Historical evolution of Materials

Jayant Jain Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Mechanics

IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas, 110016

Materials in Design

Design is the process of translating a new idea or a market need into the detailed information from which a product can be manufactured

Each of its stages requires decisions about the materials of which the product is to be made and the process for making it

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Market need --------------------------------- product Series of steps about materials and process selection

What do we mean by designing?

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby Figure 1.1

Important to note: Entire age of human

was named based on the material that he had used

Stone, bronze and iron were of such importance that the era of their dominance is named after them

A very significant increase

in available materials choices had occurred

only in last 60-70 years

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Material development is driven by the desire for ever greater performance

Today, over 2,00,000 materials are available to engineers

We are living in the age of advanced materials

Ask yourself can you do materials selection simply based on experience

Why do we have many choices available today?

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

materials and processes to shape them are developing faster now than at any previous time in history; the challenges and opportunities they present are greater than ever before Ashby

Timeline of Material Development

Materials: engineering, science, processing and design, 2nd edition Copyright (c)2010 Michael Ashby, Hugh Shercliff, David Cebon

Colored zones indicate man-made materials

The development of materials to meet

demands on strength and density is

illustrated by these material property

charts

Similar time plots show this progressive filling

for all materials properties

This is not the age of one material; it is the

age of immense materials

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby Figure 1.2

Evolution of Materials in Products

Early kettles, heated directly over a fire, were made of materials that could conduct heat well

and withstand exposure to an open flame

Today almost all kettles are made of plastic, allowing economic manufacture with great

freedom of form and color

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Figure 1.3

The development of vacuum cleaners has been rapid and driven by the use of new materials

Hand-powered cleaners made mostly of natural materials have been replaced with high powered motors and centrifugal filtration

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Natural materials to metals to polymers

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Early cameras were made of wood and constructed

with the care and finish of a cabinetmaker; they had

well-ground glass lenses manufactured by

techniques developed for watch and clock making

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Figure 1.5

High-end cameras are now manufactured with the precision and electronic sophistication of scientific

instruments; lower-end models are made with molded polypropylene or ABS bodies

Early planes were made of low-density

woods, steel wire, and silk

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Figure 1.6

The aluminum airframe provided high stiffness and strength to allow planes to be bigger and

fly further

The future of airframes is exemplified by Boeings 787 Dreamliner (80% carbon-fiber

reinforced plastic, claims to be 30% lighter per seat than competing aircraft