Solutions midterm MTE111 S2014

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1:
Name the primary type of bond found in the following materials:
a) Sodium chloride =>ionic
b) Silicon =>covalent
c) Gold =>metallic
d) Ice =>hydrogen / van der Waals / secondary
[2 marks]
2:
Silver has a face-centered cubic structure and an atomic radius of 0.144 nm. Calculate the
volume of its (cubic) unit cell. [4 marks]

3:
The maximum modulus of elasticity for a copper crystal is 195 GPa. What tensile stress is
required along the corresponding crystallographic direction in order to increase the interatomic
separation distance by 0.05 %? [2 marks]
Note: =E

= = ( ) (.

)
= (, ) (.

) (1 mark)
= . (1 mark)


4:
Complete the following table of intercepts and Miller indices for the lattice planes
shown below. [3 marks]
Plane #

x intercept y intercept z intercept Miller indices
1 inf. 1/2 inf. (020)
2 1 inf. 2/3 (302)
3 1 2 1 (212)

Solutions midterm MTE111 S2014
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5:
Calculate the linear density of atoms along [210] in BCC iron. [5 marks]
Notes: atomic radius r =0.124 nm, linear density =1 / repeat distance.

6:
Consider a ferrous superalloy with a Youngs Modulus of 200 GPa. A 4 mm diameter bar of
this alloy is used as a structural member in an engineering design. The unstressed length of the
bar is precisely 10 m and the structural load the bar must carry is 6000 N in tension. What is the
length of the bar under this structural load? Assume no plastic deformation. For the precision of
your result use at least 5 digits. [4 marks]
Notes: =E; Neglect non-axial deformation.

=
0
1

2




Solutions midterm MTE111 S2014
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7:
Calculate (a) the mass of a spherical palladium (Pd) particle of 100 nm in diameter and (b) the
number of atoms in it. The atomic mass of palladium is M =106.42 g/mol. The density of
palladium is =12.023 g/cm
3
. Avogadros number is

= 6.02 10
23
atom/mol. The volume
of a sphere with radius r is 4
3
/3. [4 marks]

8:
The figure below shows the stress-strain curve obtained from a tensile test of iron at the three
temperatures: [3 marks]
25 C
-100 C
-200 C
Identify the corresponding curve for each temperature by writing each of the three given
temperature values in the suitable box.

_______ C
_______ C
_______ C
25 C
-100 C
-200 C
Solutions midterm MTE111 S2014
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9:
A nondestructive testing program can ensure that a given 80 m diameter glass fiber will have
no atomic scale surface cracks longer than 5 m. Given that the theoretical strength of the fiber
is 5 GPa, what can you say about the expected breaking strength of this fiber? [3 marks]
Notes: The atomic scale crack has a tip radius equal to the diameter of an oxygen ion O
2
with
radius r
O2
=0.132 nm. Griffith crack model:
m
=2(c/)
1/2
.

With the crack tip radius always 2 r
O2
and the crack length always 5 m we
can say:

(1 mark)

)
.

. (2 marks)


10:
Name at least two types of point defects which influence plastic deformation and/or creep and
explain how they do it. [4 marks]

interstitial/substitutional point defects: can attach themselves to dislocations and
reduce their mobility thereby reducing the tendency for plastic deformation (by
strengthening the material) (2)
vacancy: allows for dislocation climb, a mechanism responsible for creep. The more
vacancies, the faster creep can occur by dislocation climb. (2)

11:
Name three examples of allotropes of carbon. Explain their differences with respect to
mechanical and electrical properties. [6 marks]

Diamond: hard/strong, el. insulating, transparent
Graphite: soft (van der Waals), el. conductive (aromatic rings)
graphene: strong, el. conductive, etc.
Fullerenes (buckyballs/-tubes/-etc, CNTs): strong, el. conductive or semiconductive
12:
Describe (a) the concept of x-ray diffraction and (b) what it is used for. [5 marks]

Re (a): A coherent (single wavelength) x-ray is directed onto a crystalline or
polycrystalline sample (material to be tested) and diffracted (reflected) by the
crystallographic planes into various directions. The directions (reflection angles)
depend on the distance between the individual planes of one plane type. Braggs Law is
used to derive interplanar spacing from the observed diffraction angles. (3)
Re (b): By use of a database, the set of diffraction angles (diffraction pattern) can be
assigned to a certain crystal structure and thereby a certain material (elemental or
intermetallic compound), i.e. the material can be identified via its crystal structure. If
the material type is known (chemically), it can help identify the crystal structure. (2)
Solutions midterm MTE111 S2014
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13:
Tensile test of a metallic sample: (a) Describe how the onset of plastic deformation can be
explained using microstructural and micromechanical features and concepts. (b) Name two
methods to strengthen a metal and describe the underlying mechanism of strengthening.
[5 marks]

Re (a): For plastic deformation, dislocations are moving. Dislocations move along slip
directions on slip planes (slip systems). For the plastic deformation to start, the applied
stress must be large enough so the resolved shear stress is above the critical resolved
shear stress in most/all of the grains (Schmids Law). (3)
Re (b): smaller grain (grain refinement), cold working (work or strain hardening),
solution hardening, dispersion (2nd phase) strengthening are all methods to
strengthen a metal. The underlying mechanism is to introduce obstacles to dislocation
motion (reduce dislocation mobility). (2)


14: BONUS
The table below lists the atomic weight, density, and atomic radius for three hypothetical
elements with cubic crystal structure. For each element, determine whether its crystal structure
is FCC, BCC, or simple cubic and then justify your answer.
N
A
=6.022 10
23
atom/mol. [6 marks]

Element Atomic Weight (g/mol) Density (g/cm
3
) Atomic Radius (nm)
A 43.1 6.40 0.122
B 184.4 12.30 0.146
C 91.6 9.60 0.137


Solutions midterm MTE111 S2014
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Solutions midterm MTE111 S2014
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