CLASSIFICATION OF MATERIALS
Solid materials have been grouped into three basic classifications ; based
primarily on chemical makeup and atomic structure,
❖ Metals
❖ Ceramics
❖ Polymers
There are three other groups of important engineering materials:
• Composites
• Semiconductors
• Biomaterials
METALS
Metallic materials are normally combinations of metallic elements. They are
extremely good conductors of electricity and heat.
CERAMICS
Ceramics are compounds between metallic and non-metallic elements; they
are most frequently oxides, nitrides, and carbides. These materials are
insulative to the passage of electricity and heat, and are more resistant to
high temperatures than metals and polymers. Ceramics are hard but very
brittle.
POLYMERS
Polymers include plastic and rubber materials. they are organic compounds
that are chemically based on carbon, hydrogen, and other non-metallic
elements. These materials have low densities and may be extremely flexible.
COMPOSITES
they consist of more than one material type. Fiberglass is a familiar example, in
which glass fibers are embedded within a polymeric material. A composite is
designed to display a combination of the best characteristics of each of the
component materials. Fiberglass acquires strength from the glass and flexibility
from the polymer.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Semiconductors have electrical properties that are intermediate between the electrical
conductors and insulators.
BIOMATERIALS
Biomaterials are materials with special treatments and are employed in components
implanted into the human body for replacement of diseased or damaged body parts.
These materials must not produce toxic substances and must be compatible with body
tissues .
STEELS
Steels are iron–carbon alloys that may contain appreciable concentrations of
other alloying elements. The mechanical properties are sensitive to the
content of carbon, which is normally less than 1.0 wt%.
Some of the more common steels are classified according to carbon
concentration, namely, into low-, medium-, and high carbon types.
Subclasses also exist within each group according to the concentration of other
alloying elements. Plain carbon steels contain only residual concentrations of
impurities other than carbon and a little manganese. For alloy steels, more
alloying elements are intentionally added in specific concentrations.
Low-Carbon Steels
They generally contain less than about 0.25 wt% C and are unresponsive to heat
treatments; strengthening is accomplished by cold work. .
they are relatively soft and weak, but have outstanding ductility and toughness;
in addition, they are machinable, weldable, and, of all steels, are the least
expensive to produce.
Typical applications include automobile body components, structural shapes
(I-beams, channel and angle iron), and sheets that are used in pipelines,
buildings, bridges, and tin cans.
The codes used by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the Society of
Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM), and in the Uniform Numbering System (UNS)
High-strength, low-alloy steels (HSLA)
Another group of low-carbon alloys (HSLA) They contain other alloying elements
such as copper, vanadium, nickel, and molybdenum in combined concentrations
as high as 10 wt%, and possess higher strengths than the plain low-carbon steels;
they are ductile, formable, and machinable
HSLA steels are more resistant to corrosion than the plain carbon steels, which
they have replaced in many applications where structural strength is critical (e.g.,
bridges, towers, support columns in high-rise buildings, and pressure vessels).
Medium-Carbon Steels
They have carbon concentrations between about 0.25 and 0.60 wt%. These alloys
may be heat treated to improve their mechanical properties.
Additions of chromium, nickel, and molybdenum improve the capacity of these
alloys to be heat treated, giving rise to a variety of strength–ductility
combinations. These heat-treated alloys are stronger than the low-carbon steels,
but at a sacrifice of ductility and toughness.
Applications include railway wheels and tracks, gears, crankshafts, and other
machine parts and high-strength structural components calling for a combination
of high strength, wear resistance, and toughness.
High-Carbon Steels
The high-carbon steels, normally having carbon contents between 0.60 and 1.4
wt%, are the hardest, strongest, and yet least ductile of the carbon steels.
The tool and die steels are high carbon alloys, usually containing chromium,
vanadium, tungsten, and molybdenum. These alloying elements combine with
carbon to form very hard and wear-resistant carbide compounds.
These steels are utilized as cutting tools and dies for forming and shaping
materials, as well as in knives, razors, hacksaw blades, springs, and high-strength
wire.
Stainless Steels
They are highly resistant to corrosion (rusting) in a variety of environments,
especially the ambient atmosphere. Their predominant alloying element is
chromium; a concentration of at least 11 wt% Cr is required. Corrosion
resistance may also be enhanced by nickel and molybdenum additions.
CAST IRONS
They are a class of ferrous alloys with carbon contents above 2.14 wt%; in
practice, however, most cast irons contain between 3.0 and 4.5 wt% C.
The most common cast iron types are gray, nodular, white, and malleable.
Gray Iron
The carbon and silicon contents of gray cast irons vary between 2.5 and 4.0 wt%
and 1.0 and 3.0 wt%, respectively. They are very effective in damping
vibrational energy; it is used in Base structures for machines and heavy
equipment that are exposed to vibrations.
Gray irons exhibit a high resistance to wear. Furthermore, in the molten state
they have a high fluidity at casting temperature, which permits casting pieces
having intricate shapes; also, casting shrinkage is low.
Ductile (or Nodular) Iron
Adding a small amount of magnesium and/or cerium to the gray iron before
casting produces nodular or ductile iron.
ductile iron has mechanical characteristics approaching those of steel. ;Typical
applications for this material include valves, pump bodies, crankshafts, gears,
and other automotive and machine components
Malleable Iron
white iron is used as an intermediary in the production of yet another cast
iron, malleable iron.
applications include connecting rods, transmission gears, and differential
cases for the automotive industry, and also flanges, pipe fittings, and valve
parts for railroad, marine, and other heavy-duty services.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
Materials that are utilized in high-technology applications are sometimes termed advanced
materials. examples include electronic equipment (VCRs, CD players, etc.), computers,
fiberoptic systems, spacecraft, aircraft, and military rocketry.
These advanced materials are :
• Traditional materials whose properties have been enhanced.
• Newly developed, high-performance materials.
SMART MATERIALS
Smart materials are a group of new and state of art materials now being developed that will
have significant influence on many of our technologies. These materials are able to sense
changes in their environments and then respond to these changes in predetermined
manners.
Components of smart material or system include some types of sensors ( that detect an
input signal) and actuators ( that performs a responsive and adaptive function)
Example;
• Input is change in temperature, electrical fields or magnetic fields
• Output is changes in shape, position, natural frequency or mechanical characteristics.
One type of smart system is used in helicopters to reduce aerodynamic noise that is created
by the rotating blades. Piezo-electric sensors inserted into the blades to monitor blade
stresses and deformations; feedback signals from these sensors are fed into a computer-
controlled adaptive device which generates noise- cancelling.
Piezoelectric ceramics expand and contract in response to an applied electric field( or
voltage), conversely, they generate electric field when their dimensions are changed.