July 19, 2010
York College mechanical engineering students in a special session 2010 material science laboratory are learning how the structure of engineering materials -- such as metals and polymers -- helps determine their properties. This lab supports the materials science course.
“Students also learn about ways in which materials can be treated in order to change the properties to something more desirable,” said Stephen Kuchnicki, PhD, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
In the video above, students are performing basic heat treatment. The specimens taken from the furnaces are at 900 degrees Celsius (about 1650 degrees Fahrenheit), where the steel takes on a different form at the atomic level.
“They are seeing the effects of cooling it slowly or cooling it rapidly in water (which takes a few seconds) or oil (which takes about a minute),” said Kuchnicki.
Students are also exploring the differences in terms of hardness (the surface indentation test) and in terms of impact energy (the hammer).
“Different rates of cooling give us different atomic structures,” he added. “This information can help an engineer determine an appropriate heat treatment or how a known material that has been heat treated will behave.”
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