Mechanical Behavior of

Materials
Marc A. Meyers & Krishan K. Chawla
Cambridge University Press

Chapter 1
Materials, Structure, Properties, and
Performance

Thomass Iterative Tetrahedron

Properties of Main Classes of Materials

Biological Materials: Dental Implants in the Jawbone

Biological Materials: Typical Hip and Knee Prostheses

(a) Total hip replacement prosthesis

(b) Total knee replacement prosthesis.

Composites

(a)
(b)

Schematic representations of different classes of composites.

Different kinds of reinforcement in composite materials. Composite with continuous fibers made laminae
in four different orientations.

Specific Modulus and Strength of Some Materials

Hierarchical Structure

Crystal Structure

Miller Indices

Hexagonal Structure

Some Common Crystal Structures

FCC and HCP Structures

(a) Layer of most closely packed atoms corresponding to (111) in FCC and (00.1) in HCP.
(b) Packing sequence of most densely packed planes in AB and AC sequence.
(c) Ball model showing the ABAB sequence of the HCP structure.
(d) Ball model showing the ABCABC sequence of the FCC structure.

Different Structures of Ceramics

Structure of Glasses

(a)
(b)

Ordered crystalline of silica

Random-network of glassy silica

Structure of Glasses

(c) Specific volume vs. temperature

for glassy and crystalline forms of
material

(c)

(d) (e) Atomic arrangements in

crystalline and glassy metals,
respectively.

(d)

(e)

Trimodal Composite
Composition

B4C (~1-7micron)
Cryomilled Al 5083 (~27-100 nm)
Al 5083 CG (~1 micron)
Density
(g/cc)

Youngs
Modulus
(GPa)

CTE
(1/C)

Al 5083

2.66

70

26 x 10-6

B4C

2.51

460

6.1 x 10-6

Light weight structural composite.

Coarse grain additions increase ductility.
ESK Ceramics Tetrabor Boron Carbide F1200
J. Ye et al. / Scripta Materialia 53 (2005) 481-486.
I.A. Ibrahim, et al., J. Mater. Sci. 26 p1137 (1991).

18

Trimodal Composite
Microstructure

19

J. Ye et al. / Scripta Materialia 53 (2005) 481-486

TEM and HRTEM result of UFG/B4C interfaces

(level 0)
(a)TEM image showing the
B4C/UFG interface, (b)
HRTEM image of
B4C/UFG interface, the
UFG grain is away from
zone axis, (c) HRTEM
image of B4C/UFG
interface, the upper
portion indicating an
amorphous region
between the B4C and UFG
region, (d) HRTEM image
indicates a lattice-level
match between B4C and
UFG Al.
Y. Li et al, Acta Materialia 59 (2011).

Classification of Polymers

Different types of molecular chain configurations.

(a) Homopolymer: one type of repeating unit.

(b) Random copolymer: two monomers, A and B, distributed
randomly.
(c) Block copolymer: a sequence of monomer A, followed
by a sequence of monomer B.
(d) Graft copolymer: Monomer A forms the main chain, while
monomer B forms the branched chains.

Tacticity in Polypropylene

Tacticity : Order of placement of side groups.

Crystallinity of Polymers

A lamellar crystal showing

growth spirals around screw
dislocations. TEM. (Courtesy of H.D. Keith.)

Spherulitic structures:
a.
Spherulitic structure (Courtesy of H.D. Keith)
b.
c.

Each spherulite consists of radially arranged,

narrow crystalline lamellae.
Each lamella has tightly packed polymer chains
folding back and forth

Polymer Chain Configuration

Molecular Weight Distribution

Molecular weight distribution curve (schematic). Various

molecular weight parameters are indicated.

Liquid Crystals

Different types of order in the liquid crystalline state.

Mechanical Behavior of Biological Materials

Stressstrain curves for biological materials. (a) Urether. (After F. C. P. Yin and Y. C. Fung,
Am. J. Physiol. 221 (1971), 1484.) (b) Human femur bone. (After F. G. Evans, Artificial
Limbs, 13 (1969) 37.)

Crack Propagation in an Abalone Shell

(a) Cross section of abalone shell showing how a crack, starting at left, is deflected by viscoplastic layer
between calcium carbonate lamellae (mesoscale).
(b) Schematic drawing showing arrangement of calcium carbonate in nacre, forming a miniature
brick and mortar structure (microscale).

Porous and Cellular Materials

Compressive stressstrain curves for foams.

(a) Polyethylene with different initial densities.
(b) Mullite with relative density = 0.08. (Adapted
from L. J. Gibson and M. F. Ashby, Cellular
Solids: Structure and Properties (Oxford, U.K.:
Pergamon Press, 1988), pp. 124, 125.)
(c) Schematic of a sandwich structure.

Biomaterial: Toucan Beak

(a) Toucan beak; (b) external shell made of keratin scales.

Foams: Synthetic and Natural

Cellular materials: (a) synthetic aluminum foam; (b) foam found in the
inside of toucan beak.(Courtesy of M. S. Schneider and K. S. Vecchio.)

Biomaterials: Atomic Structure

Atomic structure of hydroxyapatite: small white atoms (P), large gray

atoms (O), black atoms (Ca). (b) Atomic structure of aragonite: large
dark atoms (Ca), small gray atoms (C), large white atoms (O).

Amino Acids

DNA Structure

Collagen

Triple helix structure of collagen. (Adapted from Y. C. Fung, Biomechanics:

Mechanical properties of Living Tissues (Berlin: Springer, 1993).)

Collagen: Hierarchical Structure

Hierarchical organization of collagen, starting with triple haelix, and

going to fibrils. (From H. Lodish et al., Molecular Cell Biology, 4th ed.
(New York, W.H. Freeman & Company, 1999).)

Mechanical Properties of a Collagen Fiber

Idealized configuration of a wavy collagen fiber.

Stressstrain curve of collagen with three characteristic stages.

Actin

Molecular structure of actin.

Muscle Structure

Biomaterial: Sponge Spicule

SEM of fractured sponge spicule showing

two-dimensional onion-skin structure of
concentric layers.
(Courtesy of G. Mayer and M. Sarikaya.)
Stress-deflection responses of synthetic silica rod and sponge spicule
in flexuretesting. (Courtesy of M. Sarikaya and G. Mayer.)

Active (smart) Materials

(a) Effect of applied field E on dimension of ferroelectric material. (b)

Linear relationship between strain and electric field. (Courtesy of G.
Ravichandran.)

Electronic Materials

Cross section of a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS).

(Adapted from W. D. Nix, Met. Trans., 20A (1989) 2217.)

Nanomaterials: Carbon Nanotubes

Three configurations for single wall carbon nanotubes:

(a) arm chair; (b) zig-zag; (c) chiral.
(Adapted from M. S. Dresselhaus, G. Dresselhaus and R. Saito,
Carbon, 33 (1995) 883.)

Nanomaterials: Carbon Nanotubes

Array of parallel carbon nanotubes grown as a forest. (From R. H.

Baughman, A. A. Zakhidov and W. A. de Heer, Science, 297 (2002)
787.)