Chemistry and Materials
Technology
(Module Materials Technology)
A.A. 2023/24
mail: emastronardo@[Link]
Phone: +390906765542
Office: Building A 6° floor R.N.614
Prerequisites Goals
• Acquisition of skills and knowledge on
the fundamentals of chemistry for
engineers, on construction material
properties, on the correlation between
microstructure and chemical, physical and
mechanical properties.
• Apply the acquired knowledge in order to
draw observations and to solve
engineering problems with suitable
techniques, tools, description and scientific
investigation methods.
• Use properly the technical, graphics and
scientific languages of the specific
discipline.
Basic knowledge of general chemistry's
laws, the symbols of elements and
compounds, the simplest nomenclature
Timeline
both organic and inorganic, the balancing Lessons
6 CFU
of elementary reactions. 48 h
Subjects
Topic 3: Solid state
Classification. Crystal structure and defects. Mechanical properties. Phase diagram with two
components.
Topic 4: Mechanical properties
Tension, compressive, flexural strengths, resilience, toughness, hardness. Elastic and plastic
deformation.
Topic 5: Cast irons and steels
Production. Heat treatments of steels. Steels and cast irons classification.
Topic 10: Polymeric and Composites Materials
Structure and properties. Main degradation phenomena.
Topic 11: Aerial and hydraulic binders
Aerial binders. Hydraulic lime. Portland cement: production, hydration. Portland-pozzolana and blast
furnace cement. Degradation. Concrete mix-design.
Topic 12: Wood
Classifications and structures of wood, physical and mechanical properties of wood, wood
preservation.
Topic 13: Ceramics and glasses
Structure and manufacturing processes, traditional refractory and ceramics.
Exam
Final exam: a written test and an oral discussion on the topics
included in the written test.
OR
N° 2 optional intermediate written tests (aimed at exemption
from the final written test), that will take place in the middle
and at the end of the course.
Score
Each test is assigned an evaluation out of thirty. All
intermediate tests taken are valid for one calendar year from
the beginning of the course. Students who do not participate
in the ongoing tests or who do not pass them can still take the
written test during the exam sessions.
To access the oral interview, students must have passed the written
test with a score equal to or greater than 15/30 or have achieved an
average score equal to or greater than 15/30 in the two
intermediate written tests. The exam is considered passed if the
average score between the written and oral parts is equal to or
higher than 18/30.
Textbooks
Ash Ahmed, John Sturges, Materials in J.M Illston, P.L.J. Domone, Construction
construction: an introduction, Editor: Materials: Their Nature and Behaviour, Editor:
Routledge, Published in 2015, Spon Press, Third Edition,
ISBN (ebook): 978-0-08-095850-7 ISBN: 9781498741101
Matter
aggregate of atoms or molecules
solid gas
Aggregation states
liquid
Crystalline structure Amorphous structure
Atoms or molecules
Atomi o molecole Silica tetrahedra
Tetraedri di silice
Unit cell
Cella elementare
Semicrystalline structure
Macromolecules
Macromolecole
Gel: dispersion of a solid phase (with very fine particles) in a liquid
Living in a material world
“What would our life be like without all the
materials that exist today?”
Without them, our lifestyle would be very similar to that of our ancestors in the Stone
Age
Stone age 2.5 milions a.C.
Bronz age 3500 a.C.
Iron age 1000 a.C
Use of materials found in nature: stone, wood, clay, leathers, and so on
It was discovered that the properties of the materials could be modified by heat
treatments and by the addition of other substances present in nature.
Production of materials with properties superior to natural ones; among these, ceramics
and metals.
Selection of the material based on the characteristics according to the final use.
The materials science
Structural elements of Properties of materials
Relationships
materials
Possibility of modeling the characteristics of materials to
a considerable extent and developing tens of thousands
of different materials with quite specific characteristics,
to meet the needs of our modern and complex society;
these include metals, plastics, glass and fibers
Improved knowledge of a type of material underlies the advancement of
a technology.
The cars would not have been possible without the availability of low-
cost steel or other comparable materials or the birth of electronic devices
without the development of semiconductor materials.
The industrial use of materials
• The science and use of materials is central to all branches of industry, and as such is a
subject of enormous importance.
• The range of materials we have at our disposal is enormous, and is being added to
as the results of research and development are put to use week by week and month
by month. The industries using materials include construction, aerospace,
automobile, shipbuilding, white goods, electronics, railways, etc.
