This book discusses the mechanical properties of ceramics and aims to provide both a solid background for undergraduate students, as well as serving as a text to bring practicing engineers up to date with the latest developments in this topic so they can use and apply these to their actual engineering work. Generally, ceramics are made by moistening a mixture of clays, casting it into desired shapes and then firing it to a high temperature, a process known as 'vitrification'. The relatively late development of metallurgy was contingent on the availability of ceramics and the know-how to mold them into the appropriate forms. Because of the characteristics of ceramics, they offer great advantages over metals in specific applications in which hardness, wear resistance and chemical stability at high temperatures are essential. Clearly, modern ceramics manufacturing has come a long way from the early clay-processing fabrication method, and the last two decades have seen the development of sophisticated techniques to produce a large variety of ceramic material. The chapters of this volume are ordered to help students with their laboratory experiments and guide their observations in parallel with lectures based on the current text. Thus, the first chapter is devoted to mechanical testing. A chapter of ductile and superplastic ceramic is added to emphasize their role in modern ceramics (chapter 2). These are followed by the theoretical basis of the subject. Various aspects of the mechanical properties are discussed in the following chapters, among them, strengthening mechanisms, time dependent and cyclic deformation of ceramics. Many practical illustrations are provided representing various observations encountered in actual ceramic-structures of particularly technical significance. A comprehensive list of references at the end of each chapter is included in this textbook to provide a broad basis for further studying the subject. The work also contains a unique chapter on a topic not discussed in other textbooks on ceramics concerning nanosized ceramics. This work will also be useful as a reference for materials scientists, not only to those who specialize in ceramics.

Nanostructured materials have been largely studied in the last few years. They have great potential of applications in different fields such as materials science, physics, chemistry, biology, mechanic and medicine. Synthesis and characterization of nanostructured materials is a subject of great interest involving science, market, politicians, government and society. Based on results obtained by the authors' research group during the past decade, this book comes to present novel techniques to synthesize nanostructured materials and characterize their properties such as crystallinity and crystallite size, specific surface area, particle size, morphology and catalytic activity. This book is aimed for students, researchers and engineers searching for methodologies to obtain and characterize nanostructures in details.

Advances in Polymer Science enjoys a longstanding tradition and good reputation in its community. Each volume is dedicated to a current topic, and each review critically surveys one aspect of that topic, to place it within the context of the volume. The volumes typically summarize the significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years and discuss them critically, presenting selected examples, explaining and illustrating the important principles, and bringing together many important references of primary literature. On that basis, future research directions in the area can be discussed. Advances in Polymer Science volumes thus are important references for every polymer scientist, as well as for other scientists interested in polymer science - as an introduction to a neighboring field, or as a compilation of detailed information for the specialist.

‘Micro-scaled Products Development via Microforming’ presents state-of-the-art research on microforming processes, and focuses on the development of micro-scaled metallic parts via microforming processes. Microforming refers to the fabrication of microparts via micro-scaled plastic deformation and  presents a promising micromanufacturing process. When compared to other  micromanufacturing processes, microforming offers advantages such as high productivity and good mechanical properties of the deformed microparts. This book provides extensive and informative illustrations, tables and photos in order to convey this information clearly and directly to readers. Although the knowledge of macroforming processes is abundant and widely used in industry, microparts cannot be developed by leveraging existing knowledge of macroforming because the size effect presents a barrier to this knowledge transfer. Therefore systematic knowledge of microforming needs to be developed. In tandem with product miniaturization, the demand on microparts has been increased for their wide applications in many industries, including automotive, bio-medical, aerospace and consumer electronics industries. Micromanufacturing technologies have thus become more and more important. This book is intended for postgraduates, manufacturing engineers and professionals working in the areas of manufacturing and materials processing.

Since the 1997 Kyoto protocol of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of novel refrigerators has been a priority within the scientific community. Although magnetocaloric materials are promising candidates, they still need a large magnetic field to induce a giant ΔT as well as powerful and costly magnets. However, in electrocaloric materials (ECMs) a temperature change may be achieved by applying or removing an electric field. Since a giant electrocaloric effect on ferroelectric thin films was reported in Science in 2006, researchers have been inspired to explore such effect in different ferroelectric thin films. This book reviews electrocaloric effects observed in bulk materials as well as recent promising advances in thin films, with special emphasis on the ferroelectric, antiferroelectric and relaxor nature of ECMs. It reports a number of considerations about the future of ECMs as a means of achieving an efficient, ecologically sustainable and low cost refrigerator.

