,
cement and concrete, and structural steel - cost between US50 and US500 (US$75 and
US$750) per tonne. There are many materials which have all the other properties required of
a structural material - nickel or titanium, for example - but their use in this application is
eliminated by their price. The value that is added during light-and medium-engineering work
is larger, and this usually means that the economic constraint on the choice of materials is less
severe - a far greater proportion of the cost of the structure is that associated with labour or
with production and fabrication. Stainless steels, most aluminium alloys and most polymers
Table 1.3
Class of use
Industrial diamond
Wood, concrete, structural steel UK€50-500 US$75-750 Metals, alloys and polymers for um-
5,000 US$750-7,500
appliances, etc. composites (CFRP, BRFP), etc. Sapphire bearings, silver contacts,
Om >US$15m
Fig. 1.2. The wooden bridge at Queens' College, a 1 902 reconstruction of the original
Fig. 1.3. Clare Bridge, built in 1640, is Cambridge's oldest surviving bridge; it is reputed to
Fig. 1.4. Magdalene Bridge built in 1823 on the site of the ancient Saxon bridge over the
Cam The present cast-iron arches carried, until recently, loads far in excess of those
envisaged by the designers. Fortunately, the bridge has now undergone a well-earned
restoration
Fig. 1.5. A typical hentieth-century mild-steel bridge; a convenient crossing to the Fort St
George inn!
Fig. 1.6. The reinforced concrete footbridge in Garret Hostel lane. An inscription carved
nearby reads: 'This bridge was given in 1960 by the Trusted family members of Trinity Hall.
It was designed by Timothy Guy MORGAN an undergraduate of Jesus College who died in
that year.'
Surface properties
Aesthetic properties- appearance, Y texture, feel Fig. 1.7. How the properties of engineering
tonne. It is in this sector of the market that the competition between materials is most intense,
and the greatest scope for imaginative design exists. Here polymers and composites compete
directly with metals, and new structural ceramics (silicon carbide and silicon nitride) may
compete with both in certain applications. Next there are the materials developed for high-
performance applications, some of which we have mentioned already: nickel alloys (for
turbine blades), tungsten (for sparking-plug electrodes) and special composite materials such
as CFRP. The price of these materials ranges between uKE5000 and UK€50,000 (US$7500
and US$75,OOO) per tonne. This the rkgime of high materials technology, actively under
reseach, and in which major new advances are continuing to be made. Here, too, there is
intense competition from new materials. Finally, there are the so-called precious metals and
gemstones, widely used in engineering: gold for microcircuits, platinum for catalysts,
sapphire for bearings, diamond for cutting tools. They range in price from UE50,OOO
(US$75,000) to well over UKElOOm (US$150m) per tonne. As an example of how price and
availability affect the choice of material for a particular job, consider how the materials used
for building bridges in Cambridge have changed over the centuries. As our photograph of
Queens’ Bridge (Fig. 1.2) suggests, until 150 years or so ago wood was commonly used for
bridge building. It was cheap, and high-quality timber was still available in large sections
from natural forests. Stone, too, as the picture of Clare Bridge (Fig. 1.3) shows, was widely
used. In the eighteenth century the ready availability of cast-iron, with its relatively low
assembly costs, led to many cast-iron bridges of the type exemplified by Magdalene Bridge
(Fig. 1.4). Metallurgical developments of the later nineteenth century allowed large mild-steel
structures to be built (the Fort St. George Footbridge, Fig. 1.5). Finally, the advent of cheap
reinforced concrete led to graceful and durable structures like that of the Garret Hostel Lane
bridge (Fig. 1.6). This evolution clearly illustrates how availability influences the choice of
materials. Nowadays, wood, steel and reinforced concrete are often used interchangeably in
structures, reflecting the relatively small price differences between them. The choice of which
of the three materials to use is mainly dictated by the kind of structure the architect wishes to
build: chunky and solid (stone), structurally efficient (steel), slender and graceful (pre-
stressed concrete). Engineering design, then, involves many considerations (Fig. 1.7). The
choice of a material must meet certain criteria on bulk and surface properties (strength and
corrosion resistance, for example). But it must also be easy to fabricate; it must appeal to
potential consumers; and it must compete economically with other alternative materials. In
the next chapter we consider the economic aspects of this choice, returning in later chapters
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Materials are probably more deep-seated in our culture than most of us realize.
every segment of our everyday lives is influenced to one degree or another by materials.
