ESC110 Materials Science Syllabus

Professor: Eric Lima

Syllabus
1. Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering
2. Mechanical Properties
3. Crystal Structures
4. Imperfections
5. Diffusion
6. Deformations
7. Failure
8. Phase Diagrams
9. Phase Transformations
10. Polymers
11. Applications
12. Processing
Textbook:
Foundations of Material Science and Engineering, Fifth Edition, William F Smith, Kavas
Hashemi
Grading:
There will be five quizzes that will total to 75% of your grade.
There will be four labs that will total to 20% of your grade.
There will be a few short projects that will total to 5% of your grade.
Homework will be assigned from the textbook, but not collected or graded.
Quizzes:
Each quiz will be cumulative of previous lessons.
Each quiz will scale in worth: 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%.
Each quiz will get progressively longer.
There will be no partial credit on any quiz.
Structure of Rotating Labs
The class will be divided into teams of three.
Each team will be assigned 1 of 4 labs.
Labs will last for 3 weeks and will end with a presentation of results.
At the end of the lab, teams will rotate to a new lab.
By the end of the semester each student will have completed all 4 labs.

ESC110 Materials Science Syllabus

Lab 1: Changing the material properties of steel.
In this lab you will characterize some of the most important mechanical properties of lowcarbon steel and then you will try to alter those properties through heat treatment and
carbonization. The results of your experiments will be added to a class database for a full
characterization of the material by the end of the semester.
Lab 2: Exploring new uses of a novel material from the Materials Connexion library.
In this lab you will visit a nearby materials library and examine the wide array of novel
materials they have on display. You will choose a material that interests you as a team and
propose a novel use for it. You will then characterize the costs and benefits of this choice for
your novel use. You will also discuss the properties of the material, including manufacturing
processes.
Lab 3: Continuous exploration of a class question:
In this lab you will find at least 3 peer-reviewed manuscripts that contribute to a central
question that the class is exploring. For example, if the class is trying to determine what
materials can be extruded in a 3D printer in order to print buildings, they might be interested
in how cement can be made more sticky in its wet state You will review the literature to
find out how to quantify that property.
Choice
Lab 4a: Using Lost PLA to cast a porous ceramic
In this lab you will manufacture a porous ceramic test specimen using a manufacturing
procedure called lost PLA. This is essentially melting the polymer out from the ceramic mold.
You will be left with a porous ceramic cylinder that you will then compress using the Instron
testing rig.
Lab 4b: The effect of temperature on the mechanical properties of a polymer
In this lab you will characterize the effect of temperature on the mechanical properties of a
polymer test specimen. You will investigate both the time dependent and time independent
properties of the polymer at various temperatures.