Assignment #1

Finding materials information on the Internet

1. Use Google to research the history and uses of two of the following materials:

Tin

Glass

Cement

Bamboo

Hydroxyapatite

Polylactide (PLA

Present the result as a short report of about 100 - 200 words (roughly half a page), reference
your sources.

Classification systems
2. A good classification looks simple think, for instance, of the Periodic Table of the elements.
Creating it in the first place, however, is another matter. Chapter 2 of Materials: Engineering,
Science, Processing and Design introduced two classification schemes that work, meaning
that every member of the scheme has a unique place in it, and any new member can be
inserted into its proper position without disrupting the whole. Try making one for yourself.
Here are some scenarios.
You run a bike shop that stocks bikes of many types (childrens bikes, street bikes, mountain
bikes, racing bikes, folding bikes etc), prices and sizes. You need a classification system to
allow customers to look up your bikes on the internet. How would you do it?

You are asked to organize the inventory of fasteners in your company. There are several
types (snap, screw, bolt, rivet) and within each, a range of materials and sizes. Devise a
classification scheme to store information about them.

Make sure that each level of the hierarchy properly contains all those below it. There may be
more than one way to do this, but one is usually better than the others. Test it by thinking
how you would use it to find the information you want.

Classifying Materials
3. Watch the brief Video Tutorial Browse Level 1&2. It is in the help menu of CES EduPack.
4. Browse Level 1 in the Materials Universe in CES EduPack and name 10 subclasses of
materials.

Finding materials records in CES EduPack by Browsing

5. Find, by Browsing, the Level 1 record for the Titanium alloys via Metals and alloys / Nonferrous / Titanium alloys.
6. Find, by Browsing, the Level 1 record for the ceramic Alumina via Ceramics and glasses /
Technical ceramics / Alumina.
7. Find, by Browsing, the Level 2 record for Age-hardening wrought aluminum alloys via Metals
and alloys / Non-ferrous / Aluminum and alloys / Age-hardening
8. Find, by Browsing, the Level 2 record for Plywood via Hybrids / Natural materials / Plywood.
9. Find, by Browsing, the Level 1 record for Phenolics via Polymers and elastomers / Polymers /
Thermosets / Phenolics.
10. Find, by Browsing, the Level 1 record for Epoxies. Are they cheaper or more expensive than
Phenolics (see previous question)?
11. Find, by Browsing, the Level 1 record for Copper Alloys. What is its thermal conductivity?
What is its price?

Defining favorite materials and adding your own records

12. Imagine that you want to set a group of favorite materials, possibly the one you have stored in
your warehouse, and you want to select just from those. In Level 2, find the records for Gold,
Silver, Bronze and Copper and label them as your favorites. After that, plot a bar chart of
Thermal Conductivity showing only your favorite materials.
13. Imagine you have now invented a new material (Material X) on your laboratory, and want to
add it to the database. It has a Youngs Modulus of 250 GPa and a density of 1200kg/m 3. Add
it to the database, plot a chart of Youngs modulus vs Density and label your material in that
chart.

Finding materials records in CES EduPack by Searching

14. Watch the video tutorial Search Database.

15. Find, by Searching, the record for Polylactide; what is it?
16. Use the Search facility to find out what Plexiglas is. Do the same for Pyroceram.
17. Find, by Searching in level 1, records for materials that are used for Lenses: What are they?
18. Use the Search facility in CES EduPack Level 2 to find materials for flooring.
19. A company wishes to enhance its image by replacing oil-based plastics in its
products by polymers based on natural materials. Use the Search facility in CES
EduPack to find Biopolymers (remember to search for the singular form) that the
company can consider using. List the materials you find.

Biomaterials vs engineering materials: how to find information

and plot data
The following questions use the MaterialUniverse table in the Bio Engineering Level 2. To access
this, open CES EduPack and select Level 2 Bio Engineering in the list of databases. Look at the
different data tables you have access to on the left panel, in the Table drop down menu. Choose
MaterialUniverse if not already displayed. Then choose subset Edu Level 2.
20. Video tutorials on Level 2 Bio Engineering can be accessed by clicking Help > Video Tutorials,
as shown below.

Watch the Video Tutorial Level 2 and 3 Bioengineering.

21. Using LEVEL 2 Bioengineering Database, find three records: cortical bone, longitudinal;
bamboo; and zirconia bio-ceramic. What are the different average Youngs Modulus and
tensile strength values?

In Browse mode, open several records to see the data in them, and see the differences.
Open the below records:

Cortical bone, longitudinal (Hybrids > Natural materials > Biological >
Mineralized tissue)

Bamboo (Hybrids > Natural materials > Wood and wood-like materials >
Wood-like materials)

Zirconia bio-ceramic (Ceramics and glasses > Technical ceramics)

22.Compare in the same graph engineering materials with biomaterials, plotting tensile strength
on Y-axis vs Youngs modulus. Then, describe the range of properties of natural materials
compared to engineering materials.
23. Make a graph with only biomaterials, plotting tensile strength on Y-axis vs Youngs modulus.

In Select mode, graph only biomaterials: y-axis tensile strength, ts, of all materials
plotted against Youngs modulus, E, in x-axis. To do this, follow these steps:

On the left pane, in the Selection Data section, choose Custom: Define your own subset
in the Select from drop-down menu.

In the new window choose Selection table to be MaterialUniverse; Initial subset to be

biomaterials; Selection attributes to be Edu Level 2, and press Apply, then OK.

Then graph the above attributes as usual using the graph wizard.

Label (right click on each name and select label): bamboo, bioglass ceramic, cancellous
bone high density, cotton, mollusk shell, PLA, and any other you would like to see on the
graph.

What is the material with the highest tensile strength and the one with highest Youngs
modulus?