Microstructure is the very small scale structure of a material, defined as the structure of a prepared surface of material as revealed by an optical microscope above 25× magnification. The microstructure of a material (such as metals, polymers, ceramics or composites) can strongly influence physical properties such as strength, toughness, ductility, hardness, corrosion resistance, high/low temperature behaviour or wear resistance. These properties in turn govern the application of these materials in industrial practice.
Microstructure at scales smaller than can be viewed with optical microscopes is often called nanostructure, while the structure in which individual atoms are arranged is known as crystal structure. The nanostructure of biological specimens is referred to as ultrastructure. A microstructure’s influence on the mechanical and physical properties of a material is primarily governed by the different defects present or absent of the structure. These defects can take many forms but the primary ones are the pores. Even if those pores play a very important role in the definition of the characteristics of a material, so does its composition. In fact, for many materials, different phases can exist at the same time. These phases have different properties and if managed correctly, can prevent the fracture of the material.
The concept of microstructure is observable in macrostructural features in commonplace objects. Galvanized steel, such as the casing of a lamp post or road divider, exhibits a non-uniformly colored patchwork of interlocking polygons of different shades of grey or silver. Each polygon is a single crystal of zinc adhering to the surface of the steel beneath. Zinc and lead are two common metals which form large crystals (grains) visible to the naked eye. The atoms in each grain are organized into one of seven 3d stacking arrangements or crystal lattices (cubic, tetrahedral, hexagonal, monoclinic, triclinic, rhombohedral and orthorhombic).
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The course will provide fundamental key aspects governing glass as a material and the microstructuring of glass using a variety of techniques, like dry and wet etching, mechanical and laser machining
Ce cours constitue une introduction aux principes qui régissent l'élaboration, la microstructure et les propriétés des matériaux métalliques. Trois systèmes principaux d'alliages (Al, Cu, Fe) seront u
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In materials science, fracture toughness is the critical stress intensity factor of a sharp crack where propagation of the crack suddenly becomes rapid and unlimited. A component's thickness affects the constraint conditions at the tip of a crack with thin components having plane stress conditions and thick components having plane strain conditions. Plane strain conditions give the lowest fracture toughness value which is a material property.
Microstructure is the very small scale structure of a material, defined as the structure of a prepared surface of material as revealed by an optical microscope above 25× magnification. The microstructure of a material (such as metals, polymers, ceramics or composites) can strongly influence physical properties such as strength, toughness, ductility, hardness, corrosion resistance, high/low temperature behaviour or wear resistance. These properties in turn govern the application of these materials in industrial practice.
In materials science, hardness (antonym: softness) is a measure of the resistance to localized plastic deformation induced by either mechanical indentation or abrasion. In general, different materials differ in their hardness; for example hard metals such as titanium and beryllium are harder than soft metals such as sodium and metallic tin, or wood and common plastics. Macroscopic hardness is generally characterized by strong intermolecular bonds, but the behavior of solid materials under force is complex; therefore, hardness can be measured in different ways, such as scratch hardness, indentation hardness, and rebound hardness.
Delves into using electrical resistivity measurements to characterize microstructural features of metallic systems, including monitoring precipitation kinetics and evaluating solid solubility evolution.
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