AMORPHOUS AND SEMI-CRYSTALLINE MATERIALS

By Stephen Ben John Biado in ECE ONLY! Edit Doc Delete CHAPTER 5: AMORPHOUS AND SEMI-CRYSTALLINE MATERIALS 5.1 Amorphous Vs. Crystalline Versus Semi-Crystalline Structures and Materials The natural state of solid materials tends to be, crystalline. However, solids tend to aggregate, and contains aggregations. Hence, in some instances, the complexity of the composition of atoms of the material or the geometrical complexity of the material prevents crystallization in most conditions. It would take more time for a crystalline arrangement to form from a melt than is available during the process of cooling. Metals are composed of spherical atoms and ceramics are composed of large and small spherical anions and cations. Metals always crystallize upon solidification and ceramics usually do. Metals usually allow with many elemental components, can be made amorphous rather than crystalline. When the resulting materials lack long-range order but still exhibit short-range order, just as they do melt, glasses are formed. Glasses are usually amorphous forms of ceramics but can occasionally be an amorphous form of some polymers. Most polymers form aggregates that have anywhere from no crystallinity to nearly complete crystallinity. Metals, in extreme conditions, usually as alloys with many elemental components, can be made to be amorphous rather than crystalline. Rapid solidification can lead to make metallic glasses. Because Structure determines properties, amorphism results in very different properties than crystallinity in a metal alloy. Two properties that have drawn commercial attention: 1. Dramatically enhanced resistance to corrosion 2. Extraordinary absorption and release of impact energy (also known as resilience). Two popular ways to assess whether a solid material is crystalline or amorphous: 1. Use of x-ray diffraction 2. Plot a trace of the volume of molten material Melting point- This is the point where the specific volume of a crystalline material decreases dramatically and discontinuously. Glass transition temperature- the temperature during the change in the rate of change of the curve/slope of an amorphous material. 5.2 Amorphous Glasses

Glasses are used in containers (i.e. drinking glasses, bottles, jars), tableware, cookware, windows, lenses, optical fibers, and etc. Two principal properties for which glasses are selected tend to be optical transparency and exceptional resistance in corrosion. Glasses also have value for their electrical and thermal insulating qualities, high hardness and impermeability. Silicon in amorphous state is called fused silica or vitreous silica. Other oxides that form glassy structure are called network modifiers. Example of network modifiers are certain inorganic glasses, type used to manufacture containers and window panes. Another asset of glass is that it can be fabricated into useful items. This ease of processing results from the way glasses continuously soften upon heating to higher and higher temperatures. Processes to soften and form glasses into achieved shapes and sizes;
1. Pressing for bending and forming the glass 2. Floatation Process- for glasses to be blown into hollow vessels or drawn into fibers. In the

highest temperature the glasses can be smoothened to make window glass. This type of deformation is called viscous flow, and is no different than the flow of thick liquid like honey. The working range of glass is at the temperature wherein viscosity is 103 Pa-s(Working Point) up to 4 x 105 Pa s(Softening Point). Devitrification- to transform inorganic glasses from amorphous to crystalline state by hightemperature heat treatment. Glass-ceramic the fine-grained polycrystalline material final product. 5.3 Creating Polymer Macromolecules from Simple Building Blocks Polymers are atoms, ions or combination of atoms and ions. Its basic building blocks are molecules and very large ones. Small organic molecules are called mers. Natural polymers (i.e. skin, blood vessels, muscle, nerves, tendons, ligaments etc) make up other natural materials like silk, wool, rubber, leather and wood. Hydrocarbons are also natural polymers which are found in high-molecular-weight polymers are derived from coal, oil, or natural gas. Polymerization- when two large molecular weight polymers are synthesized from mer or monomer units in a process. Two general polymerization reactions are used: (1) addition polymerization and (2) condensation polymerization. Additional polymerization (also called chain reaction polymerization) links bifunctional monomer units end-to-end one at a time like a chain reaction to form large long linear macromolecules. The reaction involves three stages of initiation, propagation and termination. How long the molecule is made is known as the degree of polymerization.

