DoITPoMS

TLP Library

Teaching and learning packages (TLPs) are self-contained, interactive resources, each focusing on one area of Materials Science.

Analysis of Deformation Processes Analysis of Deformation Processes
This TLP builds upon the introduction to yield criteria covered in the Stress analysis and Mohr's circle TLP and introduces a range of methods commonly used to study metal forming processes.
Introduction To Anisotropy 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 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.
Batteries 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 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 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.
Casting 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.
Deformation of Honeycombs and Foams 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.
Introduction To Deformation Processes Introduction To Deformation Processes
This teaching and learning package covers the fundamentals of metal forming processes.
Diffraction and Imaging Diffraction and Imaging
A brief summary of diffraction and imaging using an optical system.
Introduction To Dislocations 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 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
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 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 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 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 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 Indexing Electron Diffraction Patterns
An introduction to the indexing of diffraction patterns.
The Jominy End Quench Test The Jominy End Quench Test
Discusses the aims, method and use of results of a test for the hardenability of steel.
Kinetics of Aqueous Corrosion Kinetics of Aqueous Corrosion
This teaching and learning package (TLP) introduces the mechanism of aqueous corrosion and the associated kinetics.
Introduction To Mechanical Testing 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.
Slip in Single Crystals Slip in Single Crystals
This teaching and learning package explains how plastic deformation of materials occurs through the mechanism of slip. Slip involves dislocation glide on particular slip planes. The geometry of slip is explained, and electron microscopy techniques are used to show slip occurring in single crystals of cadmium.
Stress Analysis and Mohr's Circle Stress Analysis and Mohr's Circle
This teaching and learning package provides an introduction to the theory of metal forming. It discusses how stress and strain can be presented as tensors, and ways of identifying the principal stresses. Suitable yield criteria to treat metals and non-metals are also presented.
Superelasticity and Shape Memory Alloys 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 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
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.