1. What kind of material types do can you name? What are their main characteristics?

2. Decide whether these statements are true or false, correct the false sentences.

a) The elements that make up a compound are chemically bound. b) Alloys are chemical compounds that are frequently used in engineering. c) Alloys can contain both metallic and non-metallic constituents. d) In an alloy, an alloying metal is the biggest constituent, by percentage. e) Steel is a metallic element.

3. Make the correct sentences using one part from each column.

1. Duralumin 2. Titanium 3. Zinc 4. Copper 5. Gold

can be mixed with copper to make

silver.

resists corrosion better than the other brass. precious metal, has a high strength-to-weight ratio aluminium. and is often alloyed with is an aluminium alloy contains copper and that also bronze.

can be mixed with tin and lead to magnesium. produce

4. Choose from the materials in the box and put them in the right place in the chart:

Metals: Thermosetting plastics: Thermoplastics: Brass High carbon steel Polyester resin Epoxy resin Nylon ABS

Copper Aluminium Mild steel

Urea formaldehyde

Acrylic

MATERIALS METALS: 1 2 3

PROPERTIES

USES

Light, soft, ductile, highly conductive, corrosion resistant. Very malleable, tough and ductile, highly conductive, corrosion resistant. Very corrosion-resistant. Casts well, easily machined. Can be work hardened. Good conductor. High strength, ductile, tough, fairly malleable. Cannot be hardened and tempered. Low cost. Poor corrosion resistance. Hardest of the carbon steels but less ductile and malleable. Can be hardened and tempered. High impact strength and toughness, scratchresistant, light and durable. Stiff, hard, very durable, clear, can be polished easily. Can be formed easily. Hard, tough, wear-resistant, self-lubricating.

Aircraft, foil, engine components, cooking utensils. Electric wiring, PCBs, tubing Valves, taps, ship fittings, contacts castings, electrical

General purpose

Cutting tools such drills, files, saws

as

THERMOPLASTICS 1 2

Safety helmets, car components, telephones, kitchenware Aircraft canopies, baths, double glazing Bearings, gears, casings for power tools

3 THERMOSETTING PLASTICS 1 2 3

High strength when reinforced, good chemical and wear resistance. Stiff, hard, brittle. Good chemical and heat resistance. Stiff, hard, strong, brittle, heat-resistant, and a good electrical insulator.

Adhesives, encapsulation of electronic components Moulding, boat and car bodies Electrical adhesives fittings,

Scan the table and find: a) A metal used to make an aircraft b) Plastics used for adhesives c) Steel which can be hardened d) An alloy suitable for castings e) A plastic with very low friction f) A material suitable for safety helmets g) A metal suitable for salt-water environment h) A metal for general construction use but which should be protected from corrosion i) A plastic for car bodies j) The metal used for the conductors in printed circuit boards

5. Read this introduction to the article At the speed of life and decide which one chemical element fits both gaps:

An unmatched combination of low weight with high strength, durability, and corrosion resistance has made __________ alloys a favorite material for racing wheelchairs. Sports equipment ranging from bicycles to baseball bats, tennis racquets, and even horseshoes is now being made of __________ alloys.

Look at the examples and tick the ones in which you think the element form the text above is used: Gardening Pigment in paints Orthopedic bone implants Children toys Replaced stainless applications Breathalyzer steel in many structural and specialty

Woodwork In production of jet aircraft First-aid-kit Other sports equipment e.g. golf clubs, pitons

6. Work in pairs. One person will read Text A, the other person Text B. Retell your text to your partner and then do the exercises. Text 1: British chemists identified titanium as an element in the 1780s, naming it after the Titans, the sons of the earth goddess of Greek mythology. But titanium did not easily give up its secrets. When researchers finally succeeded in isolating relatively pure titanium in 1910, they found a ductile steel-colored metal with two notable properties: an extraordinarily high melting point and a density only about two-thirds that of iron.

But titanium remained a laboratory curiosity until 1948, when the former U.S. Bureau of Mines advanced titanium extraction technology to the pilot-plant level, producing metallic titanium in a crude form called sponge. The bureaus 3,800 pounds of sponge, then the largest amount of the metal ever produced, finally gave metallurgists enough titanium for experimentation.

Although pure titanium was too soft and ductile to serve as a structural metal, the addition of other metals, such as aluminium, tin, molybdenum, vanadium, and zirconium, created lightweight, structural alloys with excellent stiffness, exceptional strength-to-weight ratios, and great reliability at elevated temperatures. Furthermore, the surfaces of the new titanium alloys formed stable, protective layers that afforded a high degree of corrosion resistance.

Text 2 Never before had the sudden availability of any metal coincided so closely with the immediate needs of science and industry. The jet engine, developed during World War II, had enormous potential in military and commercial aviation. But jet engines required high-performance stainless steels capable of withstanding operating temperatures exceeding 1,100F for prolonged periods.

The great weight of stainless steel severely limited the performance of firstgeneration military jet aircraft and compromised the projected cost efficiency of commercial jet aircraft still on the drawing boards. Realizing that the future of jet aviation rested entirely on a suitable lightweight substitute for stainless steel, aeronautical engineers turned to the new, untested titanium alloys. The titanium industry took off in an unprecedented, well-funded rush of government, military, corporate, and academic research. Tests proved that titanium alloy jet engine parts met or exceeded the performance of stainless steel with only half the weight. Titanium compressor hubs, blades, cases, vanes, and discs shaved hundreds of pounds of weight from engines, while permitting higher operating temperatures that increased engine efficiency and performance. As increased supply from new mines slowly reduced the metals cost, engineers applied titanium alloys to such airframe components as forged wing structures, critical fasteners, springs, and hydraulic tubing. The result less weight with no sacrifice in strength made possible the tremendous advances in jet aircraft design and performance achieved during the 1950s.