• Each industry has its own particular concerns about materials; in the aircraft business,
the over-riding concern is with lightness and weight-saving, with cost being secondary
to this.
Whatever the industry using and specifying materials, what they are really doing is
specifying desirable properties
We currently have between 40,000 and 80,000 different materials at our disposal (alloy
steels, all the different polymers, species of timber, types of glass, types of composites,
etc. )
Making the correct selection can be a complex matter!
For certain applications we cannot always meet our requirements from single materials;
in such cases we may have to make recourse to composite materials
CHOICE OF THE RIGHT MATERIAL
AMONG THE DIFFERENT THOUSANDS
OF MATERIALS AVAILABLE
Required properties Durability of
Define the conditions
of the material over the material
in service
its entire useful life
Economic evaluation
FINAL CHOICE OF MATERIAL
Materials classification
Different types of classification are obtained by grouping the materials according to their
chemical, physical, mechanical properties, etc..
The materials are classified for example according to:
the state of the matter that composes them ................. Gaseous, liquid or solid
their nature ............................................... ..................... Organic and inorganic materials
Their molecular structure ................................................ Materials crystalline or amorphous
Their chemical composition and atomic structure .......... Elements, compounds, mixtures
The structure and quality of chemical bonds ................... Ionic, covalent, molecular
The production process .................................................... Natural and artificial materials
Materials classification
ORGANIC MATERIALS
All materials originating from the combination of CARBON, HYDROGEN, NITROGEN and
OXYGEN and other non-metallic substances; this group includes all living matter as well
as many biological compounds such as rubber and cellulose, and other non-biological
and synthetic compounds such as plastics, various petroleum derivatives, etc.
INORGANIC MATERIALS
This group includes compounds of mineral origin such as metals, rocks, clays, ceramics
and sands.
CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE MATERIALS
It represents a spatial arrangement characterized by a three-dimensional reticular
structure that can assume different geometric configurations.
AMORPHOUS STRUCTURE MATERIALS
It represents a spatial arrangement in which a geometric order is not recognizable.
Importance of construction materials
Construction uses a wider range of materials than any other
Table 1.1 World production of principal materials, and the approximate proportion going to the construction
industry
Material Annual world production (tonnes) % of world production used in construction
Cement 2,400,000,000 95–100
Aggregates 12,000,000,000 95–100
Steel 1,450,000,000 Up to 50
Timber 1,000,000,000 c.60
Polymers 150,000,000 c.20–25
Total 17,000,000,000
3,500
3,000
3,000 Construction materials
Industrial materials Consumption trends of
2,500
2,500 Metals
Millions of metric tons various materials by the
Millions of metric tons
Nonrenewable organics
2,000
Agricultural and forestry products 2,000
United States for the
1,500 Great
1,500 twentieth century
Depression (Source: United States Geological Survey)
1,000 WW II 1,000
WW I
500 500
0 0
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995 2000
Year
Importance of construction materials
10000 BC 5000 BC 0 1000 1500 1800 1900 1940 1960 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
GOLD COPPER
BRONZE METALS METALS
IRON
GLASSY METALS
CAST IRON
AL-LITHIUM ALLOYS
POLYMERS, DEVELOPMENT SLOW:
ELASTOMERS STEELS MOSTLY QUALITY
DUAL PHASE STEELS
CONTROL AND
WOOD PROCESSING
ALLOY MICROALLOYED STEELS
SKINS STEELS
Relative Importance
FIBRES NEW SUPER ALLOYS
GLUES
LIGHT
ALLOYS POLYMERS,
RUBBER ELASTOMERS
SUPER ALLOYS
COMPOSITES
STRAW-BRICK PAPER
TITANIUM HIGH TEMPERATURE
ZIRCONIUM ALLOYS POLYMERS
STONE ETC
HIGH MODULUS
FLINT BAKELITE POLYMERS COMPOSITES
POTTERY
CERAMIC COMPOSITES
GLASS POLYESTERS METAL-MATRIX
NYLON COMPOSITES
CEMENT EPOXIES
PE
PMMA ACRYLICS KEVLAR-FRP
CERAMICS, REFRACTORIES PC PS PP CFRP CERAMICS,
GLASSES PORTLAND
CFRP GLASSES
CEMENT FUSED PYRO TOUGH ENGINEERING
NFA 86
SILICA CERMETS CERAMICS CERAMICS (Al2O 3, Si3N4, PSZ etc)
10000 BC 5000 BC 0 1000 1500 1800 1900 1940 1960 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Date
The evolution of engineering materials
(After Ashby, 1992)