Materials Science & Engineering
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MSE360 : Materials Lab I

Laboratory experiences based on principles emphasized in Fundamentals of Materials Science including processing, properties, and structure with a focus on micro structural analysis and structure-property relationships. Continued as MSE 365


Course Topics:

  1. Laboratory safety
  2. Data Acquisition & Error Analysis
  3. Materials processing, including heat treatment of metals & injection molding of polymers
  4. Mechanical behavior including tensile, hardness, & impact testing
  5. Microscopic characterization by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, & x-ray diffraction
  6. Simulations of processing and microstructure

Course Objectives:

  1. To teach students the fundamentals of safe laboratory practice
  2. To teach students methods of analyzing errors for data analysis
  3. To provide students hands-on experience in assessing microstructure and mechanical behavior of materials
  4. To teach students methods of documenting work in a laboratory notebook
  5. To teach students scientific communication through written and oral reports

Course Outcomes:

  1. Given a set of objectives, design and execute an experiment for processing and evaluating materials with particular properties
  2. Given a set of set of experimental objectives, effectively document data-taking and effectively communicate results
  3. Given a set of experimental data, perform an error analysis
  4. Learn methods for predicting and evaluating the effects of processing on the microstructure & mechanical properties of metals, polymers, and composites
  5. Learn to prepare for an oral presentation

Assessment Tools:

  1. In-class quizzes (10% of grade)
  2. Laboratory Notebook (20% of grade)
  3. Laboratory Reports (50% of grade)
  4. Final Oral Report (20% of grade)