Chapter 1

Introduction to Materials Science and

Engineering
1.1 MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING

• What are Materials?

– Materials may be defined as substance of which
something is composed or made.

Foundations of Materials Science YANG Yuansheng

1.1 MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING
• The advancement of civilization has historically
depended on the improvement of materials to work
with.
– Prehistoric humans were restricted to naturally
accessible materials.
– Over time, they moved from the materials Stone Age into
the newer Copper (Bronze) and Iron ages.
– Even today we are restricted to the materials we can
obtain from earth’s crust and atmosphere

Stone Age Bronze Age Iron Age

2.5 million BC 3500 BC 1000 BC
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The most common elements in earth’s crust and
atmosphere
Examples :
➢ Silicon and Iron
constitute 27.72 and
5.00 percentage of
weight of earths crust
respectively.
➢ Nitrogen and
Oxygen constitute
78.08 and 20.95
percentage of dry air
by volume
respectively.

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 Why the Study of Materials is Important?
• Production and processing of materials constitute a
large part of our economy.
• Engineers choose materials to suite design.
• New materials might be needed for some new
applications.
➢ Example : High temperature resistant materials.
➢ Space station should sustain conditions in space.
* High speed, low temperature, strong but light.

• Modification of properties might be needed for

some applications.
➢ Example : Heat treatment to modify properties.

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1-4
 Each industry seeks different characteristics in their
materials
• The search for new advanced materials goes on continuously.
• The industries require a tremendous number of materials expert.

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 1.2 Materials Science and Engineering
• Materials science deals with basic knowledge about the
internal structure, properties and processing of materials.
• Materials engineering deals with the application of
knowledge gained by materials science to convert
materials to products.
• Materials science & engineering: Resultant of MS & ME.

Materials Science and

Materials Science Engineering
Materials Engineering
Resultant Knowledge
Basic Knowledge of Structure, Properties, Applied
of Processing, and Knowledge
Materials Performance of of Materials
Engineering materials

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1-5
 Materials science and engineering forms a bridge of knowledge
from the basic sciences to the engineering disciplines.
• The three-ringed diagram indicates the relationship among the basic
sciences (and mathematics), materials science and engineering, and the
other engineering disciplines.

• Inner ring (core): basic sciences

• Middle ring: applied sciences
(metallurgy, ceramics, polymer
science. etc.)
• Outermost ring: engineering
disciplines (mechanical, electrical,
civil, chemical, etc.)
• MSE is a bridge of materials
knowledge from the basic sciences
to the engineering disciplines.

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1.3 TYPES OF MATERIALS

• Based primarily on chemical makeup and atomic structure,

most engineering materials are divided into three main or
fundamental classes:
– metallic materials,
– polymeric materials,
– and ceramic materials.

• There are the composites

which are engineered
combinations of two or more
different materials.
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1.3.1 Metallic Materials
• Composed of one or more metallic elements.
❑ Example:- Iron, Copper, Aluminum.
➢ Metallic element may combine with
nonmetallic elements.
❑ Example:- Silicon Carbide, Iron Oxide.

• Inorganic, crystalline structure.

• good thermal and electrical
conductors
• relatively strong and ductile at
room temperature
• good strength even at high
temperatures
The aircraft turbine engine
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Classes of Metallic Materials
• Metals and alloys are commonly divided into two classes:
– ferrous metals and alloys that contain a large percentage of iron
such as the steels and cast irons and
– nonferrous metals and alloys that do not contain iron or contain
only a relatively small amount of iron.

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1.3.2 Polymeric Materials
➢ Organic giant molecules and mostly noncrystalline.
➢ Some are mixtures of crystalline and noncrystalline regions.
➢ Poor conductors of electricity and hence used as insulators.
➢ Strength and ductility vary greatly.
➢ Low densities and decomposition temperatures.
➢ Examples :
➢ Plastic resin producers are developing ultrapure, high-flow grades of
polycarbonate plastic for DVDs.
➢ Synthetic rubber is often used in the structure of tires because of its
strength, durability, and thermal stability.

