Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Recitations: 1 session / week, 1 hour / session

Prerequisites

3.012 Fundamentals of Materials Science

3.022 Microstructural Evolution in Materials

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to materials processing science, with an emphasis on heat transfer, chemical diffusion, and fluid flow. We use an engineering approach to analyze industrial-scale processes, with the goal of identifying and understanding physical limitations on scale and speed, and cover materials of all classes, including metals, polymers, electronic materials, and ceramics. Specific processes, such as melt-processing of metals and polymers, deposition technologies (liquid, vapor, and vacuum), colloid and slurry processing, viscous shape forming, and powder consolidation are considered.

Grading Components

ACTIVITIES DESCRIPTIONS PERCENTAGES
2 Tests There will be two tests focused on concepts, which will take place in class. 40%
Final Exam There will be a comprehensive final at the end of the course. 35%
Homework 6 problem sets are planned, each with about 1.5 weeks between distribution and due date. These will likely be more mathematical than conceptual. 25%

Note that for all assignments and exams, every problem will be equally weighted (5 points).

Calendar

LEC # TOPICS KEY DATES
1

What is materials processing?

Course overview

Heat conduction equation

 
2 Heat conduction equation review Homework 1 out
3

Comparing heat transfer processes

Three important cases

 
4

Biot number

Newtonian heating / cooling

Transient solutions and dimensionless variables

 
5

Glass fibers & thermal spray industrial processes

Analyzing thermal spray coatings

Homework 1 due

Homework 2 out

6

Hot rolling steel

2D analysis, superposition & friction welding setup

 
7

Friction welding

Introduction to radiation

Black bodies, emissivity & radiation M number

 
8

Introduction to solidification

Stefan condition, simplifying thermal profile

Solidification in a thick mold

Homework 2 due
Test I
9

Sand casting, lost foam, & cooled molds

Interface resistance-limited solidification

Single crystal production

Introduction to binary solidification

 
10

Binary solidification, no diffusion in the solid

Solute balance, partition coefficient

Homework 3 out
11

Zone refining

Solidification with finite diffusion in liquid

Unstable solidification fronts

Engineering binary alloy microstructures

Video project out
12

Fluid mechanics

Introduction to fluid flow

 
13

Fluid flow

Momentum conservation

Flow between parallel plates

Fluid free surface boundary condition

Homework 3 due
14

1D fluid flow with body forces

Flow through plates

Chart of all math in 3.044

Introduction to glass production

Homework 4 out
15

Pilkington glass process–fluid flow

Pilkington glass process–heat transfer

Drag force

 
16

Navier-Stokes equation

Reynolds number

 
17

Class canceled

 

 
18

Newtonian flow

Introduction to non-Newtonian

Solid state shape forming

Homework 4 due
19 More on Newtonian and non-Newtonian flow Homework 5 out
Test II
20

Blow molding, compressive forming

Introduction to powder processing

Sintering, slurry processing

 
21

Colloid processing

Slurry settling / casting

Homework 5 due
22

Introduction to steel making

Steel fluid flow analysis

Steel solidification analysis

Video project due
23

Steel solidification (cont.)

Steel factory design

A bit about electronics manufacturing

 
Final Exam