MSE 5100

Physical Metallurgy and Applications

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

Fundamentals of metals and modern alloy systems. Characteristics of metals: metallic bonding, elemental metals, and phase formation. Microstructure of metals and alloys: structure, defects, phase stability, and diffusion. Processing: casting and thermomechanical treatments. Structure and performance of modern metallic alloy systems: ferrous and nonferrous alloys, as well as specialty metals, including superalloys for high temperature engine applications, shape memory alloys for biomedical applications, titanium for aerospace applications, and others. Course co-meets with MSE 4100; graduate students in MSE 5100 will be required to complete additional homework and advanced exam questions.

Enrollment Priority Enrollment limited to: Graduate Students (M.Eng, MS, PhD).

Last 4 Terms Offered (None)

Learning Outcomes

• Distinguish general characteristics of metals as a function of their position in the periodic table based on their electronic structures.
• Justify the form of the phase diagram and the structures of the phases that form for binary metal alloy systems based on simple physical rules.
• Explain the relationships among microstructure, properties, and processing for metallic alloy systems.
• Describe basic processing steps involved in production of metallic alloys starting with casting of ingots and how those steps can be adjusted to change the properties of the final products.
• Discuss phase diagrams, structure-property relationships, and classification schemes for common steel, iron, aluminum, and copper-based alloy systems, as well as shape memory alloys, nickel-based superalloys, and titanium alloys, in terms of the suitability of those alloys for various applications.
• Contrast the unique features (processing, structure and properties) of shape memory alloys, superplastic alloys, high entropy alloys, metallic glasses, metallic nanostructures, and objects made by metal additive manufacturing in comparison to more conventional alloy systems.

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