Condensation polymerization (also called step reaction polymerization) employs step-wise intermolecular chemical reaction involving more than one monomer species. 5.4 Polymer Molecule Shape, Structure and Configurations Polymer macromolecules are based on central chains or backbones composed of strong covalent bonded carbon atoms. Being covalent bonds, there is directionality to the bonding. For C-C Bonds, this conformation angle is about 109. Hence, the backbone forms a zigzag chain where there is rotational freedom or mobility if only single C-C bonds are formed. If double or triple bonds will form, the chain will lose its rotational freedom and gain rigidity. Homopolymer the resulting polymer when all of the repeat units (mers) are of the same type. Copolymer- when two or more different mer units are combined structures Molecular shape- depend on the molecular weight of the chains. Linear polymers- consist of mer unites that are joined to end in long single chains. Such bonding between chains further increases the strength of a polymer without breaking. Branched polymers- synthesized to have short lengths of the polymer chain connect to the backbone molecule through covalent bonds. Cross-linked polymers- adjacent linear molecules joined to one another by short segments of the polymer chain or by other tie atoms result in cross-linking. Network polymers- trifunctional mer units having 3 active covalent bonding sites such as epoxies then to harden dramatically and irreversibly once they are cross-linked with higher temperature. Stereoisomerism- when mer units are linked together in the same order but differ in their spiral arrangement. 3 subtypes of this are isotactic configuration, syndiotactic configuration and atactic configuration. Geometric isomerism- the position of R side groups can differ within mers containing a double C to C bond. In summary, polymer molecules can be characterized in terms of their size, shape, and structure, with the following relationships. 1. Molecular size molecular weight/ degree of polymerization 2. Molecular shape chain twisting, coiling, bending, and kinking and chain branching, cross-linking, or mer networking. 3. Molecular structure manner in which structural mer units link together.

5.5 Classification of Polymers Thermoplastic polymers- or thermoplasts reversibly soften when heated and harden when cooled. They tend to be soft and not very resistant to dissolution by organic solvents and less tolerant of elevated temperature. Thermosetting polymers- or thermosets become permanently hard or rigid, once they are caused to cross-link either during synthesis or subsequent heating or other curing. Elastomeric polymers- very large reversible elastic extension or deformation. 5.6 Copolymers Copolymers are engineered polymers based on long-chain molecules that are comprised of 2 oe 3 different mer species. 4 arrangements for the different mer species are possible: (1) random copolymers, (2) alternation copolymers, (3) block copolymers and (4) grafted copolymers. 5.7 Crystallization in Polymers Polymer crystallinity- packing of molecular chains to produce an orderly atomic array. It can be specified in terms of a unit cell. Semi-crystalline- crystalline having regions dispersed among amorphous material. Involved layered packets of chain-folded crystalline separated and tied together by tie molecules within amorphous packets. 5.8 Liquid Crystal Polymers Liquid crystal polymers- neither solid nor liquid. Composed of chemically complex molecules. \

Imperfection in Solid Crystalline Materials: Natures Better Alternative Than Perfection

By Johnson Chan in ECE ONLY! Edit Doc Imperfection in Solid Crystalline Materials: Natures Better Alternative Than Perfection 1. Why Nature Accepts Imperfection Even though nature seems perfect, the reality is imperfection, not perfection; it is the rule rather than the exception. It turns out that a second major principle of thermodynamics is that the system move toward disorder. Hence, imperfection alters the properties of crystalline solids.

Enthalpy (H) - a measure of the total energy of a thermodynamic system. It includes the internal energy, which is the energy required to create a system, and the amount of energy required to make room for it by displacing its environment and establishing its volume and pressure.

Entropy (S) - is a thermodynamic property that can be used to determine the energy available for useful work in a thermodynamic process. It includes the measure of the state of the systems disorder.

Gibbs free energy (G) a thermodynamic potential that measures the useful of processinitiated work obtainable from a system under constant pressure (p) and temperature (T).

Gibbs free energy can be written as: G = U + pV TS = H TS where U internal energy (in joules) p pressure (in pascals) V volume (in m3)

T temperature (in K) S entropy (in joules/K) H enthalpy (in joules)

For the system that change from some initial to some final state: G = H - TS

As the degree of disorder of the system becomes greater, Gibbs free energy decreases. Though solid materials tend to form crystalline arrays in order to lower their internal energy, it would be extremely rare and difficult for solid to be perfectly crystalline in every atom, ion or molecule precisely where it should be to yield perfect long range order.

We all encounter imperfection of crystals almost every day of our lives. This imperfection however seems enable our lives to be better in a way or another. If there is no increase in entropy as they move from perfection to disorder, there would be no liquid or gaseous states of matter and everything would be solid and crystalline. After all liquids and gases are completely imperfect, as liquids have only short range order and gases have no order.

There are 4 broad categories of crystalline imperfections: 1. 2. 3. 4. Imperfections at points in the crystal Imperfections along or involving lines in the crystal Imperfections involving planes or areas in crystals Imperfections involving extensive volumes of the crystal

2 rules of nature within thermodynamics:

1. Nature attempts to minimize the free energy of a system or the energy that must be expended to accomplish any process. 2. Nature prefers disorder rather than order. The measure of disorder is entropy.

Given these rules it is not hard to understand that solid crystalline materials will always contain imperfections usually of several types. It should come as no surprise that those imperfections that will appear first are those that require the least energy to create or that give rise to the least energy by their presence compared to the amount of disorder they introduce. In consequence, there are crystalline imperfections of increasing complexity in terms of their dimensionality (no dimensions, one dimension, two dimensions and three dimensions).

