MATSE 201: Phase and Phase Relations

Homepage:

Textbooks:

M. F. Ashby and D. R. H. Jones, Engineering Materials 2: An Introduction to Microstructures, Processing, and Design, Butterworth Heinemann (1998).

References:

Computer usage:

Students use web-based resources to learn about phase relations, crystal structures, and microstructures.

Catalog Description, Prerequisites and Schedule:

This course provides the basis for the understanding of microstructure. It treats in quantitative terms and in some depth the concept of phases (crystalline and non-crystalline structures) and the relationships between phases (phase diagrams). Commercial practices for producing desired macroscopic phase configurations and macroscopic shapes are described (processing). Prerequisite: Chem 102, MatSE 182, Physics 112, Mathematics 242, or consent of instructor. 3 hours. 3 lecture-discussion hours/week

Course Topics:

1. Phases and phase relations
2. Crystal structures
3. Kinetics of phase transformations
4. Microstructures
5. Metals
6. Ceramics and glasses
7. Polymers and composites

Course Objectives:

1. The meaning of phases, and the different types of phase transformations.
2. How to interpret a binary phase diagram, especially the compositions and fractions of equilibrium phases according to the lever rule.
3. The crystal structures for common metals, ceramics, and semiconductors, including construction from a lattice plus basis, construction from hard sphere packing, and interstitial positions.
4. Thermodynamic driving forces and kinetic limitations in phase transformations.
5. The meaning and use of time-temperature-transformation diagrams.
6. The microstructures resulting from near-equilibrium vs. far-from-equilibrium thermal treatments.
7. The mechanical properties of metals, ceramics, and polymers as a function of microstructure, as determined by processing.

Course Outcomes:

1. Which material properties vary significantly with microstructure?
2. Given a binary phase diagram, what microstructures can be obtained by suitable thermal treatments? Give examples for near-equilibrium and far-from-equilibrium processing.
3. What are the crystal structures of the common metals and ceramics?
4. What crystalline structures and transformations are involved in the formation of martensites? Of age-hardened alloys?
5. What are the driving forces and kinetic barriers to phase transformations?
6. What are the governing equations for creep? For brittle fracture?
7. How does the modulus of a polymer vary as a function of temperature, loading rate, and cross-linking?
8. How are the mechanical properties of a composite material related to the properties and arrangement of the component materials?

Assessment Tools:

1. Six sets of homework problems, concerning both theory and applications, involving qualitative and quantitative reasoning and worked examples.
2. A daily "minute quiz" on the assigned reading, which obliges the students to read and think about the material before the lecture; the students report (by ICES) that the advance reading and thinking greatly enhances the learning process.
3. Two in-class hour examinations.
4. A short paper on a topic of their choice, within the subject areas included in the course. These papers are extensively marked by the instructor with editorial suggestions, handed back, and rewritten before a final grade is assigned.
5. The preparation of a poster summarizing the key points in their paper, and the presentation of this material to classmates during an in-class "poster session."

Contribution of Course to Meeting the Professional Component:

100%

Prepared by:

John R. Abelson, February, 2006