Learning objectives
KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND
At the end of the course, the student shall have acquired the main knowledge related to main classes of materials.
SKILLS
The student shall be able to make informed choices in the selection of the many material options available today. The student shall be able to use the acquired knowledge to analyse and process numerical data, to support the relative decision-making choices.
AUTONOMY OF JUDGMENT
Upon passing the exam, the student should have developed the ability to critically evaluate the analytical data of the mechanical behaviour of a material to predict its behaviour on site, as well as the ability to interpret the data of acceptance controls of a material to be employed.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Upon passing the exam, the student should have gained enough ownership of language, at least as far as the specific technical and chemical terminology of the teaching is concerned.
LEARNING ABILITY
The students who have attended the course will be able to deepen their knowledge of food indistry materials, through the autonomous consultation of specialized texts, scientific or popular magazines, even outside of the topics dealt with strictly in class. The possible final seminar activities will have the aim of introducing the student to the most recent developments in terms of research in the field of materials applied to food packaging: the student should have acquired the basic knowledge and skills of the discipline to face, in the future, an autonomous deepening of these aspects.
Prerequisites
Course unit content
Introduction: Atomic structure and interatomic bonds
Chemical properties: Crystalline and amorphous structure of materials; Imperfections and flaws
Physical properties: Mechanical properties; Thermal properties
Metallic materials
Polymeric materials (natural and synthetic)
Ceramic and glass materials
Full programme
INTRODUCTION. Atomic structure and characteristics of materials. Atomic constituents. Bonds between atoms. Molecular bonds. Molecular organization.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES: Crystalline and amorphous structure of materials; Imperfections and flaws.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES: mechanical properties, Hooke's law, Young's modulus, maximum stress, toughness and strain, stress-strain curves, density.
THERMAL PROPERTIES: Thermal conductivity. Thermal capacity and specific heat. Thermal expansion coefficients. Useful temperature range (use range). Transition temperatures.
POLYMER MATERIALS. Structure and properties of plastic materials. Nature of raw materials. Polymerization mechanism. Tacticity. Molecular weight. Heat behavior. Glass transition temperature. Morphology. Structural organization. Polymer mixtures (blends) and polymer alloys (alloys). Structural modifications of plastic materials.
METALLIC MATERIALS: interstitial and substitutional solid solutions, metallic materials based on Iron and Copper. State diagrams of the main metallic mixtures.
CERAMIC MATERIALS: traditional and advanced ceramic materials, raw materials for a ceramic body, production phases of a ceramic material. Glass, glass constituents, glass viscosity curve, different types of glass.
Bibliography
Suggested textbooks:
Scienza e tecnologia dei materiali, W. Smith, J. Hashemi, Editore: Graw Hill, 2018
Scienza e ingegneria dei materiali, William D. Callister, David G. Rethwisch, Editor Edises, 2019
Teaching methods
Oral lessons with the support of Power Point.
Assessment methods and criteria
Written examination consists in 3 alphanumeric questions concerning the topics covered by the Course. The final exam also includes the laboratory module.
Other information
2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