Text 1. Find words in the text that match the following definitions: a) Not mixed with anything else b) Not firm against pressure; not hard or stiff c) In a raw or natural state, untreated d) The substance which can suck up and hold water and is usually used for washing e) An amount or piece of a material or substance that covers a surface or that is between two other things; here in plural form f) Able to be pressed or pulled into shape without needing to be heated (especially of metals) g) The relation of the amount of matter (the mass) to the space into which the matter is packed (its volume) h) Lack of springiness, resilience i) Not heavy j) The characteristic of something or somebody that may be trusted Text 2 Write definitions of the following words:

a) Spring b) Took off c) Shaved d) Forged e) Compressor f) Hub g) Blade h) Vane

7. Work in groups of three. First, read the introduction about customized polyurethanes. Then, choose one of the applications, read about it and tell your group what youve found out. Discuss the use of polyurethanes in each case. Then, translate your part of the article.
Customized Polyurethanes Your goals are our goals!
No material is as versatile as polyurethane. And no manufacturer has as much experience with polyurethanes as we do. Bayer MaterialScience produces and supplies the entire range of polyurethane systems, from bonding foam for construction to molded foam systems for upholstery to high-performance elastomers for industrial applications. We operate worldwide, and we are always close to our customers. Whenever we develop an application-specific, polyurethane system solution, we focus on our customers. Even though we may put the function of the end-product first, other success factors, such as worldwide availability, short delivery times and expert on-site support in case of technical problems, are equally important. At Bayer MaterialScience, we not only have the most experience in polyurethane, but we can also offer an unmatched range of proven polyurethane systems. We are always available to give you expert advice, in your own language. Tailor-made modifications of our broad polyurethane portfolio are part of our day-to-day business. At Bayer MaterialScience, customers get precisely what they need to be successful, namely customized polyurethanes.

Computer tomograph

Large-size polyurethane molding gives designers greater scope

The cladding sections of a computer tomograph, for which Siemens AG in Forchheim have come up with a fresh new design, have been produced using Baydur 110 polyurethane from BaySystems. The manufacturer of the polyurethane parts, Thieme GmbH & Co. KG of Teningen, have literally set high standards in this project both the front, molded in one shot, and the rear wall of the high-tech piece of medical equipment measure almost

two by two meters with a wall thickness of just five millimeters. The attractive casing of the new machine is made of Baydur 110. The front and the rear wall of the machine. Both measure 1,880 x 1,820 millimeters, and the front also has a 300 millimeter high cone. In order to produce a projected surface area of this size, a mold carrier and a mold had to be developed that can maintain a locking force of over 500 tons at an internal pressure of 15 bar. This was possibilities with Baydur 110. The amount of polyurethane processed in one shot in the multi-cavity mold cores around 25 kilograms is not unusual nowadays, but the ratio of wall thickness to flow length that proved possible with Baydur 110 would not have been feasible with thermoplastics. Despite the thin walls, both the large sections and the smaller side elements are rigid enough to give good stability over the entire housing in combination with metal reinforcements. With thermoplastic materials, accurately positioned apertures, slits, ribs and domes would have to be created at a later stage; with Baydur it was possible to mold them in, making design work easier. This polyurethane is also extremely high-impact and gives the complex internal workings of the tomograph around 700 kilograms of metal and electronics moved once around the patient in half a second optimum protection. Added to this, the highquality Baydur polyurethane surface gives the machine a very aesthetic appearance

Pump and switch membranes

Pumps for conveying abrasive media must be able to withstand extreme loads, for example in the disposal of groundwater in the mining industry, in the conveying of mortar and cement slurries in the construction industry, or in the disposal of communal and industrial effluent. Because of its specific set of properties, Vulkollan 18 W is predestined for such applications. It offers high resilience, excellent tear resistance and tear propagation resistance, and has an extremely low compression set and very low abrasion loss

Discs for OE spinning machines

The drive wheels for spindles in rotary spinning machines are subject to extreme loads. High ambient temperatures of around 70 C mean that the Vulkollan elastomer covering must have outstanding mechanical properties. High thermal stability and good mechanical properties are essential for ensuring reliable operation. Spinning speeds of over 120,000 rpm make extreme demands on the disc covers. Vulkollan has outstanding dynamic properties due to its good damping characteristics. Because there is little build-up of heat in the Vulkollan cover, maximum performance in high-speed spinning machines is ensured. The consistent friction between the disc and the spindle calls for clean contact areas. Vulkollan coverings are free of plasticizers and fillers an important requirement for materials subjected to such high centrifugal forces. The high abrasion resistance of the Vulkollan cover makes an important contribution to the service life of the discs in rotary spinning equipment. Other areas of application in the textile industry include Seydel rollers, drive rolls, friction discs etc.

Casting resin systems for the construction of measuring transformers

Baygal/Baymidur casting resin systems containing mineral fillers have been used for more than 35 years for high-grade solid insulation in current and voltage transformers. These polyurethane casting resins have proven themselves with:

high electrical resistance up to 70 kV excellent dynamic characteristics high accuracy through low shrinkage excellent durability low production costs

compatibility with other insulating materials (paper, rubber, SF6, etc.) Polyurethane systems for solid insulation are processed by vacuum gelation and pressure gelation in twocomponent casting machines.

The choice of process depends on criteria such as the type of transformer and the number required, and the same machine may be used for both processes.

From: www.bayer-baysystems.com