Introduction to materials science for structural, electrical, magnetic, and optical engineering applications. Atomic bonding, atomic basis of physical and chemical properties. The crystalline state; crystal structures and imperfections. The amorphous state; structure of metallic, inorganic and organic glasses. Multiphase materials, phase rule, binary phase diagrams of iron-carbon, aluminium-copper and ceramic examples. Kinetics of nucleation and crystal growth, atomic diffusion. Microstructures, TTT diagrams, heat treatment, hardening. Magnetism, hard and soft magnets, ceramic magnets. Electronic structure of solids; electronic conductivity, piezo- and pyro-electricity, solar cells. Materials in optical fibres, transparency, dispersion and IR absorption. Environmental degradation and corrosion of materials.

On completion of this course, students will have been shown how a knowledge of materials can underpin practically any engineering activity.

1. They will understand the relationship between structure, properties, processing and performance in an engineering context and develop these relationships for specific examples.
2. Case studies from current media will be used to illustrate the contemporary importance of materials engineering to innovation and systems engineering in general.

Design eggcersise (20%) Artifacts lab (15%) Problem sets (5%) Quizzes (30%) Final Exam (30%)

58 contact hours maximum + 30 hours non-contact

This course assumes a knowledge of basic physics and some limited chemistry, but has no formal prerequisites.

Admission to the BE degree course, the BSEng degree course or approval of Head of Engineering.

The definitive text for this unit is Fundamentals of Materials Science and Engineering by W.Callister. This text is currently in its 7th edition and comes with numerous online student resources.

Course page http://eng.anu.edu.au/study/currentstudents/courses