MSE 1101: Introduction to

Materials Science and

Engineering
 Lec 03: Classification of
Materials

Topics to Cover
❑ Introduction
❑ Metals
❑ Ceramics
❑ Polymers
❑ Composites
❑ Advanced Materials
Introduction

❑ Solid materials have been conveniently

grouped into three basic categories:

1 Metals ❑ Another category is advanced

2 Ceramics materials—those used in
high-technology applications, such as
3 Polymers
semiconductors, biomaterials, smart
materials, and nanoengineered
❑ In addition, there are the composites materials
that are engineered combinations of
two or more different materials.
 Metals

Distinguishing Features
• Relatively strong & stiff
Application
• Malleable & ductile
• Resistant to shock & fracture: tough • Electrical wiring
• Moderate melting point • Structures: buildings, bridges
• High density • Automobiles: body, chassis, springs, engine block
• Excellent conductors of heat & electricity • Airplanes: engine components, fuselage, landing gear
• Shiny but opaque assembly
• Trains: rails, engine components, body, wheels
• Machine tools: drill bits, hammers, screwdrivers, saw
blades
• Shape memory materials
Example • Super alloys (turbine blades)
• Magnets
• Elements on the left side of the Periodic
Table
• Pure metal elements (Al, Cu, Fe, Zn)
• Alloys (e.g., Bronze, Brass, Steels)
• Intermetallic compounds (e.g. Ni3Al)
Application of Metals
 Ceramics
Distinguishing Features
• Composed of metals and non-metals
• Stronger & harder than metals
• Low malleability & ductility Application
• Low resistant to fracture: brittle
• Whiteware (e.g. porcelains)
• High melting point: high refractoriness
• Structural or engineering ceramics
• Lower density than most metals
(high-temperature, load bearing)
• Electrical & thermal insulators
• Electrical ceramics (capacitors, insulators,
• Can be transparent (single crystals)
transducers)
• Abrasives (emery paper, grinding wheel)
• Thermal insulation and coatings
• Glasses (e.g. soda-lime glass, crystal glass, optical
Example
fibers)
• Single oxides (SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, MgO, etc.) • Chemically bonded ceramics (e.g. cement and concrete)
• Mixed-metal oxides (BaTiO3, MgAl2O4, • Bio-ceramics (artificial bone joints)
YBa2Cu3O7-x, etc.) • Magnetic materials (audio/video tapes, hard disks)
• Nitrides (Si3N4, TiN, AlN, GaN, BN)
• Carbides (SiC, WC, TiC)
• Silicate glasses (soda-lime, borosilicate,
Pyrex)
Application of Ceramics
 Polymers

❑ Organic materials, either natural or ❑ Example:

synthetic in nature
Polyethylene - (C2H4) n - n = 100-1000
❑ Derived from two Greek words:
“poly” means many ❑ Elements commonly associated with polymers:
“mer” means part (single hydrocarbon
H (polyethylene)
molecules)
N (nylon)
O (acrylic)
F (PTFE or Teflon)
❑ Long chained molecules composed of
Si (silicone), etc.
many “mer”s bonded together by a
process called polymerisation
Distinguishing features
• Organic materials, composed primarily
hydrocarbons
• Usually not strong but very ductile
• Low melting point Applications
• Low density • Adhesives and glues
• Poor conductor of electricity & • Containers
heat • Mouldable products (computer casings, telephone
• Can be transparent handsets)
Examples • Clothing and upholstery material (vinyl, polyester, nylon)
• Polyethylene (PE) • Water-resistant coatings (latex)
• Polystyrene (PS) • Biodegradable products
• Polyurethane (PU) • Biomaterials (organic/inorganic interfaces)
• Polyvinylchloride • Liquid crystals
(PVC) • Low-friction materials (teflon)
• Nylon • Synthetic oils and greases
• Rubbers • Gaskets and O-rings (rubber)
• Perspex (PMMA) • Soaps and surfactants
Application of Polymers
 Composites
Distinguishing features
• Physical mixture of two or more different materials (e.g.,
metal/ceramic, ceramic/polymer, polymer/polymer)
• Superior properties to that of either of the constituents
• Properties depend on amount and distribution of each
Applications
material • Sports equipment
• The entire Periodic Table is involved (golf club shafts, tennis rackets, bicycle
(except noble gases) frames)
• Aerospace materials
(Space shuttle, heat shields)
Examples
• Thermal insulation
• Particulate composites (cermets, duralumin)
• Concrete
• Laminate composites (golf club shafts, tennis rackets)
• "Smart" materials (for sensing and
• Fiber reinforced composites (e.g. fiberglass) responding)
• Wood (cellulose-fibre-reinforced lignin) • Brake materials
• Concrete (aggregate composite of cement, rock and sand)
• Polymer matrix composites (PMC) (glass fibres in a
polymer: GFRP, CFRP)
• Metal matrix composites (MMCs) (SiC in aluminium)
• Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) (zirconia toughened
alumina, cermets (Ag in Alumina))
Polymer composite materials, reinforcing glass fibers in a polymer matrix
Advanced Materials

