CE 241
MATERIALS SCIENCE
Introduction
What do Engineers do?
Design and Build ....
As Civil Engineers we design and build civil
structures (residental buildings, hospitals,
dams, roads, towers, ...)
Materials Science and Engineering forms the
bedrock for the engineering disciplines
because the structures, components, and
devices that engineers design and use
must be made out of something, and that
is a material.
The properties of the materials that are
available define and limit the
capabilities that the device or structure
can have, and the techniques that can
be used to fabricate it.
Reinforced Concrete Bridges... ~5-10 m
in span
Prestressed Concrete Bridges... ~ 30-
40 m in span
Steel Bridges... ~ 60-70 m in span
Selecting the best material is usually a
difficult task, requiring tradeoffs
between different material properties
(including cost)
Cost of a residential building:
65-75% materials cost
5% technical personel
Rest is the labor cost
Therefore, an appreciation of the
important materials characteristics,
the connection between the behavior of
the material in its intended design setting,
and the stuff the object is made from (and
how it is made)
is important to every engineer, even if they
will never create a new material but
simply choose from standard and widely
available ones.
As civil engineers our job is to:
To make sure that the structure is functional during its
service life (it should be strong)
To make sure that the structure should withstand the
environment (it should be durable)
To make sure that the structure is aesthetic and
economic (it should be feasible)
We need to know the properties of constructional
materials.
Physical, chemical and mechanical properties
Manufacturing processes
Its behavior in its final form
The service life of a civil engineering
structure does not ONLY depend on
How good its design is
How good its labor is
You have to consider other factors such
as:
How good the material that you pick is
How good the quality control is
How you maintain the structure!
Think about the maintenance
requirements of
your car !
your house !
To conclude:
Why do we need to know
materials?
Every engineer, whether mechanical,
civil, chemical or electrical, will at some
point deal with a design problem
involving materials. Examples might
include a transmission gear, the
superstructure of a building, an oil
refinery component, or an integrated
circuit chip.
Materials Science
Materials Science: The study of the
nature, behavior and use of
materials.
The purpose of this course is to:
Learn the properties of materials
(strength, ductility, impact resistance, ...)
Learn the internal structure of materials
(the atomic structure, bonding, ...)
Learn how the internal structure of a material
affects its properties
Metals: Metallic bonding ductility
Ceramics: Ionic and covalent bods brittleness
Plastics: Covalent and Van der Waals
bondsmoisture resistance
Properties of Materials
Mechanical : Define the behavior of the
materials under loads. (Strength, elasticity,
plasticity, ductility, hardness, etc.)
Physical : Density, porosity, moisture
content, shape, surface texture, etc.
Chemical : Oxide or compound composition
Physico-chemical : Shrinkage, swelling
Thermal : Conductivity
Acoustical : Sound transmission or absorption
Optical : Color
Classification of
Civil Engineering Materials
This classification can be done in so
many different ways:
According to their state
According to their chemical
composition and internal structure
According to their intended use
According to their mechanical
behavior
1. According to Their
State
Gases (CO2, O2)
Liquids (Water, Chemical Admixtures)
Solids (Concrete, Steel)
Semi-solids (Fresh Pastes, Mortar, Concrete)
2. According to Their
Chemical Composition and
Internal Structure
Metals → Metallic bond
Ferrous (Iron, steel)
Non-ferrous (Aluminum)
Polymers → Long chain molecules
Natural (rubber, resin, wood)
Artificial (plastics)
Ceramics → Alumino silicates
Structural clay products
Porcelains
Composite Materials → combination of several materials
Concrete
Cement sandstone
Reinforced Composite Materials
Reinforced concrete
Fiber reinforced plastics
3. According to Their
Intended Use
Structural Materials (concrete, steel,
wood)
Architectural Detailing Materials (glass,
paint, heat and sound insulators)
Preservatives (paint)
But some materials fall into all of the
above groups for example wood.
• Load carrying member
• Architectural
• Coating of chipboard
4. According to Their
Mechanical Behavior
Elastic Materials
They deform under some load and when
the load is removed they return back to
their original position
Load
Deformatio
Plastic Materials
They deform under some load, but
when the load is removed there will
be some permanent deformation
P
δ
δperm : Permanent Deformation
Viscoelastic Materials
The load-deformation depends on the
rate of loading
Load
Deformatio
n