Advances in Polymer Science enjoys a longstanding tradition and good reputation in its community. Each volume is dedicated to a current topic, and each review critically surveys one aspect of that topic, to place it within the context of the volume. The volumes typically summarize the significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years and discuss them critically, presenting selected examples, explaining and illustrating the important principles, and bringing together many important references of primary literature. On that basis, future research directions in the area can be discussed. Advances in Polymer Science volumes thus are important references for every polymer scientist, as well as for other scientists interested in polymer science - as an introduction to a neighboring field, or as a compilation of detailed information for the specialist.

This book mainly focuses on the theoretical and experimental study of non-Fourier heat conduction behavior. A novel thermomass theory is used as the theoretical basis, which provides a general heat conduction equation for the accurate prediction of non-Fourier heat conduction. In order to prove the validity of this thermomass theory, a large current was used to heat the metallic nanofilm at the minimum temperature of 3 K. The measured average temperature of the nanofilm was notably higher than the prediction of Fourier’s heat diffusion equation, while matching well with the general heat conduction equation. This is the first time that steady non-Fourier heat conduction has been observed. Moreover, this book concerns the role of electron-phonon interaction in metallic nanofilms, which involves the breakdown of the Wiedemann-Franz law at low temperatures and interfacial thermal resistance at femtosecond timescales. Readers will find useful information on non-Fourier heat conduction and the latest advances in the study of charge and heat transport in metallic nanofilms.

This book provides a concise survey of modern theoretical concepts of X-ray materials analysis. The principle features of the book are: basics of X-ray scattering, interaction between X-rays and matter and new theoretical concepts of X-ray scattering. The various X-ray techniques are considered in detail: high-resolution X-ray diffraction, X-ray reflectivity, grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering and X-ray residual stress analysis. All the theoretical methods presented use the unified physical approach. This makes the book especially useful for readers learning and performing data analysis with different techniques. The theory is applicable to studies of bulk materials of all kinds, including single crystals and polycrystals as well as to surface studies under grazing incidence. The book appeals to researchers and graduate students alike.

This book covers a variety of topics in mechanics, with a special emphasis on material mechanics. It reports on fracture mechanics, fatigue of materials, stress-strain behaviours, as well as transferability problems and constraint effects in fracture mechanics. It covers different kind of materials, from metallic materials such as ferritic and austenitic steels, to composites, concrete, polymers and nanomaterials. Additional topics include heat transfer, quality control and reliability of structures and components. Furthermore, the book gives particular attention to new welding technologies such as STIR welding and spray metal coating, and to novel methods for quality control, such as Taguchi design, fault diagnosis and wavelet analysis. Based on the 2015 edition of the Algerian Congress of Mechanics (Congres Algerien de Mecanique, CAM), the book also covers energetics, in terms of simulation of turbulent reactive flow, behaviour of supersonic jet, turbulent combustion, fire induced smoke layer, and heat and mass transfer, as well as important concepts related to human reliability and safety of components and structures. All in all, the book represents a complete, practice-oriented reference guide for both academic and professionals in the field of mechanics.

The book is devoted to the problem of microgeometry properties and anisotropy relations in modern piezo-active composites. These materials are characterized by various electromechanical properties and remarkable abilities to convert mechanical energy into electric energy and vice versa. Advantages of the performance of the composites are discussed in the context of the orientation effects, first studied by the authors for main connectivity patterns and with due regard to a large anisotropy of effective piezoelectric coefficients and electromechanical coupling factors. The novelty of the book consists in the systematization results of orientation effects, the anisotropy of piezoelectric properties and their role in forming considerable hydrostatic piezoelectric coefficients, electromechanical coupling factors and other parameters in the composites based on either ferroelectric ceramic or relaxor-ferroelectric single crystals.