Historically, the development and advancement of societies have been intimately tied to the
members’ ability to produce and manipulate materials to fill their needs. In fact, early
civilizations have been designated by the level of their materials development (i.e., Stone
Age, Bronze Age). The earliest humans had access to only a very limited number of
materials, those that occur naturally: stone, wood, clay, skins, and so on. With time they
discovered techniques for producing materials that had properties superior to those of the
natural ones; these new materials included pottery and various metals. Furthermore, it was
discovered that the properties of a material could be altered by heat treatments and by the
addition of other substances. At this point, materials utilization was totally a selection
process, that is, deciding from a given, rather limited set of materials the one that was best
suited for an application by virtue of its characteristics. It was not until relatively recent times
that scientists came to understand the relationships between the structural elements of
materials and their properties. This knowledge, acquired in the past 60 years or so, has
empowered them to fashion, to a large degree, the characteristics of materials. Thus, tens of
thousands of different materials have evolved with rather specialized characteristics that meet
the needs of our modern and complex society; these include metals, plastics, glasses, and
fibers. The development of many technologies that make our existence so comfortable has
been intimately associated with the accessibility of suitable materials. An advancement in the
technology. For example, automobiles would not have been possible without the availability
sophisticated electronic devices rely on components that are made from what are called
semiconducting materials.
The discipline of materials science involves investigating the relationships that exist between
the structures and properties of materials. In contrast, materials engineering is, on the basis of
produce a predetermined set of properties. Throughout this text we draw attention to the
‘‘Structure’’ is at this point a nebulous term that deserves some explanation. In brief, the
Subatomic structure involves electrons within the individual atoms and interactions with their
relative to one another. The next larger structural realm, which contains large groups of atoms
that are normally agglomerated together, is termed ‘‘microscopic,’’ meaning that which is
subject to direct observation using some type of microscope. Finally, structural elements that
may be viewed with the naked eye are termed ‘‘macroscopic.’’ The notion of ‘‘property’’
deserves elaboration. While in service use, all materials are exposed to external stimuli that
evoke some type of response. For example, a specimen subjected to forces will experience
deformation; or a polished metal surface will reflect light. Property is a material trait in terms
of the kind and magnitude of response to a specific imposed stimulus. Generally, definitions
of properties are made independent of material shape and size. Virtually all important
properties of solid materials may be grouped into six different categories: mechanical,
electrical, thermal, magnetic, optical, and deteriorative. For each there is a characteristic type
deformation to an applied load or force; examples include elastic modulus and strength. For
electrical properties, such as electrical conductivity and dielectric constant, the stimulus is an
electric field. The thermal behavior of solids can be represented in terms of heat capacity and
application of a magnetic field. For optical properties, the stimulus is electromagnetic or light
radiation; index of refraction and reflectivity are representative optical properties. Finally,
deteriorative characteristics indicate the chemical reactivity of materials. The chapters that
follow discuss properties that fall within each of these six classifications. In addition to
structure and properties, two other important components are involved in the science and
relationships of these four components, the structure of a material will depend on how it is
depicted in the schematic illustration shown in Figure 1.1. Throughout this text we draw
attention to the relationships among these four components in terms of the design,
disk specimens placed over some printed matter. It is obvious that the optical properties (i.e.,
the light transmittance) of each of the three materials are different; the one on the left is
transparent (i.e., virtually all of the reflected light passes through it), whereas the disks in the
center and on the right are, respectively, translucent and opaque. All of these specimens are of
the same material, aluminum oxide, but the leftmost one is what we call a single crystal—that
is, it is highly perfect—which gives rise to its transparency. The center one is composed of
numerous and very small single crystals that are all connected; the boundaries between these
small crystals scatter a portion of the light reflected from the printed page, which makes this
material optically translucent. And finally, the specimen on the right is composed not only of
many small, interconnected crystals, but also of a large number of very small pores or void
spaces. These pores also effectively scatter the reflected light and render this material opaque.
