Materials Strand: Structure-property relationships of the main types of engineering materials (metals, ceramics, polymers and composites). Micromechanisms of elastic and plastic deformation. Fracture mechanisms for ductile, brittle, creep and fatigue modes of failure; corrosion. Phase equilibria of alloys; microstructural control by thermomechanical processing and application to commercial engineering materials. Laboratory and tutorial work includes experiments on mechanical testing, cast and recrystallised structures, ferrous and non-ferrous microstructures, and fracture and failure analysis.
Chemistry strand: Chemistry in engineering; understanding the properties of materials at an atomic and molecular level; relating macroscopic engineering properties to the underlying structure of the material. (in the following, 'S' refers to the text Silberberg 'Chemistry – The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change', 4th Edn).
- Introduction (S Ch. 2, 3, 4): Elementary atomic structure, isotopes, nomenclature; the mole concept, atomic and molar mass; stoichiometry, formulae, equations; chemical reaction types, precipitation, acid-base, and redox reaction; oxidation numbers, oxidation state; molarity, limiting reactants, and product yields.
- Structure and Bonding (S Ch. 8, 9): Electronic configuration; metallic, ionic and covalent bonding; electronegativity, bond polarity, and bond strength; molecular shape and Lewis structure.
- States of Matter (S Ch. 9, 12): Solids, liquids and gases; intermolecular forces; properties of liquids, melting and boiling points; solvent properties and solubility; metallic, ionic, covalent networks and molecular solids; chemical aspects of ceramics and glasses; chemical vapour deposition.
- Chemical Equilibrium in Aqueous Solution (S Ch. 17, 18, 19): The equilibrium state, equilibrium constants, Le Chatelier's principle, quantitative calculations; acid-base equilibria, pH, buffers.
- Organic Chemistry and Polymers (S Ch. 15): The systematic chemistry of carbon compounds; nomenclature and properties of common organic functional groups; isomer and stereochemistry; organic reactions, oxidation, reduction, addition, substitution, and elimination; fundamentals of polymer chemistry.
