Applied Materials Technology

Structural materials, in particular steels, non-ferrous metals (e.g., aluminium), ceramics, polymers and composites, with emphasis on their microstructure, mechanical properties and industrial applications. The topics of phase diagrams and phase transitions, as well as the phenomenon of corrosion, will also be addressed. Finally, the course provides an introduction to functional materials and their optical, magnetic and electrical properties.

After completing the course, the student should:

• Be familiar with the term kinetics in relation to evolution of microstructure in metallic materials, and specifically understand C-curves and CCT diagrams.
• Be able to use binary phase diagrams and CCT diagrams to interpret the response of steels and aluminium alloys to industrial heat treatment and welding.
• Have a basic knowledge of ceramics, polymers and composites, their microstructural evolution and crystal structure, and be able to estimate their properties based on the rule of mixtures and elementary fracture mechanics.
• Understand the mechanisms of corrosion and degradation of materials, and further be able to use this knowledge to estimate the corrosion rate and lifetime under different operating conditions.
• Have a basic knowledge of functional materials, and to some extent also a quantitative understanding of factors affecting their electrical, optical and magnetic properties.

Lectures, exercises and midterm test. The total workload corresponds to approx. 210 hours per student.