Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session

Prerequisites

Fundamentals of Material Science (3.012)
Microstructural Evolution in Materials (3.022)
Mechanical Behavior of Materials (3.032)

Course Description

The central point of this course is to provide a physical basis that links the structure of materials with their properties, focusing primarily on metals. With this understanding in hand, the concepts of alloy design and microstructural engineering are also discussed, linking processing and thermodynamics to the structure and properties of metals.

Text

Reed-Hill, Robert E., Reza Abbaschian, and Lara Abbaschian. Physical Metallurgy Principles. 4th ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2008. ISBN: 9780495082545.

Undergraduate Grading (3.14)

The relative weighting of these components is to be decided in class on an individual basis. Note that for assignments and exams, every problem will be equally weighted (5 points).

Exams

There will be two exams focused on concepts, which will take place in class.

Homework

4 Problem Sets are planned; see the schedule for tentative dates. The Psets will be more mathematical than conceptual.

Review Assignments

A current research article in physical metallurgy will be distributed, and everybody will write a ~3 page summary and critique of the work. There will be three such assignments over the course of the term.

Graduate Grading (3.40J/22.71J)

For the graduate version of this class, we operate very differently than the undergrads. We will have common lecture periods. Your grade will comprise of two pieces:

60% Review Assignments

These are the same ones that the undergrads in 3.14 will be doing. A current research article in physical metallurgy will be distributed, and everybody will write a ~3 page summary and critique of the work. There will be three such assignments over the course of the term.

40% Review Assignments

At the beginning of each lecture, one of you will stand up and address the class for about 10 minutes. You will recap the lecture from last time, and provide additional clarity. You will do a power-point-style presentation and include new visuals that add value over what I have used in class; you may wish to include videos or other multimedia effects, or perhaps include some examples from current research in your own group, etc. You will be graded for (i) clarity of presentation, (ii) quality of content. You will be graded by the undergraduate students in 3.14.