1. Point Imperfections No dimensions Occur only at a point, on the atomic scale, within the crystal lattice.

3 different subtypes of point imperfections: 1.) the absence of an atom on a site where there should be one i.e., a vacancy 2.) a foreign atom that occupies a site normally occupied by one of the host atoms i.e., a substitutional solute 3.) an atom that lies off any of the lattice sites in a space between host atoms. The latter could be an atom of the host i.e., a self-interstitial or a foreign atom i.e., an interstitial solute

In the case of vacancy, the formation energy is basically how much energy it would take to physically remove an atom from the crystal by breaking its bonds with all neighboring atoms. The easiest place to form a vacancy by removing an atom from the lattice is at the surface of the crystal. Once an atom is removed to from a vacancy, surrounding atoms are able to relax so there is a small enthalpy associated with the vacancy. Thus the degree of disorder has increased very slightly for each vacancy formed. Hence, the Gibbs free energy is actually lowered and thereby, vacancies are thermodynamically stable. Fractions of vacancy sites can be given as follows:

Nv - the number of vacant lattice sites N - total lattice sites per unit volume (m3) k - Boltzmann constant (8.62 x 10-5 eV/atom-K or 1.38 x 10-23 J/atom-K) T - absolute temperature (K) When solid crystalline materials consist of ions rather than neutral atoms, point imperfections become slightly more complicated. In order to maintain electrical neutrality, if either a positive or negative ion is removed, some accommodation has to be made for the resulting net charge created. Four possibilities would appear to be possible: 1.) A positive cation could be completely remove to create a cation vacancy and lead to a net negative charge. 2.) A negative anion could be completely removed to create an anion vacancy and lead to a net positive charge. 3.) A positive cation could be move from a normal lattice site into an interstice to create a cation vacancy-cation interstitial pair with no net change in charge 4.) A negative anion could be move from a normal lattice site into an interstitial site with no net change in charge. In ionic crystals, defects can form on the condition of charge neutrality. Two possibilities are:

1. Schottky defect combination of a cation vacancy and an anion vacancy 2. Frenkel defect combination of a cation vacancy an an interstitial

A non-integral ratio of cations or anions can occur in the combination of cations and anions or stoichiometry for an ionic cermic if one of the cations or anions is replaced by a cation or anion having a different charge respectively. This can occur for compounds containing an ion with two possible valence states. The result is known as nonstoichiometry. Foreign atoms that substitute for host atoms or manage to squeeze into interstices between host atoms will all make the host solid stronger. This is extremely valuable for producing higher strength alloys for engineering lighter weight structures. Because structure determines properties, the presence of an equilibrium concentration of vacancies affects certain properties of metals. Because every vacancy disrupts the otherwise predictable periodicity of the electromagnetic field of a perfect lattice of atoms, vacancies increase the scattering of electrons. As a result, there is a reducing in electrical conductivity by increasing electrical resistivity. Although this negative effect when good conductivity is needed, it can be positive when increased resistance is desirable.

The creation of localized strain in the lattice around any foreign atom whether occupying a lattice site normally occupied by a host atom or an interstitial site, causes the metal or called an alloy, to be stronger. Another positive is that they allow intentional atom transport in the solid state by diffusion. In solids, this usually occurs when certain atoms on the lattice site jump into an adjacent vacancy. Such solid state diffusion is used to impart extra harness to the surface of some alloys, like steel, to better resist wear or to create solid-state electronic devices from semiconductor materials. 1. Line Imperfections One dimensional imperfection Also known as dislocation

They occur if an incomplete plane inserted between perfect planes of atoms or when vacancies are aligned in a line. Dislocations occur in high densities and are intimately connected to almost all mechanical properties which are in fact structure-sensitive.

1.) Edge dislocation consist of an extra half plane of atoms that occur between normal planes of atoms to which there has been some localized distortion from the shortening or lengthening of atomic bonds. The amount of distortion drops off as the distance from the dislocation line increases, with the effect being felt or about a half dozen atomic distances perpendicular to the half plane. Thus the enthalpy associated with a dislocation is quite larger compared to entropy. It actually gives rise to and dislocations are not thermodynamically stable.

The density of dislocations in a normal crystal, at room temperature, is about 105-107 per cm3. In a crystal that has been deformed at or near room temperature, many more dislocations are created, resulting in a density of 108 1014 per cm3, depending on the amount of deformation done.

2.) Screw dislocation consist of planes of atoms that form a continuous helix around a central core or line. As oppose to being compressive or tensile, this strain involves shear, from the distortion parallel to the dislocation line rather than perpendicular to it.

Dislocations are characterized by the displacement they create once they move through a crystal, shifting the planes of atoms side to side or up or down. This characteristic displacement is known as a Burgers vector.

Burgers vector A dislocation in characterized by Burgers vector, b.

