Assignment

In MSE 2010 we talk about several general classes of materials: metals, polymers, ceramics, glasses and composites. We know that these are just the basic categories and we've discussed several specific examples, but this is nowhere near an exhaustive list of the novel and unique materials being researched and developed. The purpose of this assignment is to get you thinking about how vast the field of materials science is through an in-depth exploration of one of these exciting topics. You will answer questions connected to topics covered in lecture and recitation, and use your engineering mindset for potential applications. Suggested questions and format can be found on the next page.

Topic Choices

Metallic glasses

• What advantage does a non-crystalline structure have over a crystalline one?

• What biological applications have taken advantage of these materials?

Conductive polymers

• What allows this class of materials to be conductive?

• What advantages would a conductive polymer offer over a metal?

Ceramic matrix composite'

• How does adding ceramic fibers to ceramic provide superior properties to typical ceramics?

• How do the stress-strain curves vary from those of a typical ceramic?

Mg alloys

• What structural advantage does Mg have over other alloy systems?

• What effect do the different alloying elements have on material properties?

Ni-based superalloys

• Identify and describe are the various common phases observed.

• What solution hardening effects are observed with common alloying elements?

Superhydrophobic surfaces/coatings

• Describe the advantage these naturally occurring surfaces have in nature

• How do nanoscale structures affect macroscopic properties?

Carbon nanotubeF

• What could these be combined with to enhance either thermal or mechanical properties?

• Identify and discuss the different types of carbon nanotubes in terms of structure and properties

General Requirements

- Works cited from 5 or more scientifically rigorous resources (journal papers, textbooks, NOT Wikipedia)

- Include 2-4 relevant figures from credible sources + 1 figure from 2010 course material

- Word count: 1200-1500 (not including works cited), 1.5 spaced, 1" margins

- Submit as Word document (.doc or .docx)

- Use tables or charts to summarize information as needed

- You should answer most of the questions outlined below regardless of your chosen topic.