Materials and their properties

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6.1 Physical and mechanical properties of materials.

• Physical properties – Density, melting point, thermal and electrical conductivity (resistivity), thermal expansivity, corrosion resistance, specific heat capacity, hardenability, permeability, ability to be recycled
• Physical properties – weldability
• Physical properties – permittivity
• Mechanical properties – Strength (tensile, compressive, shear, torsion)
• Mechanical properties – hardness, toughness, brittleness, ductility, plasticity, malleability, elasticity

6.2 Types of material and their structures.

• Types – Ferrous metals (cast iron, low carbon steel, medium carbon steel, high carbon steel, stainless steel)
• Types – Non-ferrous metals (aluminium and alloys, copper, brass and bronze, nickel, zinc).
• Types – Thermoplastic polymers (ABS, HIPS sheet and polystyrene foam, PLA, polycarbonate, polypropylene, PMMA/acrylic).
• Types – Thermosetting polymers (urea formaldehyde, melamine formaldehyde, phenol formaldehyde, epoxy resin, polyester resin)
• Types – Elastomers (rubber, neoprene)
• Types – Composites (GRP, CRP)
• Types – Engineering ceramics (silicon carbide, glass)
• Types – Wood (soft wood, hard wood, MDF)
• Types – Smart materials: shape memory alloys, quantum tunnelling composite, thermochromic materials, photochromic materials, piezoelectric crystals
• Structures – Bonding mechanisms (metallic, covalent, ionic, van der Waal’s forces)
• Structures – microstructure (grains), crystalline and non-crystalline (amorphous) materials
• Structures – lattice structure in metals (dislocation movement and pinning)
• Structures – crosslinking of polymers

6.3 The effects of processing techniques on materials.

• Techniques - Metals – forming (rolling, forging, moulding/press forming), welding, brazing, casting, sintering, coating, hot working, cold working
• Techniques – Thermoplastic polymers – temperature, mould/injection pressure
• Techniques – Thermosetting polymers – curing
• Techniques – Ceramics – sintering pressing force and firing temperature
• Techniques – Composites – influence of alignment of reinforcement on anisotropy of properties, influence of matrix/reinforcement ratio on tensile strength

6.4 Heat treatments and surface treatments.

• Heat treatments – Case hardening, quench hardening, tempering, normalising, annealing and precipitation hardening
• Surface treatments – Painting, plastic coating, galvanising and electrolytic (galvanic) protection

6.5 Causes of material failure and their prevention.

• Causes – Corrosion (oxidation of metals including rusting of ferrous metals, chemical composition and attack, stress corrosion), aging
• Causes – physical (deformation, fracture, fatigue, creep, erosion)
• Prevention – Coatings, sacrificial anodes and cathodes, galvanising

6.6 Materials testing methods and interpretation of results.

• Methods – Visual inspection
• Methods – tensile testing
• Methods – toughness testing
• Methods – corrosion resistance
• Methods – wear resistance
• Methods –fatigue (Wohler)
• Methods – electrical conductivity
• Interpretation of results – Hooke’s law
• Interpretation of results – load-extension graphs (tensile strength, elastic limit, ultimate tensile strength, maximum plastic deformation, calculation of stress, strain and Young’s modulus), characteristic graphs of different materials, necking and transition zone in steel

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