We explore “10 things” that range from the menu of materials available to engineers in their profession to the many mechanical and electrical properties of materials important to their use in various engineering fields. We also discuss the principles behind the manufacturing of those materials.
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
* Recognize the important aspects of the materials used in modern engineering applications,
* Explain the underlying principle of materials science: “structure leads to properties,”
* Identify the role of thermally activated processes in many of these important “things” – as illustrated by the Arrhenius relationship.
* Relate each of these topics to issues that have arisen (or potentially could arise) in your life and work.
If you would like to explore the topic in more depth you may purchase Dr. Shackelford's Textbook:
J.F. Shackelford, Introduction to Materials Science for Engineers, Eighth Edition, Pearson Prentice-Hall, Upper
Saddle River, NJ, 2015
Materials Science: 10 Things Every Engineer Should Know
Offered By
University of California, Davis
About this Course
4.6
958 ratings
Skills you will gain
MaterialsMechanical EngineeringEngineering DesignElectrical Engineering
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week
11 hour to complete
Course Overview / The Menu of Materials / Point Defects Explain Solid State Diffusion
Welcome to week 1! In lesson one, you will learn to recognize the six categories of engineering materials through examples from everyday life, and we’ll discuss how the structure of those materials leads to their properties. Lesson two explores how point defects explain solid state diffusion. We will illustrate crystallography – the atomic-scale arrangement of atoms that we can see with the electron microscope. We will also describe the Arrhenius Relationship, and apply it to the number of vacancies in a crystal. We’ll finish by discussing how point defects facilitate solid state diffusion, and applying the Arrhenius Relationship to solid state diffusion.
10 videos (Total 41 min), 2 quizzes
10 videos
Six Categories of Engineering Materials8m
Structure Leads to Properties5m
Summary2m
Crystallography and the Electron Microscope6m
Introduction to the Arrhenius Relationship5m
The Arrhenius Relationship Applied to the Number of Vacancies in a Crystal4m
Point Defects and Solid State Diffusion3m
The Arrhenius Relationship Applied to Solid State Diffusion2m
Summary36s
2 practice exercises
Thing 110m
Thing 224m
Week
21 hour to complete
Dislocations Explain Plastic Deformation / Stress vs. Strain -The “Big Four” Mechanical Properties
Welcome to week 2! In lesson three we will discover how dislocations at the atomic-level structure of materials explain plastic (permanent) deformation. You will learn to define a linear defect and see how materials deform through dislocation motion. Lesson four compares stress versus strain, and introduces the “Big Four” mechanical properties of elasticity, yield strength, tensile strength, and ductility. You’ll assess what happens beyond the tensile strength of an object. And you’ll learn about a fifth important property – toughness.
10 videos (Total 34 min), 2 quizzes
10 videos
Plastic Deformation by Dislocation Motion8m
Summary13s
The Stress versus Strain (Tensile) Test3m
The “Big Four” Mechanical Properties3m
Focusing on Strength and Stiffness4m
Beyond the Tensile Strength4m
Focusing on Ductility1m
A Fifth Parameter – Toughness2m
Summary1m
2 practice exercises
Thing 38m
Thing 416m
Week
31 hour to complete
Creep Deformation / The Ductile-to-Brittle Transition
Welcome to week 3! In lesson five we’ll explore creep deformation and learn to analyze a creep curve. We’ll apply the Arrhenius Relationship to creep deformation and identify the mechanisms of creep deformation. In lesson six we find that the phenomenon of ductile-to-brittle transition is related to a particular crystal structure (the body-centered cubic). We’ll also learn to plot the ductile-to-brittle transition for further analysis.
8 videos (Total 34 min), 2 quizzes
8 videos
The Creep Curve5m
Creep Deformation and the Arrhenius Relationship8m
Mechanisms for Creep Deformation3m
Summary1m
The Ductile-to-Brittle Transition and Crystal Structure7m
Plotting the Ductile-to-Brittle Transition5m
Summary1m
2 practice exercises
Thing 516m
Thing 68m
Week
41 hour to complete
Fracture Toughness / Fatigue
Welcome to week 4! In lesson seven we will examine the concept of critical flaws. We’ll define fracture toughness and critical flaw size with the design plot. We’ll also distinguish how we break things in good and bad ways. Lesson eight explores the concept of fatigue in engineering materials. We’ll define fatigue and examine the fatigue curve and fatigue strength. We’ll also identify mechanisms of fatigue.
10 videos (Total 43 min), 2 quizzes
10 videos
Fracture Toughness and the Design Plot8m
Critical Flaw Size and the Design Plot5m
A Play of Good versus Evil!4m
Summary33s
Introduction to Fatigue1m
Defining Fatigue6m
The Fatigue Curve and Fatigue Strength5m
Mechanism of Fatigue5m
Summary1m
2 practice exercises
Thing 718m
Thing 812m
Week
52 hours to complete
Making Things Fast and Slow / A Brief History of Semiconductors
Welcome to week 5! In lesson nine we’ll deal with how to make things fast and slow. We’ll examine the lead-tin phase diagram and look at its practical applications as an example of making something slowly. Then we’ll evaluate the TTT diagram for eutectoid steel, and compare diffusional to diffusionless transformations with the TTT diagram, monitoring how we make things rapidly. Lesson ten is a brief history of semiconductors. Here, we discuss the role of semiconductor materials in the modern electronics industry. Our friend Arrhenius is back again, and this time we’re applying the Arrhenius Relationship to both intrinsic and extrinsic semiconductors. We’ll also look at combined intrinsic and extrinsic behavior.
12 videos (Total 55 min), 3 quizzes
12 videos
The Lead-Tin Phase Diagram1m
The Competition Between Instability and Diffusion4m
The TTT Diagram for Eutectoid Steel5m
Diffusional Transformations3m
Diffusionless Transformations4m
Summary1m
A Brief History7m
The Intrinsic Semiconductor4m
The Extrinsic Semiconductor6m
Combined Intrinsic and Extrinsic Behavior4m
Summary1m
3 practice exercises
Thing 920m
Thing 1014m
Ten Things Final40m
4.6
239 Reviews27%
started a new career after completing these courses
15%
got a tangible career benefit from this course
Top Reviews
This course is good for engineers. It illustrated many fundemental and important concept in materials science. The teacher is great who explain nearly everthings in details with words and experiments.
This course was alot more educational then I thought it would be but now I compare what has shaped me in in life to creep deformation. I especially loved the lecture " a play on good and evil".
Instructor
James Shackelford
Distinguished Professor EmeritusDepartment of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
About University of California, Davis
UC Davis, one of the nation’s top-ranked research universities, is a global leader in agriculture, veterinary medicine, sustainability, environmental and biological sciences, and technology. With four colleges and six professional schools, UC Davis and its students and alumni are known for their academic excellence, meaningful public service and profound international impact.
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