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
- 36 TLPs having the following tags:
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.
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.
Casting
This TLP introduces a number of important processes through which metallic items can be fabricated from molten metal. As well as detailing the practical aspects of these manufacturing processes, attention is given to the important parameters which determine the microstructure of the finished items.
Creep Deformation of Metals
Creep is a major concern in engineering, since it can cause materials to fail well below their yield stress. This package outlines the mechanisms of creep and the associated equations. It is largely based around a first year Materials Science practical at the University of Cambridge, which is concerned with the creep of solder at different temperatures. It also includes a case study of a creep-resistant material to illustrate how materials can be designed to prevent creep.
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
Introduction To Deformation Processes
This teaching and learning package covers the fundamentals of metal forming processes.
Introduction To Dislocations
Dislocations are crucially important in determining the mechanical behaviour of materials. This teaching and learning package provides an introduction to dislocations and their motion through a crystal. A 'bubble raft' model is used to demonstrate some of the features of dislocations and other lattice defects. Some methods for observing real dislocations in materials are examined.
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.
Ellingham Diagrams
The Ellingham diagram is a tool most often used in extraction metallurgy to find the conditions necessary for the reduction of the ores of important metals. This Teaching and Learning Package incorporates an interactive Ellingham diagram. This diagram can be used to quickly and simply find a range of thermodynamic data relating to many metallurgical reactions.
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.
Ferromagnetic Materials
How many ferromagnets do you think you own? Maybe many more than you realise. Ferromagnetic materials lie at the heart not just of the humble compass, but also of many loudspeakers and of computer memory. This teaching and learning package outlines the microscopic basis of magnetism and some of the conquences of ferromagnetic order in real materials.
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).
The Glass Transition in Polymers
This teaching and learning package is based on a lecture demonstrations used within the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. The package is aimed at first year undergraduate Materials Science students and focuses on the glass transition in polymers.
Indexing Electron Diffraction Patterns
An introduction to the indexing of diffraction patterns.
Tags:
diffraction
microscopy
The Jominy End Quench Test
Discusses the aims, method and use of results of a test for the hardenability of steel.
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
Introduction To Mechanical Testing
This teaching and learning package is based on laboratory experiments used in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. The package looks at how the microstructure of a material can affect its properties. It is split into two experiments: the first part introduces tensile testing and stress-strain curves, while the second part uses three-point bending, as introduced in the Beam Stiffness TLP.
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.
The Nernst Equation and Pourbaix Diagrams
This teaching and learning package (TLP) investigates the Nernst equation and Pourbaix diagrams, which are both important parts of electrochemistry and corrosion science.
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
Phase Diagrams and Solidification
Phase diagrams are a useful tool in metallurgy and other branches of materials science. They show the mixture of phases present in thermodynamic equilibrium. This teaching and learning package looks at the theory behind phase diagrams, and ways of constructing them, before running through an experimental procedure, and presenting the results which can be obtained.
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.
Recycling of Metals
The next time you drain a canned beverage or take a journey in a car, you might like to think about what will happen to it when it reaches the end of its useful life. This teaching and learning package will look at metals recycling from a materials science viewpoint – not simply outlining the need for recycling, but explaining the complex scientific principles behind some aspects of the recycling process itself.
Tags:
manufacturing
metals
Solid Solutions
This teaching and learning package is based on a practical used within the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. The package is aimed at first year undergraduate Materials Science students and focuses on the different types of solid solution and the thermodynamic principles involved in understanding them.
Superconductivity
Electrons in pairs? Levitating trains? Superconductivity - the combination of lossless electrical conduction and the ability of a material to expel a magnetic field - is a property that excites interest in fundamental science whilst offering tantalising prospects for a range of applications. In this teaching and learning package (TLP), we trace the history of superconductivity, outline some fundamental properties of superconductors, and describe current and potential applications of materials with this unusual property.
Superelasticity and Shape Memory Alloys
This teaching and learning package (TLP) introduces the phenomena of superelasticity and the shape memory effect.
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.
X-ray Diffraction Techniques
This teaching & learning package provides an introduction to X-ray diffraction. It describes the main crystallographic information that can be obtained and experimental methods most commonly used.
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