Learning objectives
Knowledge and understanding:
At the end of the course the student will integrate his knowledge of base chemistry with the typical application of engineering, will have a complete overview of inorganic materials in relation to their chemical composition, their structure and characteristics of use. The student will also have a knowledge of the fundamentals of the environmental sustainability problems linked to the inorganic industries of production of the inorganic materials.
Applying knowledge and understanding:
At the end of the course of study the student will develop the ability to choose the best material for the desired applications. He will be able to predict physical and chemical processing to be implemented on materials in order to modify the structure to improve its properties. He will also be able to put in place the appropriate measures to prolong the life of the material. The student will also be able to predict the controls to be carried out to verify that the materials used meet the desired characteristics. The student will also be able to predict the critical aspects of some industrial processes and to provide for chemical and physical treatments to modify the structure and properties of a material; he will have the skills to correlate structural and functional properties of materials
Making judgments:
On passing the exam, the student should have developed the ability to critically evaluate the analytical data of the mechanical behavior of a material to predict the behavior in work, as well as the ability to interpret the data of the controls for acceptance of a material to be used. The student will also be able to evaluate the environmental effects of some chemical processes.
Communication skills:
On passing the exam, the student should have acquired sufficient command of the language, at least as regards the technical terminology and specific chemical teaching.
Learning skills:
The final seminar activities are designed to introduce students to the latest developments in terms of research in the field of materials science: the student should have acquired the knowledge and basic skills of discipline to deal with, in the future, an independent deepening of these aspects.
Prerequisites
General and Inorganic Chemistry is required.
Course unit content
Theory:
Crystalline and amorphous materials. Engineering materials: metals, ceramic materials, polymeric and composite materials. Mechanical, thermal and chemiccal properties of materials and tests for their characterization.
-Connection between microstructure and properties. Principal metallic crystal structures. Metallic solid solutions. Crystal lattice defects.
-Heterogeneous equilibria. Binary phase diagrams.
-Burnt and hydrated lime; plaster of paris. Hydraulic lime. Portland cement. Manufacture, hydration processes of Portland cement. Natural and man-made pozzolana, fly ash, silica fume; blast furnace slag. Portland-pozzolana cement, slag cement. Types of Portland cement. Technical tests on cement. Aluminate cement.
-Fine and coarse aggregates. Cement mortar and concrete: properties and tests (time of setting, consistency or workability, bleeding). Admixture for concrete. Lightweight and heavy concretes. Fiber reinforced concretes and polymer impregnated concretes. Shrinkage, creep, compressive strength of concrete. Mix-design of concrete. Hygrothermic treatment of concrete. Concrete degradation.
-Metallic materials. Cast irons and steels: production and properties. The iron-iron carbide phase diagram. White, grey, malleable and nodular cast irons Heat treatment of steels (hardening, softening, annealing, normalizing). Standard classification and codification of steels. Alloying elements in steel, stainless steels, steels for tool.
-Electrochemical corrosion of metals. Galvanic cells. Intergranular corrosion. Stress corrosion. Corrosion control and prevention.- Nuclear fuel cycle, types of reactors and waste disposal
- For each material category, the fundamentals of environmental sustainability wil be pointed out.
Full programme
Properties of materials and their structure (macro, micro and atomic / molecular). Metal, ceramic and composite materials. Atomic structure and bonds (ionic and covalent). Reticular energies and properties of materials. Spatial lattice and unit cells. Crystalline systems and lattices of Bravais. Main metallic crystalline structures (CFC, CCC, EC): number of atoms, coordination and atomic packing factor (APF). Introduction to Miller indices. Comparison between CFC and EC crystals. Density. Polymorphism and allotropy. Solidification of metals. Growth of crystals and formation of the grain structure. Types of grains. Solid metal solutions: substitutive and interstitial. Crystalline defects: of point, line, surface and volume. Carbon in the iron lattice: role of the reticular vacuum shape. Motion of dislocations and plastic deformation. Work hardening. Multiplication of dislocations. Grain size and its size. Binders. Gypsum: characteristics and preparation. Aerial lime. Hydraulic locks. Natural and artificial Pozzolane; production, composition and properties. Cement: definitions. Portland. Cement production cycle. Clinker manufacture. Transformations that occur during cooking. Hydration of Portland Cement. Taking and hardening. Structure of the cement gel (CSH). Thermal shade. Mineral additions. Porosity. Cement forms. Types of cement. Resistance classes. Measurement of setting times and expansion. Compression test. Chemical requirements. Degree of hydration. Permeability. Powers reports. Capillary pores and diffusivity. Water in the pores. Properties of fresh concrete. Workability. Consistency classes. Rules of Lyse. Segregation, bleeding and transition zone. Other ingredients in the concrete. Additives. Properties and characteristics. Potential zeta. Aggregates or inert. Mechanical properties of hardened concrete. Statistical analysis of compression tests. Resistance classes. Durability and degradation of concrete. Expansive actions: freezing and thawing cycles. Sulphate attack. Alkalo-aggregate reactions. Floating waters. Uni-EN 2016-1 Standard. Packaging of a concrete. Armor and their role. Passivation, depassivation and corrosion of armor. Carbonation. Corrosion from chlorides. Special concretes. Evaluation of the impact of the cement plant on environmental sustainability. State diagrams. Cooling curves. Reading the diagram. Ternary state diagrams. Processing of metallic materials. Elastic deformation, plastic and breakage. Properties of mechanical resistance of materials. Stress / deformation graphs. Tensile test. Elastic, cutting and Poisson modulus. Plastic deformation. Fracture behavior. Toughness. Work hardening. Recovery and recrystallization. Resilience and impact test. Ductile / fragile transition temperature. Hardness and tests. Fatigue of metals. Creep. Thermal properties. Fe / Fe3C state diagram. Cast iron and steel. Transformations during cooling under equilibrium conditions. Primary and secondary metallurgy. Blast Furnace. Steel production. Processing of metallic materials. Corrosion. Reduction potentials and DG. Pourbaix diagrams. Passivation and polarization curve. Series. Different types of corrosion. Nature of the protective oxide. Corrosion control. Cathodic and anodic protection. Steels. Hints on the cast iron. Non-equilibrium microstructures. Martensite and martensitic hardening. Thermal treatments. TTT and CCT curves. Heat treatments of steels. Classification and designation of steels. Alloy steels. Alphogenic and gammogenic elements. Ferritic, austenitic, martensitic and duplex stainless steels. Steels for reinforced concrete. Schaeffler diagram. CorTen steels. Nuclear fuel cycle. Types of nuclear reactors. Obtaining nuclear fuel. Disposal of waste from nuclear power plants.
Bibliography
Reccomended book:
Luca Di Palma ”Tecnologia dei Materiali e Chimica Applicata”
Società Editrice Esculapio
The teacher will give the students the course slides.
Teaching methods
The course is divided into a series of oral lessons using front projection transparencies
At the end of the course seminars of some topics covered in the course can be organized. Depending on their availability, will be organized visits to factories that produce and analyze building materials.
Assessment methods and criteria
The verification of preparation consists of an oral exam. The test consists of 4 open questions with a weight of 7.5 points each. One question concerns the classes of materials and the relationship between structure and property; a second question concerns the binder materials; a third question concerns the metallic materials and a fourth question will require the description of a technological test. During the test it is not allowed to consult any type of material. If necessary it will be provided by the teacher. The honor will be given to the student who, in addition to having correctly answered the questions completely, will be able to demonstrate the ability to link the various topics.
Other information
It's strongly advised to attend the course. A more detailed version of the program course is reported on the elly webpage of the course.