❑ Materials utilized in high-technology (or high-tech) applications are termed

advanced materials.
Device or product that operates or functions using relatively intricate and sophisticated
principles

❑ Advanced materials are typically traditional materials whose properties

have been enhanced and also newly developed, high-performance
materials.

❑ Advanced materials include semiconductors, biomaterials, and what we

may term materials of the future (i.e., smart materials and nanoengineered
materials).

❑ Furthermore, they may be of all material types (e.g., metals, ceramics,

polymers) and are normally expensive.
 Semiconductor

Distinguishing features
• Made primarily from metalloids
• Regular arrangement of atoms (crystals)
• Intermediate conductivity of electricity
• Extremely controlled chemical purity Applications
• Opaque to visible light • Computer CPUs
• Shiny appearance • Electrical components (transistors, diodes, etc.)
• Some have good plasticity, but others are fairly brittle • Solid-state lasers
• Some have an electrical response to light • Light-emitting diodes (LEDs)
• Flat panel displays
• Solar cells
• Radiation detectors
Examples • Micro-electro-mechanical devices (MEMS)
• Elemental semiconductor (Si, Ge, Sn)
• Compound semiconductor (GaAs, CdS, ZnO)
 Biomaterials
❑ The length and the quality of our lives are being extended and improved, in part, due
to advancements in the ability to replace diseased and injured body parts.

❑ Replacement implants are constructed of biomaterials—nonviable (i.e., nonliving)

materials .

❑ Biomaterials must be biocompatible—compatible with body tissues and fluids with

which they are in contact over acceptable time periods.
must neither elicit rejection or physiologically unacceptable responses nor release toxic
substances.

❑ Suitable biomaterials are to be found among the several classes of materials

discussed earlier in this chapter—i.e., metal alloys, ceramics, polymers, and
composite materials.

❑ Example biomaterial applications include joint (e.g., hip, knee) and heart valve
replacements, vascular (blood vessel) grafts, fracture-fixation devices, dental
restorations, and generation of new organ tissues.
 Smart Materials
❑ Materials are able to sense changes in their environment and then respond to these
changes in predetermined manners—traits that are also found in living organisms.

❑ Components of a smart material (or system) include some type of sensor (which
detects an input signal) and an actuator (which performs a responsive and adaptive
function).

❑ Actuators may be called upon to change shape, position, natural frequency, or

mechanical characteristics in response to changes in temperature, electric fields,
and/or magnetic fields.

❑ Four types of materials are commonly used for actuators: shape-memory alloys,
piezoelectric ceramics, magnetostrictive materials, and electrorheological/
magnetorheological fluids.

❑ Materials/devices employed as sensors include optical fibers, piezoelectric materials

(including some polymers), and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS.
 Nanomaterials
❑ Distinguished not on the basis of their chemistry but rather their size -- dimensions of
these structural entities are on the order of a nanometer (less than 100 nm)

❑ Some of the physical and chemical characteristics exhibited by matter may

experience dramatic changes as particle size approaches atomic dimensions.

❑ Materials that are opaque in the macroscopic domain may become transparent on the
nanoscale; some solids become liquids, chemically stable materials become
combustible, and electrical insulators become conductors.

❑ Furthermore, properties may depend on size in this nanoscale domain.

❑ Because of these unique and unusual properties, nanomaterials are finding niches in
electronic, biomedical, sporting, energy production, and other industrial applications.

❑ Health Concern: may be absorbed into the body through the skin, lungs, and
digestive tract at relatively high rates, and that some, if present in sufficient
concentrations, will pose health risks.
 Any
Question?