Materials Science and Engineering

500. Experimental Methods in Materials Science. (M) Fischer. Prerequisite(s): Permission of the Undergraduate Curriculum Chair and Instructor.

Laboratory course covering many of the experiemental techniques used in materials science: optical and electron microscopy, mechanical testing, x-ray diffraction, electrical and optical measurements, superconducting and magnetic properties, solid-state diffusion.

505. (MEAM405, MEAM505, MSE 405) Mechanical Properties of Macro/Nanoscale Materials. (A)

The application of continuum and microstructural concepts to consideration of the mechanics and mechanisms of flow and fracture in metals, polymers and ceramics.  The course includes a review of tensors and elasticity with special emphasis on the effects of symmetry on tensor properties.  Then deformation, fracture and degradation (fatique and wear) are treated, including mapping strategies for understanding the ranges of material properties.

520. Structure of Materials. (A) Prerequisite(s): Permission of the Undergraduate Curriculum Chair and Instructor.

Description of Crystal Structure-Symmetry, Point and Space Groups.  Structures of different material types-glasses, polymers, semiconductors, ceramics and metals.  Relationship between bonding and structural types.  Methods of structure determination.  Diffraction of x-rays and neutrons--x-ray methods. Microstructures of solids.  Topology of granular structures.  Grain boundary structures.  Fractal description of microstructures.

530. Thermodynamics and Phase Equilibria. (A) Worrell, Winey. Prerequisite(s): Permission of the Undergraduate Curriculum Chair and Instructor.

Review of fundamental thermodynamic laws and criteria for equilibrium. Reaction equilibria in multicomponent systems.  Free energies of mixing solutions, liquids, solids, and polymers.  Binary and ternary phase diagrams. Surfaces and interfaces.

537. (MEAM537) Nanomechanics and Nanotribology at Interfaces. (C) Faculty. Prerequisite(s): Freshman physics; MEAM 354 or equivalent, or consent of instructor.

Engineering is progressing to ever smaller scales, enabling new technologies, materials, devices, and applications.  Mechanics enters a new regime where the role of surfaces, interfaces, defects, material property variations, and quantum effects play more dominant roles.  This course will provide an introduction to nano-scale mechanics and tribology at interfaces, and the critical role these topics play in the developing area of nanoscience and nanotechnology.  We will discuss how mechanics and tribology at interfaces become integrated with the fields of materials science, chemistry, physics, and biology at this scale.  We will cover a variety of concepts and applications, drawing connections to both established and new approaches.  We will discuss the limits of continuum mechanics and present newly developed theories and experiments tailored to describe micro- and nano-scale phenomena. We will emphasize specific applications throughout the course.  Literature reviews, critical peer discussion, individual and team problem assignments, a laboratory project, and student presentations will be assigned as part of the course.

540. (MSE 440) Phase Transformations. (B) Chen. Prerequisite(s): Permission of the Undergraduate Curriculum Chair and Instructor.

The atomic structure of condensed matter is dependent upon temperature, pressure, thermal history and other variables.  In this course, the science of such structural transitions is treated.  The topics discussed include introduction to statistical mechanics, theory of nucleation and growth kinetics, solidification, diffusionless solid state transformations, and microscopic theory of phase transition.

550. (MEAM519, MSE 420) Mechanical Properties of Nano and Macro-Scale Materials. (A) Vitek. Prerequisite(s): Permission of the Undergraduate Curriculum Chair and Instructor.

Elastic and plastic behavior of materials.  Stress, strain, anisotropic Hook's law, equations of elasticity; solution of selected stress distribution problems plane elasticity.  Yield criteria.  Fracture criteria.  Microscopic mechanisms of plasticity and fracture, dislocation theory.

555. (MSE 455) Environmental Degradation. (A)

This course is designed to provide an understanding of the corrosion principles and the engineering methods used to minimize and prevent corrosion. Metals and alloys are emphasized because these are the materials in which corrosion is the most prevalent.  Aqueous environments are also emphasized these are the common corrosion conditions.

        In the first half of the course, the impact and electrochemical nature of corroare described, and then the corrosion fundamentals (electrochemical reactions, phase (pourbaix) diagrams, aqueous corrosion kinetics, passivity, and high-temperature oxidation) are emphasized.  The forms of corrosion (galvanic, pitting and crevice, environmentally induced cracking) and corrosio in the human body (for example, surgical implants and prosthetic devices) and in other selective environments (concrete, seawater, and water solutions conta dissolved salts, sulfur, and bacteria) are also described in the second half

565. (MSE 465) Fabrication and Characterization of Nanostructured Devices. (M) Bonnell. Prerequisite(s): MSE 360 or MSE 560.

This course will focus on the processing of inorganic materials used as ceramics.  The physical interactions in processes specific to the formation of ceramics are examined; e.g., fractionation, disperison forces in compacts, sintering, etc.  Structure and properties of amorphous oxides and devitrification to form glass ceramics will be discussed.

566. Physical Properties of Ceramics. (A) Prerequisite(s): MSE 360 or MSE 560 and a good foundation in solid state physics are prerequisites for this class.

This course will focus on the properties of inorganic compounds considered to be ceramics.  Optical, dielectric and magnetic properties of oxides are treated in depth and illustrated with laboratory demonstrations and experiments.  Strategies for mechanical property optimization are examined.

570. (ESE 514) Physics of Materials I. (C) Fischer. Prerequisite(s): Undergraduate physics and math thru modern physics and differential equations.