This unique book covers the fundamental principle of electron diffraction, basic instrumentation of RHEED, definitions of textures in thin films and nanostructures, mechanisms and control of texture formation, and examples of RHEED transmission mode measurements of texture and texture evolution of thin films and nanostructures. Also presented is a new application of RHEED in the transmission mode called RHEED pole figure technique that can be used to monitor the texture evolution in thin film growth and nanostructures and is not limited to single crystal epitaxial film growth. Details of the construction of RHEED pole figures and the interpretation of observed pole figures are presented. Materials covered include metals, semiconductors, and thin insulators. This book also: Presents a new application of RHEED in the transmission mode Introduces a variety of textures from metals, semiconductors, compound semiconductors, and their characteristics in RHEED pole figures Provides examples of RHEED measurements of texture and texture evolution, construction of RHEED pole figures, and interpretation of observed pole figures RHEED Transmission Mode and Pole Figures: Thin Film and Nanostructure Texture Analysis is ideal for researchers in materials science and engineering and nanotechnology.

This book compiles all current information on the different types of functionalization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene, both covalent and non-covalent. The book starts with a general overview of the synthesis, characterization and application of functionalized CNTs and graphene. Special attention is dedicated to the characterization of functionalized materials, a topic rarely addressed on the literature. The authors provide a comparison between the functionalization of these two types of carbon materials.

Practical Materials Characterization covers the most common materials analysis techniques in a single volume. It stands as a quick reference for experienced users, as a learning tool for students, and as a guide for the understanding of typical data interpretation for anyone looking at results from a range of analytical techniques. The book includes analytical methods covering microstructural, surface, morphological, and optical characterization of materials with emphasis on microscopic structural, electronic, biological, and mechanical properties. Many examples in this volume cover cutting-edge technologies such as nanomaterials and life sciences.

Experimental Mechanics of Composite, Hybrid, and Multifunctional Materials: Proceedings of the 2013 Annual Conference on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, the sixth volume of eight from the Conference, brings together contributions to this important area of research and engineering. The collection presents early findings and case studies on a wide range of areas, including: Characterization of Energy Storage Materials Microvascular & Natural Composites Nanocomposites for Multifunctional Performance Composite/Hybrid Characterization Using Digital Image Correlation Failure Behavior of Polymer Matrix Composites Non-Destructive Testing of Composites Composite Test Methods Joints/Bonded Composites

This book is devoted to the new development of zeolitic catalysts with an emphasis on new strategies for the preparation of zeolites, novel techniques for their characterization and emerging applications of zeolites as catalysts for sustainable chemistry, especially in the fields of energy, biomass conversion and environmental protection. Over the years, energy and the environment have become the most important global issues, while zeolitic catalysts play important roles in addressing them. With individual chapters written by leading experts, this book offers an essential reference work for researchers and professionals in both academia and industry. Feng-Shou Xiao is a Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, China. Xiangju Meng is an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, China.

This book is about the pattern formation and the evolution of crack propagation in engineering materials and structures, bridging mathematical analyses of cracks based on singular integral equations, to computational simulation of engineering design. The first two parts of this book focus on elasticity and fracture and provide the basis for discussions on fracture morphology and its numerical simulation, which may lead to a simulation-based fracture control in engineering structures. Several design concepts are discussed for the prevention of fatigue and fracture in engineering structures, including safe-life design, fail-safe design, damage tolerant design. After starting with basic elasticity and fracture theories in parts one and two, this book focuses on the fracture morphology that develops due to the propagation of brittle cracks or fatigue cracks. In part three, the mathematical analysis of a curved crack is precisely described, based on the perturbation method. The stability theory of interactive cracks propagating in brittle solids may help readers to understand the formation of a fractal-like cracking patterns in brittle solids, while the stability theory of crack paths helps to identify the straight versus sharply curved or sometimes wavy crack paths observed in brittle solids. In part four, the numerical simulation method of a system of multiple cracks is introduced by means of the finite element method, which may be used for the better implementation of fracture control in engineering structures. This book is part of a series on "Mathematics for Industry" and will appeal to structural engineers seeking to understand the basic backgrounds of analyses, but also to mathematicians with an interest in how such mathematical solutions are evaluated in industrial applications.

