ME 6796: Structure-Property Relationships in Materials
Offered Every Fall

Credit Hours: 3-0-3
Prerequisites: Graduate standing in engineering or related discipline
Catalog Description: Introduction to the multiscale structure effects on material properties. For MSE students, this course will prepare students for future in-depth courses. For non-MSE students, the course will provide a background in materials and may serve as part of the program of study for a minor in materials. Crosslisted with PTFE and MSE 6796.
Textbook: None
Instructor: Jack Lackey (Fall 2003, Fall 2004)

Approach: Teach structure-property relationships through a series of case studies. Each topic will be introduced by description of a selected case where the structure strongly affects the topic property. After describing the case, underlying principles will be identified, analyzed and generalized. Other related applications will be referenced. These applications and perhaps some of the cases within a topic can be assigned as independent study. Approximately 14 cases will be presented in class.Outline:

Goals:

1. Mechanical Properties

a. Elastic deformation
Case 1: Young's modulus in simple metals and intermetallics; crystal structure and bonding
Case 2: Polymer fibers (Kevlar); molecular orientation; crystallization
Case 3: Elastomers
b. Plastic Deformation/Creep
Case 1: Yield in metals
Case 2: Viscoelasticity in polymers and glasses
c. Fracture/Fatigue
Case 1: Strength and toughness of sintered silicon nitride
Case 2: Fatigue crack growth in aluminum alloys
2. Thermal Properties
Case 1: Carbon and graphite fibers; microstructure vs. thermal expansion and conductivity
Case 2: Thermoelectric materials; trade-offs in thermal and electrical conductivity
3. Electrical Properties
Case 1: Conduction in doped polyacetylene polymers; molecular structure and electron mobility
Case 2: Zirconium oxide; defect structure and ionic conduction
4. Optical Properties
Case 1: Infrared transparency in chalcogenide glasses
Case 2: Optical fiber-composition and refractive index
5. Magnetic Properties
Case 1: Structure-property correlations in ferrites

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Revised June 2004