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Material Science


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#1 betty

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Posted 26 March 2009 - 04:01 PM

Hi all:

Should I write this answer for this qustion, because I searched about but I didn't find short answer!!!!

Could any body give me a short answer!!

What's the importance of matrial Science to a process engineer?

Materials Science encompasses the study of the structure and properties of any material, as well as using this body of knowledge to create new types of materials, and to tailor the properties of a material for specific uses.

The field encompasses the spectrum of materials: metals, ceramics, polymers (plastics), semiconductors, and combinations of materials called composites.
Materials science heavily relies on physics, chemistry, other engineering fields such as mechanical and electrical engineering.

Physical properties of materials are usually the deciding factor in choosing which materials should be used for a particular application.

This involves looking at many factors such as: material composition and structure (chemistry), fracture and stress analysis (mechanical engineering), conductivity (electrical engineering), and optical and thermal properties (physics) to name a few.

It also involves processing and production methods. Research in this area involves many peripheral areas including: crystallography, microscopy, mineralogy, photonics, and powder diffraction.


#2 betty

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Posted 27 March 2009 - 01:07 AM

hi all:


No answer!!!!!!!

I'm waiting!!!

#3 riven

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Posted 27 March 2009 - 05:17 AM


The reaon is that your question is far too broad. For example

For a vacuum engineer material science could be foucsed on degassing rate and ability to create leak tight seals.
For membrane engineer you are probably going to look at materials from the point of view of adherance, stability and properties so as to perform a separation.
For a mechanical engineer you could be looking at materials from the point of view of stresses and strains/ strength/corrosion resistance...
Safety engineer.............

Essentially what you have asked has the same scope of 'what is an engineer'. Your question cannot be answer without specific context. And by that I mean field of engineering, field of application etc

#4 Allen

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Posted 27 March 2009 - 06:16 AM

Patience!

My materials science course at university stood me in good stead in a number of ways:

1. It helped me with the assessment and testing of materials for use in aggressive process conditions

2. Non destructive Testing

3. Understanding of failures in incidents eg crack growth, brittle failure etc.

It didn't turn me into a metallurgist but it gave me enough understanding to carry out a lot of tasks without recourse to sepcialists.


#5 betty

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Posted 27 March 2009 - 07:03 AM


thank you all ...


but what about chemical or process engineer why does he study engineering material or matrial science??

Is it just for designing??

thanx

#6 Padmakar Katre

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Posted 27 March 2009 - 08:56 AM

Dear,
Part of Chemical/Process Engineering academics you learn so many subjects like Materail engineering,electrical/electronics and so on. As the basics of these subjects the Process Engineers should know and the knowledge of the materails of the construction will add value to process engineers.

#7 Allen

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Posted 27 March 2009 - 09:54 AM



I am a chemical engineer. The key element of a chemical engineering degree, is that you cover a range of topics. Apart from the usual unit ops, heat and mass transfer, fluid dynamics, maths, control engineering, thermodynamics I also studied non main stream subjects such as material science, strength of materials, engineering drawing, digital and analogue computing, German (as part of my course I worked in Germany and Switzerland), electrical engineering.

All of these topics were compulsory.

#8 djack77494

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Posted 27 March 2009 - 03:18 PM

QUOTE (betty @ Mar 27 2009, 04:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
but what about chemical or process engineer why does he study engineering material or matrial science??

Is it just for designing??

betty,
Designing is a large part of what we do, so I'm flabbergasted by your statement. In a more direct answer to your query, material science is an important and related field to process engineering. How you ask? Well the process engineer who is familiar with material limitations will be better equipped to set design limitations and to adjust the process to enforce these limitations. Getting specific, the process engineer designing a crude distillation unit will know of the relationship between salt removal (or lack thereof) and the subsequent appearance of corrosive HCl vapors near the top of the crude tower. He/she will also know of the negative impact of these vapors and will develop a strategy to avoid the less pleasant consequences. He/she would also be aware of factors like the TAN (Total Acid Number) of various crudes and could assist operations in economic and technical assessments of crude purchases. Many other areas in common come to mind. Suffice it to say that for any closely connected technical disciplines, knowledge of "what goes on over the fence" is a valuable asset.

Doug




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