This textbook provides an introduction to changes that occur in solids such as ceramics, mainly at high temperatures, which are diffusion controlled, as well as presenting research data. Such changes are related to the kinetics of various reactions such as precipitation, oxidation and phase transformations, but are also related to some mechanical changes, such as creep. The book is composed of two parts, beginning with a look at the basics of diffusion according to Fick's Laws. Solutions of Fick's second law for constant D, diffusion in grain boundaries and dislocations are presented along with a look at the atomistic approach for the random motion of atoms. In the second part, the author discusses diffusion in several technologically important ceramics. The ceramics selected are monolithic single phase ones, including: A12O3, SiC, MgO, ZrO2 and Si3N4. Of these, three refer to oxide ceramics (alumina, magnesia and zirconia). Carbide based ceramics are represented by the technologically very important Si-carbide and nitride based ceramics are represented by Si-nitride which has been important in high temperature ceramics and gas turbine applications. The author presents a clear, concise and relatively comprehensive treatment of diffusion in ceramics for use by those at an advanced undergraduate level and beyond. It supports understanding of the basic behavior of materials and how to relate observed physical properties to microscopic understanding. The book also provides researchers with a handy collation of data relating to diffusion in ceramics and supports a fundamental understanding of atomic movements.

Aerogels are the lightest solids known. Up to 1000 times lighter than glass and with a density as low as only four times that of air, they show very high thermal, electrical and acoustic insulation values and hold many entries in Guinness World Records. Originally based on silica, R&D efforts have extended this class of materials to non-silicate inorganic oxides, natural and synthetic organic polymers, carbon, metal and ceramic materials, etc. Composite systems involving polymer-crosslinked aerogels and interpenetrating hybrid networks have been developed and exhibit remarkable mechanical strength and flexibility. Even more exotic aerogels based on clays, chalcogenides, phosphides, quantum dots, and biopolymers such as chitosan are opening new applications for the construction, transportation, energy, defense and healthcare industries. Applications in electronics, chemistry, mechanics, engineering, energy production and storage, sensors, medicine, nanotechnology, military and aerospace, oil and gas recovery, thermal insulation and household uses are being developed with an estimated annual market growth rate of around 70% until 2015. The Aerogels Handbook summarizes state-of-the-art developments and processing of inorganic, organic, and composite aerogels, including the most important methods of synthesis, characterization as well as their typical applications and their possible market impact. Readers will find an exhaustive overview of all aerogel materials known today, their fabrication, upscaling aspects, physical and chemical properties, and most recent advances towards applications and commercial products, some of which are commercially available today. Key Features: *Edited and written by recognized worldwide leaders in the field *Appeals to a broad audience of materials scientists, chemists, and engineers in academic research and industrial R&D *Covers inorganic, organic, and composite aerogels *Describes military, aerospace, building industry, household, environmental, energy, and biomedical applications among others

This book covers a wide range of topics in fracture and damage mechanics. It presents historical perspectives as well as recent innovative developments, presented by peer reviewed contributions from internationally acknowledged authors. The volume deals with the modeling of fracture and damage in smart materials, current industrial applications of fracture mechanics, and it explores advances in fracture testing methods. In addition, readers will discover trends in the field of local approach to fracture and approaches using analytical mechanics. Scholars in the fields of materials science, engineering and computational science will value this volume which is dedicated to Meinhard Kuna on the occasion of his 65th birthday in 2015. This book incorporates the proceedings of an international symposium that was organized to honor Meinhard Kuna's contributions to the field of theoretical and applied fracture and damage mechanics.

This book examines the meso- and nanoscopic aspects of fluid adsorption in porous solids using a non-invasive method of small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). Starting with a brief summary of the basic assumptions and results of the theory of small-angle scattering from porous media, the author focuses on the practical aspects and methodology of the ambient and high pressure SANS and SAXS experiments and corresponding data analysis. It is illustrated with results of studies of the vapor and supercritical fluid adsorption in porous materials published during the last decade, obtained both for man-made materials (e.g. porous fractal silica, Vycor glass, activated carbon) and geological samples (e.g. sandstones, shales and coal). In order to serve the needs of broad readership, the results are presented in the relevant context (e.g. petroleum exploration, anthropogenic carbon capture and sequestration, ion adsorption in supercapacitors, hydrogen storage, etc.).