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Ceramic Materials
➢ Metallic and nonmetallic elements are chemically bonded together.
➢ Inorganic but can be either crystalline, noncrystalline or mixture of both.
➢ High hardness, strength and wear resistance.
➢ Very good insulator. Hence used for furnace lining for heat treating and
melting metals.
➢ Also used in space shuttle to insulate it during exit and reentry into
atmosphere.

Examples of a newly developed

generation of engineered ceramic
materials for advanced engine
applications.
• The black items include engine valves,
valve seat inserts, and piston pins made
of silicon nitride.
• The white item is a port-manifold liner
made of an alumina ceramic material.

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Composite Materials
➢Mixture of two or more materials.
➢ Consists of a filler material and a binding material.
➢ Materials only bond, will not dissolve in each other.
➢ Mainly two types :-
o Fibrous: Fibers in a matrix
o Particulate: Particles in a matrix
o Matrix can be metals, ceramic or polymer
➢ Examples :
❑ Fiber Glass ( Reinforcing material in a polyester
or epoxy matrix)
❑ Concrete ( Gravels or steel rods reinforced in
cement and sand)
➢ Applications: Aircraft wings and engine, construction.
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1.4 ADVANCED MATERIALS
• Materials that are utilized in high-technology applications
are sometimes termed advanced materials.
• These advanced materials are typically traditional materials
whose properties have been enhanced, and also newly
developed, high-performance materials.
• they may be of all material types (e.g., metals, ceramics,
polymers), and are normally expensive.
– electric materials
– Biomaterials
– smart materials
– nano-materials, etc.

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• Electronic materials
– Electronic materials are an extremely important type of
material for advanced engineering technology.
– The applications of electronic materials in the
semiconductor industry.
– The most important electronic material is pure silicon that
is modified in various ways to change its electrical
characteristics.

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• Biomaterials
– Biomaterials are employed in components implanted into the human
body to re-place diseased or damaged body parts. These materials
must not produce toxic sub-stances and must be compatible with body
tissues.
– All of the preceding materials—metals, ceramics, polymers,
composites, and semiconductors—may be used as biomaterials.

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• Smart materials
– They have the ability to sense external environmental stimuli
(temperature, stress, light, humidity, and electric and magnetic
fields) and respond to them by changing their properties
(mechanical, electrical, or appearance), structure, or functions.
These materials are generically called smart materials.
• Example: shape-memory alloys; piezoelectric ceramics.

Shape-memory alloys used as a stent to expand narrowed arteries or support weakened

ones: (a)stent on a probe and (b) stent positioned in a damaged artery for support.
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• Nanomaterials

– Nanomaterials are generally defined as those materials that have a

characteristic length scale (that is, particle diameter, grain size, layer
thickness, etc.) smaller than 100 nm (1 nm = 10−9 m).
– Nanomaterials can be metallic, polymeric, ceramic, electronic, or
composite.
– Nanomaterials or nanostructured materials:
• ceramic powder aggregates of less than 100 nm in size,
• bulk metals with grain size less than 100 nm,
• thin polymeric films with thickness less than 100 nm, and
• electronic wires with diameter less than 100 nm

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1.5 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
• life cycle analysis:
– Six distinct stages in the design process:

Life cycle analysis used in development of products.

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1.6 SUMMARY
• Materials science and materials engineering (collectively,
materials science and engineering) form a bridge of materials
knowledge between the basic sciences (and mathematics) and
the engineering disciplines.
• Materials science is concerned primarily with the search for
basic knowledge about materials, whereas materials
engineering is concerned mainly with using applied
knowledge about materials.
• The three main types of materials are metallic, polymeric, and
ceramic materials. Other important type is composite.
• Advanced include electric materials, biomaterials, smart
materials, and nano-materials, as new classes of materials
with novel and important applications in many industries.

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