MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Sometimes it is useful to subdivide the discipline of materials science and engineering into materials scienceand materials engineeringsubdisciplines. Strictly speaking, “materials science” involves investigating the relationships that exist between the structures and properties of materials. In contrast, “materials engineering” is, on the basis of these structure–property correlations, designing or engineering the structure of a material to produce a predetermined set of properties.From a functional perspective, the role of a materials scientist is to develop or synthesize new materials, whereas a materials engineer is called upon to create new products or systems using existing materials, and/or to develop techniques for processing materials. Most graduates in materials programs are trained to be both materials scientists and materials engineers.

“Structure” is at this point a nebulous term that deserves some explanation. In brief, the structure of a material usually relates to the arrangement of its internal components. Subatomic structure involves electrons within the individual atoms and interactions with their nuclei. On an atomic level, structure encompasses the organization of atoms or molecules relative to one another. The next larger structural realm, which contains large groups of atoms that are normally agglomerated together, is termed “microscopic,” meaning that which is subject to direct observation using some type of microscope. Finally, structural elements that may be viewed with the naked eye are termed “macroscopic.”

The notion of “property” deserves elaboration. While in service use, all materials are exposed to external stimuli that evoke some type of response. For example, a specimen subjected to forces will experience deformation, or a polished metal surface will reflect light. A property is a material trait in terms of the kind and magnitude of response to a specific imposed stimulus. Generally, definitions of properties are made independent of material shape and size. 

Virtually all important properties of solid materials may be grouped into six different categories: mechanical, electrical, thermal, magnetic, optical, and deteriorative.For each there is a characteristic type of stimulus capable of provoking different responses. Mechanical properties relate deformation to an applied load or force; examples include elastic modulus and strength. For electrical properties, such as electrical conductivity and dielectric constant, the stimulus is an electric field. The thermal behavior of solids can be represented in terms of heat capacity and thermal conductivity. Magnetic properties demonstrate the response of a material to the application of a magnetic field. For optical properties, the stimulus is electromagnetic or light radiation; index of refraction and reflectivity are representative optical properties. Finally,deteriorative characteristics relate to the chemical reactivity of materials. The chapters that follow discuss properties that fall within each of these six classifications. 

In addition to structure and properties, two other important components are involved in the science and engineering of materials—namely, “processing” and “performance.” With regard to the relationships of these four components, the structure of a material will depend on how it is processed. Furthermore, a material’s performance will be a function of its properties. Thus, the interrelationship between processing, structure, properties, and performance is as depicted in the schematic illustration shown in Figure 1.1. Throughout this text we draw attention to the relationships among these four components in terms of the design, production, and utilization of materials.

  

We now present an example of these processing-structure-properties-performance principles with Figure 1.2, a photograph showing three thin disk specimens placed over some printed matter. It is obvious that the optical properties (i.e., the light transmittance) of each of the three materials are different; the one on the left is transparent(i.e., virtually all of the reflected light passes through it), whereas the disks in the center and on the right are, respectively, translucent and opaque.All of these specimens are of the same material, aluminum oxide, but the leftmost one is what we call a single crystal—that is, it is highly perfect—which gives rise to its transparency. The center one is composed of numerous and very small single crystals that are all connected; the boundaries between these small crystals scatter a portion of the light reflected from the printed page, which makes this material optically translucent. Finally, the specimen on the right is composed not only of many small, interconnected crystals, but also of a large number of very small pores or void spaces. These pores also effectively scatter the reflected light and render this material opaque.

Thus, the structures of these three specimens are different in terms of crystal boundaries and pores, which affect the optical transmittance properties. Furthermore, each material was produced using a different processing technique. And, of course, if optical transmittance is an important parameter relative to the ultimate in-service application, the performance of each material will be different.