Thus, the structures of these three specimens are different in terms of crystal boundaries and
pores, which affect the optical transmittance properties. Furthermore, each material was
important parameter relative to the ultimate in-service application, the performance of each
Processing---Structure---Properties---Performance
FIGURE The four components of the discipline of materials science and engineering and
civil, chemical, or electrical, will at one time or another be exposed to a design problem
involving materials. Examples might include a transmission gear, the superstructure for a
scientists and engineers are specialists who are totally involved in the investigation and
design of materials. Many times, a materials problem is one of selecting the right material
from the many thousands that are available. There are several criteria on which the final
decision is normally based. First of all, the in-service conditions must be characterized, for
these will dictate the properties required of the material. On only rare occasions does a
material possess the maximum or ideal combination of properties. Thus, it may be necessary
to trade off one characteristic for another. The classic example involves strength and ductility;
normally, a material having a high strength will have only a limited ductility. In such cases a
selection consideration is any deterioration of material properties that may occur during
service operation. For example, significant reductions in mechanical strength may result from
consideration is that of economics: What will the finished product cost? A material may be
somecompromise isinevitable. The cost of a finished piece also includes any expense incurred
during fabrication to produce the desired shape. The more familiar an engineer or scientist is
techniques of materials, the more proficient and confident he or she will be to make judicious
Design-limiting properties
which it is made. This means that, to achieve a desired level of performance, the values of the
design-limiting properties must meet certain targets—those that fail to do so are not suitable.
In the cartoon of Figure 1.2, stiffness, strength and toughness are design limiting—if any one
of them were too low, the plane won’t fly. In the design of power transmission lines electrical
resistivity is design limiting; in the design of a camera lens, it is optical quality and refractive
index. Materials are chosen by identifying the design-limiting properties and applying limits
to them, screening out those that do not meet the limits (Chapter 3). Processes, too, have
properties, although we have not met them yet. These too can be design limiting, leading to a
CLASSIFICATION OF MATERIALS
Solid materials have been conveniently grouped into three basic classifications: metals,
ceramics, and polymers. This scheme is based primarily on chemical makeup and atomic
structure, and most materials fall into one distinct grouping or another, although there are
some intermediates. In addition, there are three other groups of important engineering
because of their unusual electrical characteristics; biomaterials are implanted into the human
body. A brief explanation of the material types and representative characteristics is offered
next.
METALS Metallic materials are normally combinations of metallic elements. They have
Many properties of metals are directly attributable to these electrons. Metals are extremely
good conductors of electricity and heat and are not transparent to visible light; a polished
metal surface has a lustrous appearance. Furthermore, metals are quite strong, yet
CERAMICS Ceramics are compounds between metallic and nonmetallic elements; they are
most frequently oxides, nitrides, and carbides. The wide range of materials that falls within
are more resistant to high temperatures and harsh environments than metals and polymers.
With regard to mechanical behavior, ceramics are hard but very brittle.
POLYMERS Polymers include the familiar plastic and rubber materials. Many of them are
organic compounds that are chemically based on carbon, hydrogen, and other nonmetallic
elements; furthermore, they have very large molecular structures. These materials typically
COMPOSITES A number of composite materials have been engineered that consist of more
than one material type. Fiberglass is a familiar example, in which glass fibers are embedded
characteristics of each of the component materials. Fiberglass acquires strength from the glass
and flexibility from the polymer. Many of the recent material developments have involved
composite materials.
between the electrical conductors and insulators. Furthermore, the electrical characteristics of
these materials are extremely sensitive to the presence of minute concentrations of impurity
atoms, which concentrations may be controlled over very small spatial regions. The
semiconductors have made possible the advent of integrated circuitry that has totally
revolutionized the electronics and computer industries (not to mention our lives) over the past
two decades.
BIOMATERIALS Biomaterials are employed in components implanted into the human body
for replacement of diseased or damaged body parts. These materials must not produce toxic
substances and must be compatible with body tissues (i.e., must not cause adverse biological
ADVANCED MATERIALS
Materials that are utilized in high-technology (or high-tech) applications are sometimes
termed advanced materials. By high technology we mean a device or product that operates or
functions using relatively intricate and sophisticated principles; examples include electronic
equipment (VCRs, CD players, etc.), computers, fiberoptic systems, spacecraft, aircraft, and
military rocketry. These advanced materials are typically either traditional materials whose
Furthermore, they may be of all material types (e.g., metals, ceramics, polymers), and are
normally relatively expensive. In subsequent chapters are discussed the properties and
applications of a number of advanced materials—for example, materials that are used for
lasers, integrated circuits, magnetic information storage, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), fiber
optics, and the thermal protection system for the Space Shuttle Orbiter.
