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
- 29 TLPs having the following tags:
Provides a brief introduction to atomic force microscopy (AFM), some of the ways it is commonly used and some of the problems faced.
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.
What determines when a material will break, and whether failure will be catastrophic or more gradual. Cracking is controlled by the energy changes that occur - it is not the stress at the crack tip that is important..
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 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.
This teaching and learning package covers the fundamentals of metal forming processes.
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.
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.
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.
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).
This TLP provides an introduction to the deconstruction and investigation of the materials and processes used in an everyday item or article.
Ferroelectrics are an important device in today's world. They are useful both as capacitors, for example in camera flashes, or as non-volatile memory storage. The memory use of which you are most likely to be aware is in the Playstation 2.
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).
An introduction to the indexing of diffraction patterns.
Tags:
diffraction
microscopy
Discusses the aims, method and use of results of a test for the hardenability of steel.
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.
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.
This teaching and learning package (TLP) investigates the Nernst equation and Pourbaix diagrams, which are both important parts of electrochemistry and corrosion science.
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 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.
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.
An introduction to the analysis of materials and chemicals by the Raman scattering of light.
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
This teaching and learning package (TLP) introduces the phenomena of superelasticity and the shape memory effect.
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 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.
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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