MSE 2165 - Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering Lab

This is a lab section for students who have completed the lecture portion of Elements of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE 2160). All Materials Science and Engineering undergraduate majors are required to complete the 1.0 credit hour lab section from the introductory course. Students must complete MSE 2160 and MSE 2015 with a “C” or better to meet the MSE 2010 – Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering course requirement. This is an introduction course for Materials Science and Engineering undergraduate students and Biomedical Engineering undergraduate students emphasizing in Biomaterials. The course teaches the fundamental of how to predict the properties of materials based on microstructure. The students will be able to: 1) understand how atomic bonding is related to modulus, melting point, and thermal expansion, 2) differentiate between amorphous and crystalline materials on the basis of x-ray diffraction and crystallinity, 3) predict diffusion in solids and understand how this is thermally activated, 4) understand how thermodynamics and kinetics combine to control the processing of advanced materials, 5) apply thermodynamics in understanding phase equilibria, 6) gain a basic understanding of what controls the electrical, optical, and thermal behavior of materials, and 7) be able to understand fundamental design considerations for materials selection. Laboratory experiments will illustrate these principles including work hardening, brittle fracture, and phase transformation. Laboratory safety, methods of literature search, data representation, elementary statistical analysis of data, routine property measurements, and report writing are emphasized.