Materials II:

Engineering Materials
ENSC 489
September 28, 2015
Mike Henrey

Classes of materials
Metals
Ferrous
Non-ferrous (not Fe or C)
Alloys

Polymers
Thermoplastics
Thermosets

Ceramics
Composites
Natural

How to choose a material

1. Materials first approach
Which materials will satisfy the functional
requirements of the part?

2. Manufacturing process first approach

Which manufacturing processes will satisfy the
functional requirements
Which materials are compatible with these processes?

How to choose a material

3. Ratings/Rankings:
If Youngs Modulus is important, rank all the materials
in terms of Youngs modulus per unit cost
In this case, you might choose a stone or concrete
(similar E to a composite, at 1/100 the cost per unit
volume)

Metals
Metals used in applications requiring:

High strength
Cyclical loading
High temperature performance
High electrical or thermal conductivity
Magnetic properties

Cast Iron
>2% carbon

Easy and inexpensive to manufacture

Low tensile strength and low ductility vs. other
materials
Used where tensile strength is non-critical

Steel
Carbon steel
Alloy of iron and carbon (<2%)
High strength to cost ratio
Excellent cyclical performance (under fatigue limit)

Stainless steel
Iron, carbon and minimum of 10.5% chronium
Not stainproof, but does not rust as easily as carbon
steel
Used in cooking utensils, jewelry and food handling

Copper
One of the oldest materials (used since 9000 BC)
Abundant and easy formability

Excellent conductor of heat and electricity

Addition of impurities generally reduce conductivity

Easily soldered or welded

Does not withstand fatigue well (bad for cyclic
loads)

Aluminum
Non-sparking and non-magnetic

Many grades, presence of alloy metals changes

properties significantly
About 1/3 the stiffness of steel
Electrically and thermally conductive
Excellent machinability (many diverse methods)
Low fatigue strength

Titanium
High temperature performance (operates to 500 C)

About half the density of ferrous metals (~4400

kg/m3 vs. 8000 kg/m3), similar strength
Biocompatible material
Applications in aerospace, military, medical
prostheses and implants, sports

Engineering plastics
Plastics are used when certain properties are
required:
High strength to weight ratio
Electrically insulative
Chemical resistance

Thermoplastics
Reversible temperature/pressure behavior
Melts to a liquid when heated
Becomes brittle when cooled

Typically cost effective manufacturing process (vs.

thermoset)
Shorter process times
Lower tooling costs

Thermoplastics
ABS and PLA: both can be used in Makerbot 3D
printers as a filament

Polypropylene
Textiles
Ropes
Reusable containers

Identification symbols

PVC
Excellent chemical resistance

High strength to weight ratio

Low cost

Poor temperature performance

Acrylics
High clarity (good optical components), about half
the density of glass
Relatively high cost
Trademarks: Lucite and Plexiglass, generally called
PMMA

Polycarbonate
Transparent

Lower density vs. acrylic

Higher impact strength vs. acrylic

Commercial name: Lexan

Nylon
Low coefficient of friction

1/10 density of steel

Resistant to fatigue, heat and impact

Acetal
Universal engineering plastic

High stiffness
Resistant to fatigue, temperature

Not suitable in radiation environments

Commercial names: Delrin, Celcon or Aceton
Many grades suitable for food processing

PTFE
Commercial name Teflon

Non-stick coating
Low friction - even a gecko cannot stick to PTFE!

Non-reactive
Good electrical insulator, especially at high
frequencies

Stratasys ABSPlus

Thermoset
Cures through addition of energy

Crosslinking process
Initiated by UV, heat
Example: vulcanization (rubber tires)

Suitable for moulding

With reinforcement materials (glass/carbon fibers),
these compete with metals

Polymide
Commercial names: Vespel, Kapton

Cryogenic and high temperature performance

Good electrical insulator

Available as a thermoplastic and thermoset

PDMS (Sylgard 184)

Polydimethylsiloxane
Viscoelastic: over long times or high
temperatures, it flows
2 part mixture, once mixed it cures in
short time (3 hours at 60 C or 24 hours at
RT)

Synthetic gecko adhesives

Ceramics
Body with crystalline, partly crystalline or glass
structure
In-organic and non-mettalic
Generally brittle and hard
Electrically and thermally insulative
High temperature performance
Can be piezoelectric

Composites
Combination of 2 or more materials to obtain a final
material with enhanced properties
May make the final product:
Stronger
Lighter
Less expensive

777-Dreamliner is 50% composite

Carbon fiber
Composite of carbon and polymer

High strength to mass ratio

Applications:

Aircraft
High performance vehicles (F1 cars)
Bicycles
Spacecraft

Fiber glass
Common name of glass-reinforced plastic

Applications
Boats
Small aircraft

Weave direction important

Properties depend on resin used

Vs. carbon fiber, heavier and less stiff, but is

insulative

Kevlar
Trademark name (DuPont) for a high tensilestrength synthetic fiber
5 times stronger than steel (per mass)
Applications

Cryogenics (slightly stronger at low temps)

Personal armor and protection
Bicycle tires
Rope

Metal Matrix Composite

(MMC)
Two parts
One is always a metal
The other may be metal, ceramic, organic etc.

Landing gear of an F16

Silicon carbide
Titanium matrix

Cermet
Material comprised of ceramic and metallic
components
Used in:
Resistors and capacitors
Space applications
Machine tools

Has high temperature properties (like ceramics) and

metallic properties (ductility, conductivity)

Natural Materials
Rubber

Wood
Glass

Silicon

The future of materials

Shape memory alloys (robotics, biomedical)

Composites (nuclear reactors, military, space)

High temperature superconducting magnets (MRI,
magnetic levitation trains)
High performance plastics (automobile)

Smart materials
One or more properties can be altered

SMA
Substantial shape change with temperature
Can be used to mimic human tendons in a robot

Piezoelectric
Deformation gives an electrical current
Current causes a deformation
Many uses as a sensor (airbag sensor)