This book presents important concepts in metal fatigue in a straightforward manner, for the benefit of readers who must understand more advanced documents on a wide range of metal fatigue topics. The text shows how metal fatigue problems are solved in engineering practice. The book assumes no prior knowledge of metal fatigue, requiring only a basic understanding of stress analysis and mathematics covered in engineering undergraduate courses.

Particulate products make up around 80% of chemical products, from all industry sectors. Examples given in this book include the construction materials, fine ceramics and concrete; the delicacies, chocolate and ice cream; pharmaceutical, powders, medical inhalers and sun screen; liquid and powder paints. Size distribution and the shape of the particles provide for different functionalities in these products. Some functions are general, others specific. General functions are powder flow and require - at the typical particulate concentrations of these products - that the particles cause adequate rheological behavior during processing and/or for product performance. Therefore, this book addresses particle packing as well as its relation to powder flow and rheological behavior. Moreover, general relationships to particle size are discussed for e.g. color and sensorial aspects of particulate products. Product-specific functionalities are often relevant for comparable product groups. Particle size distribution and shape provide, for example, the following functionalities: - dense particle packing in relation to sufficient strength is required in concrete construction, ceramic objects and pharmaceutical tablets - good sensorial properties (mouthfeel) to chocolate and ice cream - effective dissolution, flow and compression properties for pharmaceutical powders - adequate hiding power and effective coloring of paints for protection and the desired esthetical appeal of the objects - adequate protection of our body against sun light by sunscreen - effective particle transport and deposition to desired locations for medical inhalers and powder paints. Adequate particle size distribution, shape and porosity of particulate products have to be achieved in order to reach optimum product performance. This requires adequate management of design and development as well as sufficient knowledge of the underlying principles of physics and chemistry. Moreover, flammability, explosivity and other health hazards from powders, during handling, are taken into account. This is necessary, since great risks may be involved. In all aspects, the most relevant parameters of the size distribution (and particle shape) have to be selected. In this book, experts in the different product fields have contributed to the product chapters. This provides optimum information on what particulate aspects are most relevant for behavior and performance within specified industrial products and how optimum results can be obtained. It differs from other books in the way that the critical aspects of different products are reported, so that similarities and differences can be identified. We trust that this approach will lead to improved optimization in design, development and quality of many particulate products.

The present book covers the application technology of lasers, focusing more on the vast range of processes than on individual applications, in order to motivate and enable future innovations. The physical basics are presented in the first half of the book. The following examination of application categories and their processes is documented by experts from their practical points of view but always refers back to the underlying physical principles. In this way, readers are free to choose their own individual level of depth in understanding this globally relevant field of innovation.

How can a scientist or engineer synthesize and utilize polymers to solve our daily problems? This introductory text, aimed at the advanced undergraduate or graduate student, provides future scientists and engineers with the fundamental knowledge of polymer design and synthesis to achieve specific properties required in everyday applications. In the first five chapters, this book discusses the properties and characterization of polymers, since designing a polymer initially requires us to understand the effects of chemical structure on physical and chemical characteristics. Six further chapters discuss the principles of polymerization reactions including step, radical chain, ionic chain, chain copolymerization, coordination and ring opening. Finally, material is also included on how commonly known polymers are synthesized in a laboratory and a factory. This book is suitable for a one semester course in polymer chemistry and does not demand prior knowledge of polymer science.

This book gives a brief but thorough introduction to the fascinating subject of non-Newtonian fluids, their behavior and mechanical properties. After a brief introduction of what characterizes non-Newtonian fluids in Chapter 1 some phenomena characteristic of non-Newtonian fluids are presented in Chapter 2. The basic equations in fluid mechanics are discussed in Chapter 3. Deformation kinematics, the kinematics of shear flows, viscometric flows, and extensional flows are the topics in Chapter 4. Material functions characterizing the behavior of fluids in special flows are defined in Chapter 5. Generalized Newtonian fluids are the most common types of non-Newtonian fluids and are the subject in Chapter 6. Some linearly viscoelastic fluid models are presented in Chapter 7. In Chapter 8 the concept of tensors is utilized and advanced fluid models are introduced. The book is concluded with a variety of 26 problems. Solutions to the problems are ready for instructors