MODERN MATERIALS’NEEDS
In spite of the tremendous progress that has been made in the discipline of materials science
and engineering within the past few years, there still remain technological challenges,
including the development of even more sophisticated and specialized materials, as well as
appropriate relative to these issues so as to round out this perspective. Nuclear energy holds
some promise, but the solutions to the many problems that remain will necessarily involve
materials, from fuels to containment structures to facilities for the disposal of radioactive
waste. Significant quantities of energy are involved in transportation. Reducing the weight of
operating temperatures, will enhance fuel efficiency. New highstrength, low-density structural
capabilities, for use in engine components. Furthermore, there is a recognized need to find
new, economical sources of energy, and to use the present resources more efficiently.
Materials will undoubtedly play a significant role in these developments. For example, the
direct conversion of solar into electrical energy has been demonstrated. Solar cells employ
some rather complex and expensive materials. To ensure a viable technology, materials that
are highly efficient in this conversion process yet less costly must be developed. Furthermore,
environmental quality depends on our ability to control air and water pollution. Pollution
control techniques employ various materials. In addition, materials processing and refinement
methods need to be improved so that they produce less environmental degradation, that is,
less pollution and less despoilage of the landscape from the mining of raw materials. Also, in
some materials manufacturing processes, toxic substances are produced, and the ecological
impact of their disposal must be considered. Many materials that we use are derived from
resources that are nonrenewable, that is, not capable of being regenerated. These include
polymers, for which the prime raw material is oil, and some metals. These nonrenewable
resources are gradually becoming depleted, which necessitates: 1) the discovery of additional
reserves, 2) the development of new materials having comparable properties with less
adverse environmental impact, and/or 3) increased recycling efforts and the development of
new recycling technologies. As a consequence of the economics of not only production but
consider the ‘‘cradle-to-grave’’ life cycle of materials relative to the overall manufacturing
process. The roles that materials scientists and engineers play relative to these, as well as
other environmental and societal issues, are discussed in more detail in Chapter 21.
Engineers make things. They make them out of materials. The materials have to support
loads, to insulate or conduct heat and electricity, to accept or reject magnetic flux, to transmit
or reflect light, to survive in often-hostile surroundings, and to do all this without damage to
the environment or costing too much. And there is the partner in all this. To make something
out of a material you also need a process. Not just any process—the one you choose has to be
compatible with the material you plan to use. Sometimes it is the process that is the dominant
partner and a material-mate must be found that is compatible with it. It is a marriage.
Compatibility is not easily found—many marriages fail— and material failure can be
catastrophic, with issues of liability and compensation. This sounds like food for lawyers, and
sometimes it is: some specialists make their living as expert witnesses in court cases
involving failed materials. But our aim here is not contention; rather, it is to give you a vision
of the materials universe (since, even on the remotest planets you will find the same
elements) and of the universe of processes, and to provide methods and tools for choosing
them to ensure a happy, durable union. But, you may say, engineers have been making things
out of materials for centuries, and successfully so—think of Isambard Kingdom Brunel,
Thomas Telford, Gustave Eiffel, Henry Ford, Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler, the Wright
brothers. Why do we need new ways to choose them? A little history helps here. Glance at the
portrait with which this chapter starts: it shows James Stuart, the first Professor of
Engineering at Cambridge University from 1875 to 1890 (note the cigar). In his day the
number of materials available to engineers was small—a few hundred at most. There were no
synthetic polymers—there are now over 45000 of them. There were no light alloys
(aluminum was first established as an engineering material only in the 20th century)—now
