Engineering Materials

1.1 Introduction of Materials Science and Engineering:-


• Materials Science – Investigating relationships that exist between the structure and properties of materials.
• Materials Engineering – Is, on the basis of these structure-property correlations, designing or engineering the structure of a material to produce a pre-determined set of properties.


1.2WHY STUDY MATERIALS SCIENCEAND ENGINEERING?


Why do we study materials? Many an applied scientist or engineer, whether mechanical, civil, chemical, or electrical, will at one time or another be exposed to design problem involving materials. Examples might include a transmission gear, the superstructure for a building, an oil refinery component, or an integrated circuit chip. Of course, materials scientists and engineers are specialists who are totally involved in the investigation and design of materials. Many times, a materials problem is one of selecting the right material from the many thousands that are available. There are several criteria on which the final decision is normally based. First of all, the in-service conditions must be characterized, for these will dictate the properties required of the material. On only rare occasions does a material possess the maximum or ideal combination of properties. Thus, it may be necessary to trade off one characteristic for another. The classic example involves strength and ductility; normally, a material having a high strength will have only a limited ductility. In such cases a reasonable compromise between two or more properties may be necessary.