CASE STUDY RE-SIT– MECHANICAL AND CHEMICAL STRUCTURE-PROPERTY RELATIONSHIPS
INTRODUCTION
In this exercise, you will look at the mechanical and chemical properties of a class of engineering materials, which
will tend to determine the applications for these materials, and examine how the microstructure is designed in
order to control the mechanical properties and how this affects the chemical behaviour. How might these
materials be either protected from unwanted interactions with the environment or how might the rate of such
interactions be controlled in service
You will be expected to carry out the necessary background research into the property set for your chosen
material class and how this relates to typical applications for these materials. You will then draw on your
knowledge of microstructure-property relationships to explain (where possible quantitatively, i.e. by presenting
relevant data and equations) how the mechanical properties are determined by the microstructure of the
material and thus what the optimum microstructure is in order to give the best properties for the application.
You will critically analyse the thermodynamic and kinetics aspects of the interaction between the material and
its environment, the mechanism of corrosion and how protection is achieved in practice. Note that it is important
to consider the negative as well as the positive as materials design is concerned with avoiding undesirable
behaviour as much as enhancing desirable behaviour (i.e. what deleterious effect might accompany
microstructural changes intended to improve a given property).
In this exercise, you should not consider how the desired microstructure is produced.
LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSED
Understand the micromechanics of deformation and fracture in materials, their relationship to
structure, and the principles of microstructural engineering to control mechanical behaviour;
Understand the mechanisms of interaction of materials with their environment: oxidation, corrosion,
and degradation;
Understand the influence of composition and structure on the chemical interaction of materials with
their environment;
Be able to discuss the selection, performance and protection of materials in aggressive environments
THE TOPIC
You should consider the mechanical and chemical structure-property relationships in 2xxx series aluminium
alloys.
YOUR REPORT
The themes which need to be covered in your report are given above: typical applications of your chosen
material; required chemical and mechanical properties for these applications; how the microstructure is
engineered to deliver these properties and any control measures needed to limit chemical attack in use. You will
need to research the first two areas – Ansys EduPack1 is a good starting point for applications and property data,
as are materials data books (e.g. the ASM Materials Handbooks series, available in the Edward Boyle Library,
1 Available via AppsAnywhere on Campus PCs or via Windows Virtual Desktop.
CAPE5720M – Microstructure-Property Relationships
Level 11 Materials D-1 AME) and MatWeb for property data. Appropriate text books, on-line resources and
journal papers (particularly review articles) should provide further information on microstructures and their
relationship to properties.
It is important that you demonstrate your ability to synthesize your report from a range of sources and draw on
the lecture notes, and additional research, to explain and justify (as quantitatively as is possible) how the
microstructure is responsible for the resultant properties.
Some suggested section headings are:
Abstract
Introduction
Typical Applications
Mechanical and Chemical Property Requirements and their relationships with Microstructure and the
thermodynamics (e.g. phase equilibrium diagram/s, E-pH diagram), kinetics and mechanisms of
chemical attack, (e.g. functional performance diagrams using Ashby’s diagram reference).
Effect of composition and microstructure on chemical and mechanical properties
Methods of controlling chemical attack in service
Conclusions
References
You are free to deviate from these but are advised to ensure that you cover the required topics and structure
your report logically to present a lucid report for the reader.
There is a limit of 4000 words for this assignment, to include all words in the main text, in-text citations, figures
and tables, figure captions and table titles, section headings and footnotes, but exclude words inside the
reference list and any appendices (if applicable). This is not a target and many excellent case studies may be
significantly shorter than this. Reports which significantly exceed the word limit (i.e. by more than 10%) will be
penalised by the deduction of 10 marks.
SUBMISSION
The deadline for the submission of your report is 2.00 pm on Monday 15th August 2022. Your report should be
submitted to the TurnitinUK Assignment pigeonhole in the Re-sits area in Minerva.
Your report must be free from plagiarism – it will be checked to see that the work of others to which you refer is
correctly paraphrased or summarized and the sources are cited in the text. Guidance on avoiding plagiarism may
be found at Skills@Library and, if you have not already done so, you are strongly advised to run the Academic
Integrity Tutorial and pass the test prior to submitting your report. Please be aware that the penalty for plagiarism
or academic malpractice in a final attempt is that the degree is failed irrevocably.
The standard University penalty will apply for late submission (5 marks per calendar day, or part thereof – work
submitted later than 2.00 pm on Friday 26th August will receive a mark of zero). Reports which significantly
exceed the word limit (i.e. by more than 10%) will be penalised by the deduction of 10 marks.
This case study carries 20% of the credit for the module.
