Historical evolution

of Materials

Jayant Jain

Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Mechanics

IIT Delhi, Hauz Khas, 110016

Materials in Design
What do we mean by designing?
Design is the process of translating a new idea or a
market need into the detailed information from which a
product can be manufactured
Each of its stages requires decisions about the materials
of which the product is to be made and the process for
making it
Series of steps about materials and process selection

Market need --------------------------------- product

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Important to note:
Entire age of human
was named based on the
material that he had used
Stone, bronze and iron
were of such importance that
the era of their dominance is
named after them
A very significant increase
in available materials
choices had occurred
only in last 60-70 years
Figure 1.1

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Why do we have many choices available today?

Material development is driven by the desire
for ever greater performance
Today, over 2,00,000 materials are available to
engineers
We are living in the age of advanced materials
Ask yourself can you do materials selection
simply based on experience
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

materials and processes to

shape them are
developing faster now than
at any previous time in
history; the challenges and
opportunities they present
are greater than ever
before Ashby
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Timeline of Material Development

Colored zones indicate man-made materials

Materials: engineering, science, processing and design, 2nd edition Copyright (c)2010 Michael Ashby, Hugh Shercliff, David Cebon

The development of
materials to meet
demands on strength
and density is
illustrated by these
material property
charts
Similar time plots show
this progressive filling
for all materials
properties

This is not the age of

one material; it is the
age of immense
materials

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Figure

1.2

Evolution of Materials in Products

Figure 1.3

Early kettles, heated directly over a fire, were

made of materials that could conduct heat well
and withstand exposure to an open flame
Today almost all kettles are made of plastic,
allowing economic manufacture with great
freedom of form and color
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

The development of vacuum cleaners has been rapid and driven

by the use of new materials
Hand-powered cleaners made mostly of natural materials have
been replaced with high powered motors and centrifugal
filtration

Natural materials to metals to polymers

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Early cameras were made of wood and constructed

with the care and finish of a cabinetmaker; they had
well-ground glass lenses manufactured by
techniques developed for watch and clock making

Figure 1.5

High-end cameras are now manufactured with the

precision and electronic sophistication of scientific
instruments; lower-end models are made with
molded polypropylene or ABS bodies
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby

Early planes were made of low-density

woods, steel wire, and silk

Figure 1.6

The aluminum airframe provided high stiffness

and strength to allow planes to be bigger and
fly further
The future of airframes is exemplified by
Boeings 787 Dreamliner (80% carbon-fiber
reinforced plastic, claims to be 30% lighter per
seat than competing aircraft
Materials Selection in Mechanical Design, 4th Edition 2010 Michael Ashby