TLP Library
Teaching and learning packages (TLPs) are self-contained, interactive resources, each focusing on one area of Materials Science.
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- Currently showing
- 31 TLPs having the following tags:
Introduction To Anisotropy
It is common in basic analysis to treat bulk materials as isotropic - their properties are independent of the direction in which they are measured. However the atomic scale structure can result in properties that vary with direction. This teaching and learning package (TLP) looks into typical examples of such anisotropy and gives a brief mathematical look into modelling the behaviour.
Atomic Force Microscopy
Provides a brief introduction to atomic force microscopy (AFM), some of the ways it is commonly used and some of the problems faced.
Atomic Scale Structure of Materials
This teaching and learning package provides an introduction to crystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous solids, and how the atomic-level structure has radical consequences for some of the properties of the material. It introduces the use of polarised light to examine the optical properties of materials, and shows how a variety of simple models can be used to visualise important features of the microstructure of materials.
Avoidance of Crystallization in Biological Systems
This teaching and learning package discusses the two main environmental threats leading to crystallization in plants and animals, and the ways in which organisms have adapted to avoid this crystallization. As part of this discussion, there is coverage of some of the theory of nucleation and crystallization.
Batteries
This TLP investigates the basic principles, design and applications of batteries. It covers both primary and rechargeable batteries, how they work and how they may be used.
Bending and Torsion of Beams
This teaching and learning package provides an introduction to the mechanics of beam bending and torsion, looking particularly at the bending of cantilever and free-standing beams and the torsion of cylindrical bars.
Brillouin Zones
This teaching and learning package provides an introduction to Brillouin zones in two and three dimensions and is aimed at developing familiarity with Brillouin Zones. It will not cover any specific applications. Brillouin Zones are particularly useful in understanding the electronic and thermal properties of crystalline solids.
Crystallinity in Polymers
An understanding of polymer crystallinity is important because the mechanical properties of crystalline polymers are different from those of amorphous polymers. Polymer crystals are much stiffer and stronger than amorphous regions of polymer.
Crystallography
Crystalline materials are characterised by a regular atomic structure that repeats itself in all three dimensions. In other words the structure displays translational symmetry.
Deformation of Honeycombs and Foams
Highly porous materials, such as honeycombs, foams and fibrous structures, are an important class of material in both synthetic and biological systems. They are used in many different ways, but their mechanical behaviour is often of great importance as they are pressed, bent, sat on or chewed. An important class of these materials can be considered as made up of cells, so-called cellular structures. Here we describe how these materials deform, elastically and irreversibly.
Tags:
elastic deformation
Diffusion
An introduction to the mechanisms and driving forces of diffusion, and some of the processes in which it is observed.
Tags:
diffusion
fundamentals
Elasticity in Biological Materials
This teaching and learning package (TLP) discusses the elasticity of biological materials. Whilst some show Hookean elasticity, the vast majority do not. Non-linear elasticity is considered, in particular J-shaped and S-shaped curves. Viscoelasticity is also discussed, using hair and spiders' silk as examples.
Electromigration
Electromigration is an ever-increasing problem as integrated circuits are pushed towards further miniaturization. The theory of the phenomenon is explained, including electromigration-induced failure and how it has been and can be minimized.
Epitaxial Growth
This TLP enables you to explore the way in which perfect thin crystalline layers are deposited epitaxially (i.e. in the same crystal orientation) on semiconductor substrates. This is the way many electronic and opto-electronic devices are now fabricated using techniques such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE).
Examination of a Manufactured Article
This TLP provides an introduction to the deconstruction and investigation of the materials and processes used in an everyday item or article.
Fuel Cells
This teaching and learning package provides a short summary of four of the most promising fuel cell technologies. It gives a general overview of the field with focus on materials used (electrolytes and electrodes) and the mechanism of function (electrochemistry and thermodynamics).
Indexing Electron Diffraction Patterns
An introduction to the indexing of diffraction patterns.
Tags:
diffraction
microscopy
Liquid Crystals
This Teaching and Learning Package provides an introduction to liquid crystals, their physical properties and their modern-day applications.
Materials for Nuclear Power Generation
This TLP introduces readers to key challenges in the selection, usage and development of materials for nuclear reactors.
Tags:
energy
Mechanics of Fibre-reinforced Composites
This teaching and learning package (TLP) gives an introduction to the nature of fibre-reinforced composite materials and their basic mechanical characteristics.
Microstructural Examination
This teaching and learning package (TLP) looks at how what we see in micrographs relates to equilibrium phase diagrams and cooling routes for alloy systems.
Optical Microscopy
An introduction to the use of optical microscopes. It introduces the different types of microscope used to examine specimens and how to set them up correctly. There is also an introduction to specimen preparation.
Tags:
microscopy
Introduction To Photoelasticity
This tutorial is based on lab work within the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. The tutorial provides an introduction to the topic of photoelasticity and preparation for lab work. Photographs illustrate many features of birefringence in polymers under polarised light.
Polymer Basics
This teaching and learning package is an introduction to the basic concepts of polymer science. It includes molecular structure, synthesis and tests for identification.
The Stereographic Projection
This TLP covers the use of the Stereographic projection and Wulff nets.
Superelasticity and Shape Memory Alloys
This teaching and learning package (TLP) introduces the phenomena of superelasticity and the shape memory effect.
Tensors
This TLP offers an introduction to the mathematics of tensors rather than the intricacies of their applications. Its aims are to familiarise the learner with tensor notation, how they can be constructed and how they can be manipulated to give numerical answers to problems.
Tags:
fundamentals
tensors
Thermal Expansion and the Bi-material Strip
This teaching and learning package (TLP) is based on lab work in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. The TLP provides an introduction to the topic of thermal expansion, and its application, together with the different stiffness of materials, in the bi-material strip. The TLP leads you through experiments to measure Young's Modulus from the deflection of a cantilever beam, and to estimate the boiling temperature of nitrogen and the expansivity of a polycarbonate material from the curvature of a bi-material strip immersed in liquid nitrogen.
Transmission Electron Microscopy
Transmission electron microscopy is a very important tool in materials science for investigating the fine-scale structure of materials. This TLP serves as an introduction to the basic concepts and structure of the transmission electron microscope.
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