It is unique to a dislocation, and usually has the direction of close packed lattice direction. It is also the slip direction of a dislocation. It represents the magnitude and direction of distortion associated with that particular dislocation. Two limiting cases of dislocations, edge and screw, are characterized by Burgers vector perpendicular to the dislocation line (t) and Burgers vector parallel to the dislocation line respectively. Ordinary dislocation is of mixed character of edge and screw type.

3.) Mixed dislocation combination of edge and screw dislocation

Dislocations turn out to be extremely important imperfections in metals because they allow crystals to deform under shear components of applied stresses rather than fracture under normal

components of applied stresses rather than fracture under normal components of applied stresses. They allow such deformation to take place at stress levels much lower than would be the case if the crystal structure were perfect. The best known processes in shaping of metals are to use heat treatment or cold working.

1. Area or Planar Imperfections 2D imperfections an imperfection in form of a plane between uniform parts of the material. Contains disruptions to its perfection over areas of some length and width They usually arise from clustering of line defects into a plane. These imperfections are not thermodynamically stable, but meta-stable in nature.

All crystals are finite and the perfect arrangement of atoms to exhibit long-range order within it ends at its surfaces. Outside the crystal, the perfect ordering of atoms on lattice no longer exists and the surroundings outside the crystal are no longer predictable, being composed entirely of vacancies. Hence the surface of a crystal is an area or planar imperfection. Like point and line imperfections, area imperfections have higher than normal energy or surface energy. The source of surface energy can be understood when one realizes that atoms at the surface are not bonded to neighboring atoms on all sides, only to those sides that lie within the crystal. For those sides that lie outside the crystal, there are unsatisfied bonds or dangling bonds. The energy of atoms at a surface can be estimated by the number of dangling bonds out of the total number of possible bonds. The result is that there is a net force tending to pull the surface atoms inward, giving rise to what is known as surface tension. 1.) Grain boundary - formation of a boundary between two grains (solid crystal in metals and ceramics) may be imagined as a result of rotation of crystal lattice of one of them about a specific axis. Grain boundaries accumulate crystal lattice defects (vacancies, dislocations) and other imperfections, therefore they effect on the metallurgical processes, occurring in alloys and their properties. Depending on the rotation axis direction, two ideal types of a grain boundary are possible: a.) Tilt boundary rotation axis is parallel to the boundary plane b.) Twist boundary - rotation axis is perpendicular to the boundary plane

An actual boundary is a mixture of these two ideal types.

Grain boundaries are called large-angle boundaries if misorientation of two neighboring grains exceeds 10-15.

Grain boundaries are called small-angle boundaries if misorientation of two neighboring grains is 5 or less.

Grains, divided by small-angle boundaries are also called subgrains.

2.) Phase Boundary occurs when two solid crystals have different 3D arrangement of atoms and/or different compositions, they meet at what are known as phase boundaries. Like grain boundaries, phase boundaries also have interfacial energy as the result of different orientations and/or chemical potentials. 3.) Stacking fault occur when close-packed planes of atoms in a crystal erroneously skip one of the layers to produce an A-B-C-A-B-C-A-B-A-B-C-A-B-Cstacking error. The surfaces of crystals are usually seen as positive attributes, not imperfections. One can be enchanted by the beauty of the cut facets of diamonds for the way they reflect and refract light. The fact that surfaces have energy often allows such surfaces to act as a preferred sire for some chemical reaction or process. The very high surface area-to-volume ratio of nanoparticles or very large grain boundary area of nano-crystalline materials gives rise to some very unsual behaviors of potential use to engineers. One familiar example is the surface absorption of toxic gases by finely divided particles of charcoal in gas masks. Planar imperfections arise as a liquid transforms to a crystalline solid, forming many small crystals known as grains, and that such grains give the solid the same properties in all directions. 1. Volume Imperfection 3D imperfection Also known as amorphism

These defects are introduced, usually, during processing and fabrication operations like casting, forming etc.

These defects act like stress raisers, thus deleterious to mechanical properties of parent solids. It is sometimes impossible for the atoms, ions, or especially, molecules that comprise a material to arrange themselves from the near-random liquid phase to form a crystalline solid in which there is long-range order. Because rearrangement from the randomness of the melt to the regularity of the crystalline solid must occur by thermally activated movement, rearrangement takes times. The more complicated the arrangement or the individual building blocks, the slower the process. Thus, crystallization is made more difficult when cooling from the melt takes place too quickly. Common examples of volume defects: 1.) Glass by the nature of the complexity of their compositions, tend to be completely amorphous.

