Inorganic materials : manufacturing procedures and propriety

Duration

30h Th, 30h Labo., 1d FW

Number of credits

Lecturer

Stéphanie Lambert

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the second semester

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The course contents 3 chapters : Glasses, Ceramics and Cements. These chapters are preceded by an introduction to the problematic of materials science, the different classes of existing materials on the market today, resources and reserves, the life cycle of a material, recycling, and the various fields of application materials. Chapter 1 : The glasses In this chapter, all aspects on the glasses are discussed, namely : - The genesis of the glassy state ; - Different models for this state ; - Raw materials glasses (network former, fluxes, modificators, ...); - The properties of glasses as well as ways to measure these properties (transparency, absorption, strength, power, ... ) ; - Different glasses synthesized for various applications (glass to the leaded glass window for nuclear power plants, LCD screens,lenses, ... ) ; - Different types of glass furnaces and the different layout work (flat glass, hollow glass, curved glass, ...); - The strengthening of glass (tempering annealing, laminating, sheathing (glass fiber) . Chapter 2 : The cements In this chapter are discussed : - Raw materials involved in the cement; - The nomeclature used by cements ; - Chemical precursors used in the manufacture of Portland cement ; - Different processes for the preparation of clinker and cement ; - The theory of colloids involved in the process of a cement Portland ; - Presentation of other existing cements (cement with fly ash, white cements, high Young's modulus cement, ... ) .
Chapter 3 : The ceramics
Part 1 : Traditional Ceramics or aluminosilicates. We discuss in this section : - Raw materials and their preparation (either paste or slurry) ; - The rheological aspects of pulp and slurries. The definition of floculation and the various parameters affecting the floculation ; - Implementation of the ceramic (pressing, casting , extrusion, ... ) ; - The thermodynamic study of the drying step ; - The firing step with the occurrence of the phenomenon of mullite and sintering; - Fields of application of traditional ceramics. Part 2: Technical Ceramics. We discuss in this section : - Different methods of synthesis : solid-solid reactions, solid-liquid reactions,solid-vapor reactions, precipitation, vapor phase reactions, deposit in the form of films; - Properties developed by ceramics : anti -abrasion, mechanical, electrical, superconducting, ... ; - The types of technical ceramics.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

Materials have always defined the level of development of our civilization. The first steps of humanity have been marked by the Stone Age, the Bronze Age and Iron Age. Today, materials play a key role in all technological changes. Whatever their specialty, the engineer can not design or build new objects, without considering the properties of the materials he uses. This is generally the behavior of materials that limit the performances of machines and equipment.
Material properties are defined by the nature of chemical bonds, atomic arrangement and microstructure. The study of the relationship between the organization at the atomic scale, the microstructure and properties of materials, is the field of Materials Science. In addition to their behavior, the use of materials also depends on their availability, their cost, their methods of synthesis and manufacturing. The use of materials is also conditioned by the methods of processing, ease of formating and compatibility with the environment. Materials are classified according to various criteria such as their composition, structure or properties. In this course, the distinction is made between three groups of materials. This classification is based on the nature of the chemical bonds and the atomic structures : - Metals and their alloys (metallic bonds) ; - Organic polymer (covalent bonds) ; - Ceramics (the covalent and ionic bonds) . The purpose of this course is to educate future engineers in chemistry and materials science to the problem of combining inorganic materials (ceramics, glass and cement). Although these materials have been around for hundreds, even thousands of years, they are still in the technological and economic development in highly specialized areas such as electronics, aerospace, life siences,...

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

CHIM0605-2 : Inorganic Chemistry and Materials

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

The course is divided into 30 hours of lectures and 30 hours of practical work. During the practical sessions, the students are in groups of 2 or 3 people. Each group is given one "experimental task" to achieve.    One half day is also planned for the visit of CBR Lixhe (cement industry) and in a large glass manufacturer as AGC Glass Europe or 3-B FiberGlass. These visits allow students to familiarize themselves with the industrial sector to which they will face during their careers.

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

The students must to be present to the 30 hours laboratories and one half-day for industrial visits. If they are not present, a medical certificate must be delivered.

Recommended or required readings

Assessment methods and criteria

Laboratory report is equal to 40% of the final cote to be delivered on June 15th.
Oral exam (in June) with 3 questions (60% of the final cote).

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Course is given during the lessons.

Contacts

Stéphanie LAMBERT-JAMOULLE : Department of Chemical Engineering, B6a, local 0/11.
Phone : 04/366.47.71
E-mail: stephanie.lambert@ulg.ac.be

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