Failures of classical physics and the historical basis for quantum theory. Postulates of wave mechanics; uncertainty principle, wave packets and wave-particle duality.  Schrodinger equation and operators; eigenvalue problems in 1 and 3 dimensions (barriers, wells, hydrogen, atom). Perturbation theory; scattering of particles and light.  Free electron theory of metals; Drude and Sommerfeld models, dispersion relations and optical properties of solids.  Extensive use of computer-aided self-study will be made.

571. (ESE 515) Physics of Materials II. (M) Fischer. Prerequisite(s): MSE 570 or equivalent.

Failures of free electron theory.  Crystals and the reciprocal lattice wave propagation in periodic media; Bloch's theorem.  One-electron band structure models: nearly free electrons, tight binding.  Semiclassical dynamics and transport.  Cohesive energy, lattic dynamic and phonons.  Dielectric properties of insulators.  Homeogenous semiconductors and p-n junctions. Experimental probes of solid state phenomena; photoemission, energy loss spectroscopy, neturon scattering.  As time permits, special topics selected from the following: correlation effects, semiconductor alloys and heterostructures, amorphous semiconductors, electro-active polymers.

575. Statistical Mechanics. (C)

580. (MSE 430) Polymers and Biomaterials. (B) Prerequisite(s): MSE 260 or equivalent course in thermodynamics or physical chemistry (such as BE 223, CHE 231, MEAM 203).

This course focuses on synthesis, characterization, microstructure, rheology, and structure-property relationships of polymers, polymer directed composites and their applications in biotechnology.  Topical coverage includes: polymer synthesis and functionalizaiton; polymerizaiton kinetics; structure of glassy, crystalline, and rubbery polymers; thermodynamics of polymer solutions and blends, and crystallization; liquid crystallinity, microphase separation in block copolymers; polymer directed self-assembly of inorganic materials; biological applications of polymeric materials.  Case studies include thermodynamics of block copolymer thin films and their applications in nanolithography, molecular templating of sol-gel growth using block copolymers as templates; structure-property of conducting and optically active polymers; polymer degradation in drug delivery; cell adhesion on polymer surface in tissue engineering.

581. Advanced Polymer Physics. (A) Winey/Composto. Prerequisite(s): MSE 430 or equivalent.

Advanced polymer physics includes the topics of polymer chain statistics, thermodynamics, rubber elasticity, polymer morphology, fracture, and chain relaxation.  Rigorous derivations of select theories will be presented along with experimental results for comparison.  Special topics, such as liquid crystalline polymers, blends and copolymers, will be presented throughout the course.  Special topics, such as liquid crystallintiy, nanostructures, and biopolymer diffusion, will be investigated by teams of students using the current literature as a resource.

590. Surface and Thin Film Analysis Techniques. (B) Bonnell, Composto.

The objective of this course is to study the fundamental physics of the interaction of ions, electrons, photons, and neutrons with matter.  A second objective is to use the products of these interactions to characterize the atomic (or molecular) structure, composition, and defects of a semiconductor, ceramic, polymer, composite, or metal.  Ion beam techniques will include Rutherford backscattering and forward recoil spectrometry, and secondary ion mass pectrometry.  Electron probe techniques will include x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.  Neutron techniques will include neutron reflectivity.  The strengths and weaknesses of each technique will be discussed.  Examples will be drawn from metallurgy, electronic materials, polymer science, ceramic science, archaeology, and biology.

610. Electron Microscopy. (B) Luzzi.

Theoretical and practical aspects of conventional and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and related techniques.  Imaging theory; kinematical and dynamical diffraction theory.  Diffraction contrast analysis of imperfect crystals; phase contrast analysis of crystal lattice structures. With laboratory.

650. Micromechanisms of Deformation and Fracture. (M) Laird. Prerequisite(s): Permission of the Undergraduate Curriculum Chair and Instructor.

Basic mechanisms of deformation and fracture, theory of dislocations (continuum theory and effects of the atomic structure), deformation properties of different crystal structures (fcc, bcc, hcp, ordered alloys, amorphous materials), hardening mechanisms (solid solution and dispersion hardening), creep deformation and fracture at high temperatures, micromechanisms of fracture.

660. (MEAM660) Atomistic Modeling in Materials Science. (M) Vitek.

Why and what to model: Complex lattice structures, structures of lattice defects, crystal surfaces, interfaces, liquids, linking structural studies with experimential observations, computer experiments.  Methods: Molecular statics, molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo.  Evaluation of physical quantities employing averages, fluctuations, correlations, autocorrelations, radial distribution function, etc.  Total energy and interatomic forces: Local density functional theory and abinitio electronic structure calculations, tight-binding methods, empirical potentials for metals, semiconductors and ionic crystals.

670. Statistical Mechanics of Solids. (A)

This course constitutes an introduction to statistical mechanics with an emphasis on application to crystalline solids.  Ensemble theory, time and ensemble averages and particle statistics are developed to give the basis of statistical thermodynamics.  The theory of the thermodynamic properties of solids is presented in the harmonic approximation anharmonic properties are treated by the Mie-Gruneisen method.  Free electron theory in metals and semiconductors is given in some detail, with the transport properties being based on conditional transition probabilities and the Boltzmann transport equation.  The theory of order-disorder alloys is treated by the Bragg-Williams, Kirkwood and quasi-chemical methods.

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University of Pennsylvania
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