2.) Polymers by the nature of the complexity of the macromolecules that make them up, can be completely amorphous or semi-crystalline, in which there are some regions of the material in which the molecules align to form a crystalline array and separated by other areas that are amorphous. Common volume defects include gas pores, foreign inclusions and cracks. The fact that glasses are amorphous and polymers are either amorphous or semi-crystalline causes them to exhibit properties that are often quite different that those that are exhibit by crystalline materials. Engineers use the amorphism of glasses and amorphism or semi-crystallinity of polymers to advantage to create properties that are of value to certain applications. Engineers have even learned to use volume defects that are introduced in a controlled way during material synthesis or post processing. One example is the toughening of inherently brittle ceramics by introducing fine pores that arrest small cracks as they propagate.

1. Atomic vibrations Atoms are orderly arranged, but they are expected to vibrate about their positions where the amplitude of vibration increases with the temperature. Such lattice vibrations are commonly referred to as phonons. Phonons are another type of point imperfection. After reaching certain temperature, vibrations are vigorous enough to rupture the interatomic forces casing melting of solids.

Average amplitude of vibration at room temperature is about 10-12 m i.e. thousandth of a nanometer. Atoms randomly vibrate in all directions around a lattice point, that is, they vibrate anharmonically and at mean frequency at any temperature of between 1012 and 1014 per second or so. At all temperatures above absolute zero, the atoms in crystalline solids vibrate around their lattice position.

Mechanical properties(ang sumpay naa nilang torres)

By Kevin Clarabal in ECE EE Information Center :)) Edit Doc Delete Mechanical Properties of Solids: Materials Response to Loads or Forces Why Mechanical Properties Are Important to Engineering? Engineers design and build structures and mechanism that consist of structural elements, parts, or components. like; buildings, bridges, airplanes, automobiles, machines and etc. All have in common that they are constantly, regularly, or occasionally subjected to forces or loads when in service. Many of these forces and loads are applied from external sources, external loads and internal loads or forces.

Forces and loads, whether externally applied or internally generated, are two broad types: (1)State (2)Dynamic Static loads or forces are those that are planned on by the designer to be present either continuously or intermittently.

Ex: gravity, lift forces on an airplanes wings, and load form accumulated snow on the rooftop. Dynamic loads or forces are those that Are planned on by the designer and are known to vary with frequency or may not be planned to be present all the time or very often but can reasonably be expected to occur sometime within the life of the device or structure. Ex: low or high frequency vibrations, wind gusts, regular impact, collisions. Important Mechanical Properties to Engineers Engineers need to consider the following factors in their designs: (1)Functionality (2)Manufacturability (3)Cost (4)Aesthetics Within functionality are included: -meeting all of the operational requirements of the design -meeting all the structural requirements of the design -meeting any weight constraints on the design

-meeting any volume constraints on the design -meeting all environmental conditions Major Types Mechanical Properties Important to Engineers *Strength: to usually resist unacceptable temporary or permanent distortion and always resist fracture under static loads and forces *Impact strength: to resist sudden shock loads or impulsive forces without fracture *Fatigue strength: to resist cyclic loads or forces over the service lifetime required *Creep strength: to resist unacceptable permanent deformation over time under sustained loads or forces at elevated temperatures *Stiffness: to resist unacceptable elastic deflection or distortion, to absorb

and store energy, or to resist buckling under compressive loads or forces *Hardness: to resist scratching, indentation, or penetration *Fracture toughness: to resist the sudden propagation of an embedded flaw under a sustained force Types of Loading Structural *Columns designed to tolerate compressive loads. *Ties or Struts designed to tolerate tensile loads. *Beams designed to resist bending. Two Major Types of Beams 1. Cantilevered 2. Two-point Supported *Shafts designed to resist twisting and tolerate torsion. Tension or Compression Loading

*Unidirectional or Uniaxial Loading acts in only one direction. *Bidirectional or Biaxial Loading acts in two directions. *Tridirectional or Triaxial Loading acts in three orthogonal directions. *Combine Loading involve combinations of tension, compression, shear, bending, and torsion.

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES PART 2

By Eliezer Torres in ECE EE Information Center :)) Edit Doc Delete Mechanical Properties

Mechanical properties - The mechanical properties of a material describe how it will react to physical forces. Mechanical properties occur as a result of the physical properties inherent to each material, and are determined through a series of standardized mechanical tests. Mechanical properties:

Strength Elastic Limit Proportional Limit Yield Strength True Fracture Strength Ductility Toughness Fatigue Ratio Loss Coefficient

Strength Strength has several definitions depending on the material type and application. Before choosing a material based on its published or measured strength it is important to understand the

manner in which strength is defined and how it is measured. When designing for strength, material class and mode of loading are important considerations. For metals the most common measure of strength is the yield strength. For most polymers it is more convenient to measure the failure strength, the stress at the point where the stress strain curve becomes obviously non-linear. Strength, for ceramics however, is more difficult to define. Failure in ceramics is highly dependent on the mode of loading. The typical failure strength in compression is fifteen times the failure strength in tension. The more common reported value is the compressive failure strength.

