Materials I

This class introduces students to basic material concepts such as: Atomic structure, Chemical bonds, Crystallography and Crystal Structure (Crystalline systems, Bravais lattices, Elementary cells, Crystallographic directions, levels & density, single- and poly-crystalline materials), Crystallographic structure imperfections (point, linear, flat, three-dimensional). Granules, grain microstructure limits, microscopy, particle size. Equilibrium phase diagram (complete solid solubility, lever rule, eutectic phase diagrams, peritectic phase diagrams, solid solutions, thermodynamic interpretation of Gibbs law, binary diagrams). The Fe-C system. Basic solidification mechanisms. Nucleation and Growth, Casting, Segregation. Phase transformations and thermal processing of steel alloys and cast metals (fabrication processes, precipitation processes, annealing processes, recovery, recrystallization and grain growth).