there are thousands. There were no high-performance composites—now there are hundreds of
them. The history is developed further in Figure 1.1, the time-axis of which spans 10000
years. It shows roughly when each of the main classes of materials first evolved. The time-
scale is nonlinear—almost all the materials we use today were developed in the last 100
years. And this number is enormous: over 160000 materials are available to today’s engineer,
presenting us with a problem that Professor Stuart did not have: that of optimally selecting
from this huge menu. With the ever-increasing drive for performance, economy and
efficiency, and the imperative to avoid damage to the environment, making the right choice
becomes very important. Innovative design means the imaginative exploitation of the
properties offered by materials. These properties, today, are largely known and documented
one of many. How are we to deal with this vast body of information? Fortunately another
thing has changed since Prof. Stuart’s day: we now have digital information storage and
optimization, and for material and process selection. Software for the last of these—the
processes, documenting their mutual compatibility, and allows them to be searched and
displayed in ways that enable selections that best meet the requirements of a design. If you
travel by foot, bicycle or car, you take a map. The materials landscape, like the terrestrial one,
can be complex and confusing; maps, here, are also a good idea. This text presents a design-
led approach to materials and manufacturing processes that makes use of maps: novel
graphics to display the world of materials and processes in easily accessible ways. They
present the properties of materials in ways that give a global view, that reveal relationships
Material properties
So what are these properties? Some, like density (mass per unit volume) and price (the cost
per unit volume or weight) are familiar enough, but others are not, and getting them straight
is essential. Think first of those that have to do with carrying load safely—the mechanical
that it springs back when released. Its elastic stiffness (here, resistance to bending) is set
partly by its shape—thin strips are easy to bend—and partly by a property of the steel itself:
its elastic modulus, E. Materials with high E, like steel, are intrinsically stiff; those with low
E, like polyethylene, are not. Figure 1.2(b) illustrates the consequences of inadequate
stiffness. The steel ruler bends elastically, but if it is a good one, it is hard to give it a
permanent bend. Permanent deformation has to do with strength, not stiffness. The ease with
which a ruler can be permanently bent depends, again, on its shape and on a different
property of the steel—its yield strength, σy. Materials with large σy, like titanium alloys, are
hard to deform permanently even though their stiffness, coming from E, may not be high;
those with low σy, like lead, can be deformed with ease. When metals deform, they generally
get stronger (this is called ‘work hardening’), but there is an ultimate limit, called the tensile
strength, σts, beyond which the material fails (the amount it stretches before it breaks is
called the ductility). Figure 1.2(c) gives an idea of the consequences of inadequate strength.
So far so good. One more. If the ruler were made not of steel but of glass or of PMMA
(Plexiglas, Perspex), as transparent rulers are, it is not possible to bend it permanently at all.
The ruler will fracture suddenly, without warning, before it acquires a permanent bend. We
think of materials that break in this way as brittle, and materials that do not as tough. There is
no permanent deformation here, so σy is not the right property. The resistance of materials to
cracking and fracture is measured instead by the fracture toughness, K1c. Steels are tough—
well, most are (steels can be made brittle)—they have a high K1c. Glass epitomizes
brittleness; it has a very low K1c.Figure 1.2(d) suggests consequences of inadequate fracture
and toughness. We started with the material property density, mass per unit volume, symbol
ρ. Density, in a ruler, is irrelevant. But for almost anything that moves, weight carries a fuel
penalty, modest for automobiles, greater for trucks and trains, greater still for aircraft, and
enormous in space vehicles. Minimizing weight has much to do with clever design—we will
get to that later—but equally to choice of material. Aluminum has a low density, lead a high
one. If our little aircraft were made of lead, it would never get off the ground at all (Figure
1.2(e)). These are not the only mechanical properties, but they are the most important ones.