Elastic Limit The elastic limit is the highest stress at which all deformation strains are fully recoverable. For most materials and applications this can be considered the practical limit to the maximum stress a component can withstand and still function as designed. Beyond the elastic limit permanent strains are likely to deform the material to the point where its function is impaired.

Proportional Limit The proportional limit is the highest stress at which stress is linearly proportional to strain. This is the same as the elastic limit for most materials. Some materials may show a slight deviation from proportionality while still under recoverable strain. In these cases the proportional limit is preferred as a maximum stress level because deformation becomes less predictable above it.

Yield Strength The yield strength is the minimum stress which produces permanent plastic deformation. This is perhaps the most common material property reported for structural materials because of the ease and relative accuracy of its measurement. The yield strength is usually defined at a specific amount of plastic strain, or offset, which may vary by material and or specification. The offset is the amount that the stress-strain curve deviates from the linear elastic line. The most common offset for structural metals is 0.2%.

Ultimate Tensile Strength The ultimate tensile strength is an engineering value calculated by dividing the maximum load on a material experienced during a tensile test by the initial cross section of the test sample. When viewed in light of the other tensile test data the ultimate tensile strength helps to provide a good indication of a material's toughness but is not by itself a useful design limit. Conversely this can be construed as the minimum stress that is necessary to ensure the failure of a material.

True Fracture Strength The true fracture strength is the load at fracture divided by the cross sectional area of the sample. Like the ultimate tensile strength the true fracture strength can help an engineer to predict the behavior of the material but is not itself a practical strength limit. Because the tensile test seeks to standardize variables such as specimen geometry, strain rate and uniformity of stress it can be considered a kind of best case scenario of failure.

Ductility Ductility is a measure of how much deformation or strain a material can withstand before breaking. The most common measure of ductility is the percentage of change in length of a tensile sample after breaking. This is generally reported as % El or percent elongation. The R.A. or reduction of area of the sample also gives some indication of ductility. Toughness Toughness describes a material's resistance to fracture. It is often expressed in terms of the amount of energy a material can absorb before fracture. Tough materials can absorb a considerable amount of energy before fracture while brittle materials absorb very little. Either strong materials such as glass or very ductile materials such as taffy can absorb large amounts of energy before failure. Toughness is not a single property but rather a combination of strength and ductility. The toughness of a material can be related to the total area under its stress-strain curve. A comparison of the relative magnitudes of the yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and percent elongation of different material will give a good indication of their relative toughness. Materials with high yield strength and high ductility have high toughness. Integrated stress-strain data is not readily available for most materials so other test methods have been devised to help quantify toughness. The most common test for toughness is the Charpy impact test. In crystalline materials the toughness is strongly dependent on crystal structure. Face centered cubic materials are typically ductile while hexagonal close packed materials tend to be brittle. Body centered cubic materials often display dramatic variation in the mode of failure with temperature. In many materials the toughness is temperature dependent. Generally materials are

more brittle at lower temperatures and more ductile at higher temperatures. The temperature at which the transition takes place is known as the DBTT, or ductile to brittle transition temperature. The DBTT is measured by performing a series of Charpy impact tests at various temperatures to determine the ranges of brittle and ductile behavior. Use of alloys below their transition temperature is avoided due to the risk of catastrophic failure.

Fatigue Ratio The dimensionless fatigue ratio f is the ratio of the stress required to cause failure after a specific number of cycles to the yield stress of a material. Fatigue tests are generally run through 107 or 108 cycles. A high fatigue ratio indicates materials which are more susceptible to crack growth during cyclic loading.

Loss Coefficient The loss coefficient is another important material parameter in cyclic loading. It is the fraction of mechanical energy lost in a stress strain cycle. The loss coefficient for each material is a function of the frequency of the cycle. A high loss coefficient can be desirable for damping vibrations while a low loss coefficient transmits energy more efficiently. The loss coefficient is also an important factor in resisting fatigue failure. If the loss coefficient is too high, cyclic loading will dissipate energy into the material leading to fatigue failure.

Electrical Properties of Solid Materials

By Nelson Marvin in ECE EE Information Center :)) Edit Doc Delete Electrical Properties of SOLIDS: A Materials response to an electromagnetic Field Why Electrical Properties Are Important to Engineering Electrical Energy and electricity were discovered, the use of this form of energy to do work and, particularly. To move information has predominated. Every American child is taught in school that electricity was discovered by Benjamin Franklin while flying kite on a metal wire during a thunderstorm in the early 1740s. The History of Electricity probably began in 1600 when William Gilbert (1544-1603), a physician who served Englands Queen Elizabeth I, published his treatise(On the Magnet and Magnetism, and on the great Magnet of the Earth). 1733-One great discovery for us, as we study electrical properties of materials, I s Charles Francois du Fays discovery , those two different forms of electricity existed. One that he called vitreous

