MS3011: Metals and Ceramics

Course Instructors

Assistant Professor Yi-Sheng (Eason) Chen

Dr Xiaolei Feng

Course AIMS

This course aims to provide a fundamental understanding of the production, properties, and applications of metals and ceramics, focusing on their role in modern technologies and industries. By exploring the processing strategies, performance characteristics, and technological advancements of industrially important materials, you will gain the ability to evaluate material selection criteria and applicability in diverse applications before entering final-year research projects or professional attachments/internships. Emphasis will be placed on connecting theoretical knowledge with practical scenarios, fostering critical thinking on sustainable production, cost reduction, and innovative uses of these materials to address real-world challenges that you will be facing in careers.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you (as a student) would be able to:

1. Explain the structures of common metallic and ceramic materials.
2. Describe the significance and practical applications of metallic and ceramic materials.
3. Develop the microstructure processing property relationships of common materials.
4. Apply foundational principles in material selections, considering properties, functionalities, environmental impact, and costs for industry applications.
5. Engage in material innovation by proposing new methods to, for example, reduce production costs, improve sustainability, and enhance properties.
6. Process metallic and ceramic materials for desired properties.
7. Communicate and discuss the above material design and selection principles.
   

Course Content

Ceramics: Introduction to ceramic materials, construction ceramics and sustainability; Structure of ceramics; Processing of ceramics; Essential properties of ceramics; Advanced properties of ceramics.

Metals: Basics, processing, properties, and applications of steels; Basics, processing, properties, and applications of aluminium alloys; Copper, precious metals, and tin; Zinc, lead, and rare metals; Magnesium, titanium, nickel, zirconium, and high-entropy alloys; Lab tutorial: Heat treatment and tensile property of aluminium alloys

Reading and References

• Engineering Materials 1: An Introduction to Properties, Applications and Design, Fourth Edition by Michael F.Ashby and David R.H. Jones, 2012, ISBN 978-0-08-096665-6, Butterworth-Heinemann (Elsevier), https://doi.org/10.1016/C2009-0-64288-4.
• Engineering Materials 2: An Introduction to Microstructures and Processing, Fourth Edition by Michael F. Ashbyand David R.H. Jones, 2013, ISBN 978-0-08-096668-7, Butterworth-Heinemann (Elsevier), https://doi.org/10.1016/C2009-0-64289-6.
• Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering, William D. Callister, Jr., David G. Rethwisch, 2021, ISBN: 1119747732, 9781119747734, Wiley & Sons
• Introduction to Ceramics, W. D. Kingery, H. K.Bowen, D. R. Uhlmann, 2nd Edition, 1991.
• Classic and Advanced Ceramics: From Fundamentals to Applications, R. B. Heimann, 2010.
• Fundamentals of Ceramics, M. W. Barsoum, IOP publishing Ltd, 2003. (Courtesy of Prof. M. W. Barsoum; Some figures in the lecture notes are provided by Prof. M. W. Barsoum)