Thermal properties The properties of a material change with temperature, usually for the
worse. Its strength falls, it starts to ‘creep’ (to sag slowly over time), it may oxidize, degrade
or decompose (Figure 1.3(a)). This means that there is a limiting temperature called the
maximum service temperature, Tmax, above which its use is impractical. Stainless steel has a
high Tmax—it can be used up to 800°C; most polymers have a low Tmax and are seldom
used above 150°C. Most materials expand when they are heated, but by differing amounts
depending on their thermal expansion coefficient, α. The expansion is small, but its
consequences can be large. If, for instance, a rod is constrained, as in Figure 1.3(b), and then
heated, expansion forces the rod against the constraints, causing it to buckle. Railroad track
buckles in this way if provision is not made to cope with it. Some materials—metals, for
instance—feel cold; others—like woods—feel warm. This feel has to do with two thermal
properties of the material: thermal conductivity and heat capacity. The first, thermal
conductivity, λ, measures the rate at which heat flows through the material when one side is
hot and the other cold. Materials with high λ are what you want if you wish to conduct heat
from one place to another, as in cooking pans, radiators and heat exchangers; Figure 1.3(c)
suggests consequences of high and low λ for the cooking vessel. But low λ is useful too—low
λ materials insulate homes, reduce the energy consumption of refrigerators and freezers, and
enable space vehicles to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere. These applications have to do with
long-time, steady, heat flow. When time is limited, that other property—heat capacity, Cp—
matters. It measures the amount of heat that it takes to make the temperature of material rise
by a given amount. High heat capacity materials—copper, for instance—require a lot of heat
to change their temperature; low heat capacity materials, like polymer foams, take much less.
Steady heat flow has, as we have said, to do with thermal conductivity. There is a subtler
property that describes what happens when heat is first applied. Think of lighting the gas
under a cold slab of material with a bole of ice-cream on top (here, lime ice-cream) as in
Figure 1.3(d). An instant after ignition, the bottom surface is hot but the rest is cold. After a
while, the middle gets hot, then later still, the top begins to warm up and the ice-cream first
starts to melt. How long does this take? For a given thickness of slab, the time is inversely
proportional to the thermal diffusivity, a,of the material of the slab. It differs from the
conductivity because materials differ in their heat capacity—in fact, it is proportional to λ/Cp.
There are other thermal properties—we’ll meet them in Chapters 12 and 13—but this is
enough for now. We turn now to matters electrical, magnetic and optical.
Electrical, magnetic and optical properties We start with electrical conduction and insulation
(Figure 1.4(a)). Without electrical conduction we would lack the easy access to light, heat,
power, control and communication that—today—we take for granted. Metals conduct well—
copper and aluminum are the best of those that are affordable. But conduction is not always a
good thing. Fuse boxes, switch casings, the suspensions for transmission lines all require
insulators, and in addition those that can carry some load, tolerate some heat and survive a
spark if there were one. Here the property we want is resistivity, ρe, the inverse of electrical
conductivity κe. Most plastics and glass have high resistivity (Figure 1.4(a))—they are used
1.4(b) suggests further electrical properties: the ability to allow the passage of microwave
radiation, as in the radome, or to reflect them, as in the passive reflector of the boat. Both
have to do with dielectric properties, particularly the dielectric constant εD. Materials with
high εD respond to an electric field by shifting their electrons about, even reorienting their
molecules; those with low εD are immune to the field and do not respond. We explore this
and other electrical properties in Chapter 14. Electricity and magnetism are closely linked.
Electric currents induce magnetic fields; a moving magnet induces, in any nearby conductor,
an electric current. The response of most materials to magnetic fields is too small to be of
practical value. But a few—called ferromagnets and ferrimagnets—have the capacity to trap
a magnetic field permanently. These are called ‘hard’ magnetic materials because, once
magnetized, they are hard to demagnetize. They are used as permanent magnets in
headphones, motors and dynamos. Here the key property is the remanence, a measure of the
magnetize and demagnetize. They are the materials of transformer cores and the deflection
coils of a TV tube. They have the capacity to conduct a magnetic field, but not retain it
permanently (Figure 1.4(c)). For these a key property is the saturation magnetization, which
measures how large a field the material can conduct. These we meet again in Chapter 15.
light itself is an electromagnetic wave. Materials that are opaque reflect light; those that are
transparent refract it, and some have the ability to absorbsome wavelengths (colors) while
allowing others to pass freely (Figure 1.4(d)). These are explored in more depth in Chapter
16. Chemical properties Products often have to function in hostile environments, exposed to
corrosive fluids, to hot gases or to radiation. Damp air is corrosive, so is water; the sweat of
your hand is particularly corrosive, and of course there are far more aggressive environments
than these. If the product is to survive for its design life it must be made of materials—or at
least coated with materials—that can tolerate the surroundings in which they operate. Figure
1.5 illustrates some of the commonest of these: fresh and salt water, acids and alkalis, organic
solvents, oxidizing flames and ultraviolet radiation. We regard the intrinsic resistance of a