(Latin for Glass), which represented the positive charge from rubbing of glass to a cloth. And Resinous, a negative charge from a rubbing an amber to a cloth. 1874-Electricity and magnetism had been tamed to carry information via telegraph and, by the late 1870s, Thomas Alva Edison had begun to electrify New York City. Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell on the interactions between electric and magnetic fields and materials, brought with it the ability to do work using electric-powered machines. 1947-a new electrical property was emerging to impact technology: semiconductivity. Important Electrical Properties to Engineers Electrical Properties of Materials: Electrical conductivity, electrical resistivity, permittivity, dielectric constant, dielectric strength, ferroelectricity and piezoelectricity, and the Seebeck effect and coefficient and underlying Peltier and Thomson effects and coefficients that give rise to thermoelectricity. Electrical propertiesof materials are the response of materials to an electrical, magnetic, or electromagnetic, or electromagnetic field.

The Origin of Material Conductivity: Electron Band Theory The unit of interest is the materials resistance R. The relationship between current I( in amperes, which are 1.6 X 10^19 coulombs per second, C/s) that flows under an applied voltage V( in volts, which are joules per coulomb, J/C) and the resistance R of the solid conductor (in ohms, which are volts per ampere, V/A) is given Ohms Law as: V=IR Voltage(V)---Current(I)---Resistance(R)--Volt - Alessandro Volta Ohm- Georg Simon Ohm Ampere - Andre Marie Ampere Farad - Michael Faraday

Joule - James Prescott Joule Superconductivity- Heike KamerlinghOnnes The value R depends not only on the inherent hindrance to the flow of electricity under an applied voltage from the solid material but also on the physical dimensions of the solids length L and cross-sectional are A, as: =RA/L The parameter represents the materials electrical resistivity and is fundamental material electrical property of a material. The units of are ohm-meters (-m) Electrical Conductivity = 1/ Electrical Resistivity = 1/

Electric Mobility and Electrical Resistivity Free electrons are subjected to a force when an electric field is applied and they accelerate in a direction opposite to the field. In a Perfect crystal lattice, free electrons have no interactions to hinder their acceleration. Hence, electric current should continue to increase. The fact that it does not is the result of socalled frictional forces that arise from the scattering of the free electrons by any and all imperfections that perturb the lattice field. Hence, imperfection gives rise to scattering, which gives rise to resistivity in the solid material. The extent of scattering is assessed by the drift velocity, d, and mobility, e, of the free electron, where these represent the average velocity of the electrons in the direction of the force of the applied field given by: d= e Drift velocity is the average velocity of a particle, such as an electron, attained due to an electric field. Electron mobility characterizes how quickly an electron can move through a metal or semiconductor when pulled by an electric field.

Electrical conductivity is directly related to both the number of charge carriers and the mobility of the charge carrier. The resistivity of a solid material is the reciprocal of its conductivity. The total resistivity of a metal is the sum of all potential scattering sources, as: total=t+i+d wheret, t , and t represent the individual contributions to scattering from thermal vibrations, impurities, and deformation, respectively. This is known as Matthiessen's rule.

Semiconductivity and Semiconductors Separating the conductive metals from the insulative nonmetals of the periodic table is a group of semimetals, metalloids, and semiconductors, occasionally called intermediate elements. There are two elemental semiconductors: Si and Ge. Pure compounds between Group IIIA and VA, and IIB and VIA elements form what are known as III-V and II-VI compound semiconductors, respectively. These materials exhibit semiconductivity in their pure state. They are known as intrinsic semiconductors because their semiconductive behavior is inherent in the pure material. When intrinsic semiconductivity is enhanced by carefully controlled microalloy additions called dopants, the resulting materials are called extrinsic semiconductors. In both elemental and compound semiconductors, the bonding is covalent, so no free electrons are available. The only way for electric conduction is by exciting some of the highest energy electrons from the top of the valence band (VB) across the relatively narrow band gap into the lower energy states available in the conduction band (CB). These electrons in the conduction band are free to contribute to conductivity. As the temperature rises, some of the VB electrons escape and enter the CB to participate in the electrical conduction. At the same time, the electrons leave the previously filled VB, they leave behind holes, which are the absence of electrons from where they should be. A hole has the same charge as an electron but with opposite sign. The electrical conductivity of an intrinsic semiconductor can only be and is increased by raising the temperature of the electronic device. To increase the conductivity of a semiconductor without relying on temperature, dopants are added to intrinsic semiconductors to create extrinsic semiconductors.

Two fundamentally different types of dopants: 1. n-type - element with more than four valence electrons. 2. p-type - element with less than four valence electrons.

