Fundamentals of Composite and Cellular Materials

ABOUT THE COURSE:The primary aim of the proposed course is to teach the fundamentals and different processing techniques for fabricating composites and cellular materials, and make the students understand the structure- property relationship to facilitate developing novel materials. The course will begin with a discussion about the materials selection aspects for components design to understand the need for composite materials development and how to select its components. Subsequently, the processing routes for different kinds of composites such as metal matrix composites, ceramic matrix composites, and polymer matrix composites, as well as cellular solids such as porous metals and ceramics and metal foams will be discussed. The different microstructural factors determining the properties of these materials will be discussed in detail, along with a brief overview of the different analytical micromechanical models used for predicting their important properties.INTENDED AUDIENCE: UG and PG students of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Production EngineeringPREREQUISITES: Basic knowledge about material processing technologies, powder metallurgy, mechanical behavior of materials and materials characterizationINDUSTRY SUPPORT: Automobile sector, manufacturing sector, energy and power generation sector, aerospace sector etc.

Week 1: - Fundamentals of Ashby materials property maps- Concept of material indices and their applicability for various loading conditionsWeek 2: - Use of Ashby material property maps for the selection of constituents in composite materials- Applications of composite materials- Applications of cellular materialsWeek 3: - Classification in terms of constituents – a) metal matrix composites, b) ceramic matrix composites, and c) polymer matrix composites- Classification in terms of phase architecture – a) particle reinforced, b) continuous fiber reinforced, c) short fiber or whisker reinforced, d) laminate, e) interpenetrating, and f) functionally graded compositesWeek 4: - Classification of cellular materials in terms of constituents – a) metallic, b) ceramic, c) polymer- Classification of cellular materials in terms of architecture – a) open cell, b) closed cell, and c) honeycombsWeek 5: - Processing of metal matrix composites- Processing of ceramic matrix compositesWeek 6: - Processing of polymer matrix composites- Processing of metal foamsWeek 7: - Processing of porous ceramics- Processing of polymer foamsWeek 8: - Mechanics of composites: Elastic properties of composite materials and dependence on phase morphologyWeek 9: - Mechanics of composites: Strengthening mechanisms of metal matrix composites, Toughening of ceramic matrix compositesWeek 10: - Processing of advanced composites / nanocompositesWeek 11: - Processing of advanced composites / nanocompositesWeek 12: - Mechanics of cellular materials