In an n-type extrinsic semiconductor, the approximately level region is called exhaustion region, because, at some temperature, all of the donor states have been exhausted of their donor electrons. In a p-type extrinsic semiconductor, the approximately level region is called saturation region, because, at some temperature, all of the acceptor states have been saturated by electrons that jumped up from the valence band.

Dielectric behavior and Dielectric materials () Dielectric material when a nonmetallic and electrically insulating material has or can be made to have a separation of positively and negatively charged ions, molecules or atomic dipoles. () Capacitor materials that allow electric energy to be stored in a device. () Capacitance : C = Q/V Where, V applied voltage (in volts) Q quantity of charge (in coulombs) () Dielectric constant how much charge Q can be stored depends on the area of the plate, the separation 1 between plates, and the strength of the dielectric for creating dipoles. () Permittivity is a universal constant with value 8.85 x 10 ^-12. EQUATIONS: plates C = A/l C = (sub0)*A/l () Polarization: ^ - electronic polarization occurs to some degree in all atoms as the center of negative charge associated with the electron distribution shifts slightly from the center of positive charge associated with the nucleus to create an induced dipole. ^- ionic polarization can occur some ionic materials when an applied field of sufficient strength causes ion that are mobile enough to separate. *A area of the capacitors *l separation between plates

^- orientation polarization can occur only in materials containing permanent dipoles from, say, polar molecules, as these align with an applied field, provided they are able to rotate within the material. () Relaxation Frequency the reciprocal of the minimum reorientation time. () Electronic conduction when electrons are the major charge carrier, they are accelerated until limited by the frictional forces of scattering in the direction opposite the field, that is, from positive to negative or plus to minus polarity. () Ionic conduction being smaller and less massive, cations generally move more easily, but a balance of charge must be maintained at all times, there must be charge equilibrium. () Total conductivity the sum of the electronic and the ionic conductivity.

Electrical Properties of Polymers Most polymeric materials are poor electrical conductors because of the absence of large numbers of free electrons in covalently bonde3d materials. Intrinsically conductive polymers they exhibit electrical conductivity.

Dozens of different types have been synthesized over the past years that have electrical conductivity comparable to some metals, as high as 1.5 x 10^7 (-m)^(-1) High-purity polymers have electron band structures characteristics of electrical insulators & thus, mechanisms by which large numbers of free electrons & holes are generated in conductive polymers is not well understood and for sure, complex. Because all conductive polymers are doped, like extrinsic semiconductors, the dopant atoms lead to the formation of new energy band. This gives rise to a partially filled band & the production of high concentrations of free electrons or holes. By orienting the polymers chains mechanically or magnetically during material synthesis highly anisotropic conductivity can be developed. Conductive polymers are of interest to engineers for their low densities and flexibility as well as for their relative ease of production. Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Behavior in Ceramics

Ferroelectric Behavior( or Ferroelectricity) and Piezoelectric behavior (or Piezoelectricity) are the 2 important electrical properties found in some ceramics. Both properties arise in dielectric materials. Ferroelectric ceramics polarization in the absence of an applied field results from subtle shifts in the positions of anions and cations that make up the ceramic material. This shifts create permanent electric dipole with coordinated polarization within regions of the solid due to interactions between adjacent dipoles leading to mutual alignment. -Alignment is lost above some temperature known as the ferroelectric Curie temperature. Piezoelectric ceramics polarization is induced and as electric field is established across a ceramic solid by the application of a force. -Piezoelectric is quite literally pressure electricity. -Reversing the sign of the applied force from -tension to +compression reverses the direction of the electric field and the direction of the induced voltage and current. -Piezoelectric materials are widely used to convert mechanical stress or pressure into electric energy and vice versa. E.g. transducers used in microphones , speakers, sonar areas.

Thermoelectric effect & thermoelectricity in Metals Thermoelectricity the direct conversion of temperature difference into an electric voltage and current or vice versa in circuits or junctions of two different materials Seebeck effect occurs as valence electrons are excited into higher states, becoming free conduction electrons having a higher Fermi energy. These excited electrons move from one metal to the other because of the difference in Fermi levels as affected by the temperature. The transfer process is sometimes referred to as charge-carrier diffusion, but also involves what is known as phonon drag.

Peltier Effect was discovered in 1834 by French physicist Jean Charles Peltier.

When a current is made to flow through an electric circuit consisting of two different metals in series, connected by junctions, heat is evolved at one junction and is absorbed at the other junction, cooling the former and heating the latter. This effect has its origin in the subtly different electron band structures of two metals as functions of temperature. Thomson effect was experimentally observed by William Thomson, also known as Lord Kelvin, in 1851. This effect involves the heating or cooling of a current carrying conductor within a prevailing temperature gradient. Positive Thomson effect current moves from the hotter to the cooler end and there is evolution of heat. Negative Thomson effect current moves from the hotter end to the cooler end and there is absorption of heat.

The Seebeck effect is the result of both the Peltier and the Thomson effect.